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Integrated Circuits

Digital ICs

Common Off-the-Shelf Digital ICs

One of the pleasures of learning classic logic is that many useful functions are available as inexpensive catalog parts. Exact suffixes vary—74LS, 74HC, 74HCT, 74LVC, CD4000, and so on—so the family and datasheet matter as much as the middle number.

Basic gates
Classic function numberFunction
7400Four 2-input NAND gates.
7402Four 2-input NOR gates.
7404Six inverters.
7408Four 2-input AND gates.
7432Four 2-input OR gates.
7486Four 2-input XOR gates.
7414Six Schmitt-trigger inverters.
Flip-flops and latches
7474Dual D-type flip-flop.
7476Dual JK flip-flop family.
373 / 573Octal transparent latch families.
374 / 574Octal D-type flip-flop families.
Buffers and bus devices
244Octal buffer / line driver.
245Octal bidirectional bus transceiver.
125 / 126Four three-state buffers.
Decoders and multiplexers
1383-to-8 decoder / demultiplexer.
139Dual 2-to-4 decoder.
1518-input multiplexer.
153Dual 4-input multiplexer.
157Four 2-input multiplexers.
Counters and shift registers
161 / 163Synchronous 4-bit counters.
164Serial-in, parallel-out shift register.
165Parallel-in, serial-out shift register.
595Serial-in shift register with output latch; extremely popular for output expansion.
Useful 4000-series CMOS
CD4011Four 2-input NAND gates.
CD4013Dual D-type flip-flop.
CD4017Decade counter with ten decoded outputs.
CD404012-stage binary ripple counter.
CD4060Oscillator plus binary divider.
CD4066Four bilateral analog switches; a mixed analog/digital building block.
CD4093Four 2-input Schmitt-trigger NAND gates.
CD4511BCD-to-seven-segment latch/decoder/driver.
The familiar numeric function is not a complete part number. For example, 74LS00, 74HC00, and 74LVC00 all perform NAND logic but have very different electrical characteristics.
Why keep these parts around?

A single logic IC can solve a problem with no software, no boot time, no firmware maintenance, and very predictable timing. They remain excellent parts for interlocks, glue logic, level control, counters, pulse conditioning, and educational circuits.