The 4000 series IC, or integrated circuit, is a popular family of CMOS logic chips. They are relatively old, but they are still widely used in both analog and digital electronics. Some of their usage includes logic gates, math, counters, switches, flip-flops, display drivers, and more.
Terminology and Naming
The 4000 series design dates back to 1968, although it has undergone many iterations and modifications throughout the years. Most of them now have the “B,” or buffered, suffix added to their name later, which indicates that the specific chip has a standard supply voltage range of 3V to 18V.
They usually have a four- or five-digit name with a starting number of “4” followed by “0.” Some will start with “45” in their name; these chips are a newer 4500 series, which is still considered a part of the 4000 series IC. The majority of these chips nowadays are manufactured by Texas Instruments; these chips will have the prefix “CD,” although other companies, such as ON Semiconductor, also make some.
4000 Series CMOS Integrated Circuits
This list is not at all exhaustive; it is just some of the 4000 series chips that we have used in the past. Nevertheless, we will continue to add more chips to this list in the future as we continue to learn more about them.
Buffers / Logic Gates
| Pinouts | Name | Descriptions |
 | 40106 | Hex Inverting Schmitt Trigger |
 | 4069 | Hex Inverter Gates / Buffers |
 | 4049 | Hex Inverter Gates / Buffers |
 | 4011 | Quad 2-Input NAND Gates |
Flip-flops
Timer / Oscillators
| Pinouts | Name | Descriptions |
 | 4047 | Astable multivibrator circuit |
 | 4046 | Phase-locked loop (PLL) with comparators and a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) |
 | 4060 | Oscillator with 14-stage on-board counter/divider |
Analogs
| Pinouts | Name | Descriptions |
 | 4066 | Quad Analog Switches |
Counters
| Pinouts | Name | Descriptions |
 | 4017 | Decade Counter with 10 Decoded Outputs |
Buy CMOS Logic 4000 4500 IC Series at Amazon.com here (affiliated link)
I also like the 4060 which can oscillate a crystal up to about 8.4 MHz and has divide by 16 to 16384 to obtain timer pulses and or lower RF frequencies for various kinds of radio transmitters and signal generators! Likewise the 4011 NAND gate for RC time clocks as well as gating purposes; the 4001 NOR gate is also quite a cool device I have also used since the mid-80s. There was a book called “The CMOS Cookbook” which was a great reference for these ICs. There is a related “74HC” series of DIP ICs also rater neat! Steve McG. – N6NKS
Wow… I really like your post. I love the charm of old-school circuits, too. Especially those from the 80s and 90s. They’re simple, repairable, and you can replace each IC individually. They’re durable, precise, and clearly divided into sections. They’re easy to work with, especially digital circuits. My son is also starting to get interested in this field. We’re so happy to read your experience…have a great day!
P.S. I translated this message using Google Translate.