4-Bit Synchronous Up Binary Counter

• LSB Position: complemented with

every pulse
• Any other positions: complemented if A3 A2 A1 A0
all lower significant bits are equal to 1 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1
• It can be extended to any number of 0 0 1 0
stages, with each stage having an 0 0 1 1
addition FF and an AND gate that 0 1 0 0
gives the output of 1 if all previous FF 0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
outputs are 1 0 1 1 1
• It can be triggered with either the 1 0 0 0
positive or the negative clock 1 0 0 1
edge 1 0 1 0
1 0 1 1
• It can be either of the JK-type, the 1 1 0 0
T- type, or the D-type with XOR 1 1 0 1
gates 1 1 1 0
1 1 1 1

1
 Synchronous Down Binary Counter

• similar to 4-Bit synchronous

count up binary counter
A3 A2 A1 A0
1 1 1 1
• least significant position: 1 1 1 0
1 1 0 1
complemented with every pulse 1 1 0 0
1 0 1 1
1 0 1 0
• any other positions: complemented 1 0 0 1
1 0 0 0
if all lower significant bits are 0 1 1 1
equal to 0 0 1 1 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 1
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0

2
 Up-Down Binary Counter

Up-down Binary Counter

using T flip-flops

up down operation
1 x count up
0 1 count down
0 0 no change

3
 Synchronous BCD Counter
• Count from 0000 to 1001 and back to 0000
• For synchronous BCD counter follow sequential
design procedure (6 steps)
1. State diagram;
2. Binary code to the states;
3. State table;
4. Choose the type of flip-flops;
5. Simplified states and output equations;
6. Logic diagram; Ripple BCD Counter

State Diagram
 Synchronous BCD Counter
State Table (and choosing T-FF)

Note: The input

conditions for the T
flip‐flops are
obtained from the
present and the
next‐state condition

State & Output Equations

Logic Diagram
Binary Counter with
Parallel Load
Load an initial binary number
into the counter prior to the
count operation

It can be used to generate

any desired count sequence
 A BCD Counter using a Binary
Counter with Parallel Load
Two methods
1. Using Load input 2. Using Clear input
A3 A2 A1 A0
0 0 0 0
The AND detects the occurrence The NAND detects the 0 0 0 1
of state 1001 and then the occurrence of state 1010 and 0 0 1 0
0 0 1 1
counter reloads 0 then the counter is cleared to 0 0 1 0 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 0
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0

7
 Other Counters
• Timing Signals: Counters can be used to generate timing signals to
control the sequence of operations in a digital system
• Through Shift Register: Counters can be constructed also by means of
shift registers
• Modulo-N Counter: A Divide-by-N counter that goes through a
repeated sequence of N states
• Non-binary counters: The sequence of counters may follow the
binary count or may be any other arbitrary sequence. Following are
the example of non-binary counters
o Counter with unused states
o Ring counter
o Johnson counter

8
 Counter with Unused States
Outside interference may cause a circuit to
enter one of the unused states
Example: 6 States Counter
Two unused states: 011 and 111

Simplified equations:
JA=B KA=B JK-FF input equations can be
JB=C KB=1 simplified by using m3 and m7
JC=B’ KC=1 (minterms) as don’t‐care conditions

Self correcting counter: if it happens to be in an unused state, it eventually

reaches the normal counter sequence after one or more clock pulses
 Ring Counter
• ring counter: a circuit shift register with only one flip-flop being set an any particular time,
all others are cleared. The single bit is shifted from one flip-flop to the next to produce the
sequence of timing signals
• Two approaches: (a) ring-counter (b) counter and decoder
• k-bit ring counter: k flip-flops to provide k distinguishable states

11
 Johnson Counter
Switch-tail Ring Counter:
• a circular shift register with the complement output of the last flip-flop
connected to the input of the first flip-flop
• double the number of states for a ring counter (Figure 6-17a)

Johnson Counter:
a k-bit switch-tail
counter with 2k
decoding gates to
provide outputs for 2k
timing signals
 Summary
Chapter 6 Registers and Counters
1 Registers
4-bit register, register with parallel load
2 Shift Registers
4-bit shift register, serial shift register, serial adder, second-
form serial adder, universal shift register
3 ring counter,
Ripple Counters
4-bit binary ripple counter, count-down counter, BCD ripple
counter, multi-decade BCD counter
4 Synchronous Counters
4-bit synchronous binary counter, count-down counter, up-
down binary counter, BCD counter, binary counter with
parallel load
5 Other Counters
Unused state counter, ring counter, Johnson Counter