CD4069 (CD4069UB): the CMOS hex inverter chip, live

The CD4069UB is a 4000-series CMOS chip with six inverters: each output is the opposite of its input, G = NOT A, H = NOT B, and so on to L = NOT F. It runs from 3 V to 18 V, and its pins sit in the same places as the 7404's. This live chip has all six inverters.

TI's datasheet describes the CD4069UB as six CMOS inverter circuits "intended for all general-purpose inverter applications where the medium-power TTL-drive and logic-level-conversion capabilities of circuits such as the CD4009 and CD4049 hex inverter and buffers are not required", and lists logic inversion, pulse shaping, oscillators and high-input-impedance amplifiers as its uses. UB stands for unbuffered: each inverter is a single CMOS stage, one PMOS and one NMOS transistor, which is exactly the CMOS inverter each one here is built from. A single stage switches less sharply than a buffered gate, and that lower gain is why the datasheet's typical crystal and RC oscillator circuits use it: a feedback resistor biases the inverter in the middle of its range, where it works as an amplifier. This simulator shows the logic side, 1 in and 0 out. The pin positions match the TTL 7404, with VDD on pin 14 and VSS on pin 7. All 64 combinations of the six inputs are checked before the page is built.

Live circuit: click the inputs to toggle them and watch the outputs update. It runs the real simulator, right here on the page.

Open this circuit in the lab →

What you need

6× NOT: G from A; H from B; I from C; J from D; K from E; L from F

Step by step

Power the chip: VDD on pin 14 and VSS on pin 7, anywhere from 3 V to 18 V.
Each inverter has one input and one output; find their pins in the pinout below.
Tie every unused input to VCC or GND: a floating CMOS input can drift and draw current.
Set input A to 1: output G goes to 0, and back to 1 when A is 0. Each output is the opposite of its own input.

CD4069 pinout

Pin	Name	Pin	Name
1	A	14	VDD
2	G	13	F
3	B	12	L
4	H	11	E
5	C	10	K
6	I	9	D
7	VSS	8	J

Inverter truth table (each of the six)

A	Y
0	1
1	0

Pin numbers and names are from TI's CD4069UB (SCHS054E) datasheet, checked 2026-10-25. Each gate is independent; the chip only shares the power pins.

You can also read the full theory in the lesson on the NOT gate. Prefer to build it yourself from scratch? Open the digiwleea lab and place the gates on the canvas, or start from the logic gate simulator.

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Each of these is one step from a transistor to a working CPU. Build every gate from CMOS transistors and work all the way up in the free digiwleea lab, with the free theory reference alongside.

Open the CD4069 hex inverter chip in the lab →

Frequently asked

What is the CD4069?

A 4000-series CMOS hex inverter: six independent NOT gates in a 14-pin package, for supplies from 3 V to 18 V. VDD is pin 14 and VSS pin 7.

What is the CD4069 pinout?

Pin 1 A, 2 G, 3 B, 4 H, 5 C, 6 I, 7 VSS, 8 J, 9 D, 10 K, 11 E, 12 L, 13 F, 14 VDD, with G = NOT A, H = NOT B, I = NOT C, J = NOT D, K = NOT E and L = NOT F.

What does UB mean in CD4069UB?

Unbuffered. Each inverter is a single CMOS stage of one PMOS and one NMOS transistor, without extra buffer stages on the output. That gives a softer switching curve, useful in oscillators and simple amplifiers; buffered gates switch more sharply.

Can a CD4069 replace a 7404 or 74HC04?

The pins are in the same places and the logic is the same, but the families differ: the CD4069UB runs from 3 V to 18 V, the 74HC04 from 2 V to 6 V and faster, and the 74LS04 is a 5 V TTL part with different input levels. Check the supply and the logic levels of what it drives.