CD4051B: minimum voltage requirements

Hi Adam,

So the minimum voltage actually depends on the signals you are trying to pass through the switch as well as the logic levels available in your system. For our CD4K devices (such as the CD4051B in this case), the VSS pin can be thought of as a traditional GND reference in which the logic is referenced to. Essentially, if you shift this voltage to anything other than 0V, your logic voltage will shift with this. So it is recommended to leave this at 0V if you have normal logic levels (0-5V range).

The VEE pin voltage controls how low of a signal can pass through the device. For example, if you have a -5V signal that needs to be passed, you would need to set this pin be -5V in order for the switch to properly pass this signal. If you only need to pass positive voltages, you can then just leave this shorted to VSS or 0V and just use the VDD pin to support the signals you need to pass.

See this excerpt from the datasheet as another reference point:

Let me know if you have any other questions on this.

Thanks!

Bryan