The 7400 series is a popular logic family of transistor–transistor logic (TTL) integrated circuits (ICs).Don Lancaster (1975), TTL Cookbook, Indianapolis: Howard W. Sams and Co., , preface
In 1964, Texas Instruments introduced the SN5400 series of logic chips, in a ceramic semiconductor package. A low-cost plastic package SN7400 series was introduced in 1966 which quickly gained over 50% of the logic chip market, and eventually becoming de facto standardized electronic components. Since the introduction of the original bipolar-transistor TTL parts, pin-compatible parts were introduced with such features as low-power CMOS technology and lower supply voltages. Surface mount packages exist for several popular logic family functions.
Overview
The 7400 series contains hundreds of devices that provide everything from basic logic gates, flip-flops, and counters, to special purpose bus transceivers and arithmetic logic units (ALU). Specific functions are described in a list of 7400 series integrated circuits. Some TTL parts were made with an extended military-specification temperature range. These parts are prefixed with 54 instead of 74 in the part number. The less-common 64 and 84 prefixes on Texas Instruments parts indicated an industrial temperature range. Since the 1970s, new product families have been released to replace the original 7400 series. More recent TTL-compatible logic families were manufactured using CMOS or BiCMOS technology rather than TTL.
+ Texas Instruments prefixes for TTL temperature ranges Prefix Name Temperature range Remarks 54 Military −55 °C to +125 °C 64 Industrial −40 °C to +85 °C rare 74 Commercial 0 °C to +70 °C most common 84 Industrial −25 °C to +85 °C rare
Today, surface-mounted CMOS versions of the 7400 series are used in various applications in electronics and for glue logic in computers and industrial electronics. The original through-hole devices in dual in-line packages (DIP/DIL) were the mainstay of the industry for many decades. They are useful for rapid breadboard-prototyping and for education and remain available from most manufacturers. The fastest types and very low voltage versions are typically surface-mount only, however.
The first part number in the series, the 7400, is a 14-pin IC containing four two-input NAND gates. Each gate uses two input pins and one output pin, with the remaining two pins being power (+5 V) and ground. This part was made in various through-hole and surface-mount packages, including flat pack and plastic/ceramic dual in-line. Additional characters in a part number identify the package and other variations.
Unlike the older resistor–transistor logic integrated circuits, bipolar TTL gates were unsuitable to be used as analog devices, providing low gain, poor stability, and low input impedance.Don Lancaster, TTL Cookbook, Howard W. Sams 1974, page 169 Special-purpose TTL devices were used to provide interface functions such as Schmitt triggers or monostable multivibrator timing circuits. Inverting gates could be cascaded as a ring oscillator, useful for purposes where high stability was not required.
History Although the 7400 series was the first de facto industry standard TTL logic family (i.e. second-sourced by several semiconductor companies), there were earlier TTL logic families such as: Sylvania Universal High-level Logic in 1963 Motorola MC4000 MTTL National Semiconductor DM8000 Fairchild 9300 series Signetics 8200 and 8T00
The 7400 quad 2-input NAND gate was the first product in the series, introduced by Texas Instruments in a military grade metal flat package (5400W) in October 1964. The pin assignment of this early series differed from the de facto standard set by the later series in DIP packages (in particular, ground was connected to pin 11 and the power supply to pin 4, compared to pins 7 and 14 for DIP packages). The extremely popular commercial grade plastic DIP (7400N) followed in the third quarter of 1966.
The 5400 and 7400 series were used in many popular minicomputers in the 1970s and early 1980s. Some models of the DEC PDP-series "minis" used the 74181 ALU as the main computing element in the CPU. Other examples were the Data General Nova series and Hewlett-Packard 21MX, 1000, and 3000 series.
In 1965, typical quantity-one pricing for the SN5400 (military grade, in ceramic welded flat-pack) was around $22 USD, . As of 2007, individual commercial-grade chips in molded epoxy (plastic) packages can be purchased for approximately $0.25 each, depending on the particular chip.
Families
7400 series parts were constructed using bipolar junction transistors (BJT), forming what is referred to as transistor–transistor logic or TTL. Newer series, more or less compatible in function and logic level with the original parts, use CMOS technology or a combination of the two (BiCMOS). Originally the bipolar circuits provided higher speed but consumed more power than the competing 4000 series of CMOS devices. Bipolar devices are also limited to a fixed power-supply voltage, typically 5 V, while CMOS parts often support a range of supply voltages.
Milspec-rated devices for use in extended temperature conditions are available as the 5400 series. Texas Instruments also manufactured radiation-hardened devices with the prefix RSN, and the company offered beam-lead bare dies for integration into hybrid circuits with a BL prefix designation.
Regular-speed TTL parts were also available for a time in the 6400 series these had an extended industrial temperature range of −40 °C to +85 °C. While companies such as Mullard listed 6400-series compatible parts in 1970 data sheets,Mullard FJH 101 Data Sheet, from the Mullard FJ Family TTL Integrated Circuits 1970 databook. . May 16, 2008 by 1973 there was no mention of the 6400 family in the Texas Instruments TTL Data Book. Texas Instruments brought back the 6400 series in 1989 for the SN64BCT540. The SN64BCTxxx series is still in production as of 2023. Some companies have also offered industrial extended temperature range variants using the regular 7400-series part numbers with a prefix or suffix to indicate the temperature grade.
As integrated circuits in the 7400 series were made in different technologies, usually compatibility was retained with the original TTL logic levels and power-supply voltages. An integrated circuit made in CMOS is not a TTL chip, since it uses field-effect transistors (FETs) and not bipolar junction transistors (BJT), but similar part numbers are retained to identify similar logic functions and electrical (power and I/O voltage) compatibility in the different subfamilies.
Over 40 different logic subfamilies use this standardized part number scheme. The headings in the following table are: Vcc power-supply voltage; tpd maximum gate delay; IOL maximum output current at low level; IOH maximum output current at high level; tpd, IOL, and IOH apply to most gates in a given family. Driver or buffer gates have higher output currents.