Description

The 4026 Decade Counter/Divider with 7-Segment Display Driver is a highly versatile CMOS logic IC designed to count pulses and directly drive a 7-segment display. It combines a decade counter (0–9) with a 7-segment decoder/driver, making it ideal for digital counters, clocks, frequency dividers, and numeric display applications. Housed in a 16-pin Dual Inline Package (DIP), the 4026 is widely used in educational kits, microcontroller projects, digital timers, and electronic scoreboard circuits.

Unlike separate counter and decoder ICs, the 4026 reduces circuit complexity by integrating both functions, allowing designers to display counted values directly on a 7-segment display without additional decoding components. Its CMOS design ensures low power consumption, wide voltage range, and high noise immunity, making it suitable for battery-powered and low-voltage applications.

---

⚙️ Key Features:

• Function: Decade counter (0–9) with 7-segment display driver

• Logic Family: CMOS

• Inputs: Clock (CP), Reset (RESET), Enable (EN)

• Outputs: Seven outputs (a–g) for common-cathode 7-segment displays, Carry Out (CO) for cascading

• Direct Display Output: Drives 7-segment display without external decoder

• Synchronous Count: Ensures accurate counting with minimal delay

• Operating Voltage: 3V to 15V wide supply range

• Low Power Consumption: Ideal for portable electronics

• Standard 16-Pin DIP Package: Easy breadboarding and PCB integration

• Carry Out (CO): For cascading multiple counters

---

🧩 Pin Configuration (16-Pin DIP):

This pinout allows direct connection to a common-cathode 7-segment display while providing carry output for chaining multiple 4026 ICs for higher counting ranges.

---

⚡ Electrical Characteristics:

• Supply Voltage (VCC): 3V – 15V

• Input High Voltage (VIH): 0.7 × VCC minimum

• Input Low Voltage (VIL): 0.3 × VCC maximum

• Output High Voltage (VOH): VCC – 0.1V typical

• Output Low Voltage (VOL): 0.1V typical

• Maximum Clock Frequency: ~5 MHz typical at VCC = 10V

• Power Dissipation: ~10 µA quiescent current at 5V

CMOS design ensures low power usage and high-speed switching, making the IC suitable for real-time counting applications.

---

🧠 How It Works:

The 4026 IC counts pulses applied to the clock input (CP) and outputs the corresponding decimal digit on a 7-segment display.

• Clock Input (CP): Each pulse increments the counter by 1

• Reset (RESET): Resets the counter to 0 when set HIGH

• Enable (EN): Activates or disables counting

• Segment Outputs (a–g): Connect directly to a common-cathode 7-segment display

• Carry Out (CO): Goes HIGH after the count reaches 9, useful for cascading multiple 4026 ICs for higher counts

This integrated design eliminates the need for a separate BCD-to-7-segment decoder, simplifying circuit design and reducing component count.

---

🛠️ Applications:

• Digital Clocks – Display hours, minutes, and seconds

• Event Counters – Count occurrences or pulses in industrial applications

• Electronic Scoreboards – Directly display scores in sports and games

• Frequency Counters – Count signal pulses for measurement

• Microcontroller Projects – Expand output with minimal components

• Educational Kits – Teach counting and display concepts

• Timers – Display elapsed time on 7-segment displays

---

💡 Advantages:

• Integrated decade counter and 7-segment driver reduces circuit complexity

• CMOS design ensures low power consumption and wide voltage range

• Direct drive for common-cathode 7-segment displays

• Carry output allows easy cascading for higher counting ranges

• TTL and CMOS compatible for flexible system integration

---

📦 Package Includes:

• 1 × 4026 Decade Counter/Divider with 7-Segment Display Driver IC (DIP-16)

---

📘 Conclusion:

The 4026 DIP Decade Counter/Divider with 7-Segment Driver is a high-performance IC for digital counting and display applications. Its integrated counting and display-driving capabilities, low power CMOS design, and carry-out feature make it ideal for clocks, timers, scoreboards, educational kits, and microcontroller-based projects, delivering accurate, reliable, and compact solutions for modern digital electronics.