Lecture

Digital Systems: Flip-Flops, Registers, and Counters

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In course

CS-173: Fundamentals of digital systems

Welcome to the introductory course in digital design and computer architecture. In this course, we will embark on a journey into the world of digital systems, exploring the fundamental principles and concepts that underpin modern computing technology. ...

Description

This lecture covers the fundamentals of digital systems, focusing on flip-flops, registers, and counters. The instructor begins by recapping finite state machines and transitions to discussing flip-flops, emphasizing their role in sequential logic circuits. Key concepts include the clock signal, which dictates when memory elements update, and the D flip-flop, which changes state on clock edges. The lecture illustrates timing diagrams and the states of flip-flops, explaining how they store binary information. The instructor then introduces registers, which are collections of flip-flops used for data storage, and shift registers, which allow data to be shifted in and out. The discussion extends to counters, which increment or decrement values based on clock cycles, and their implementation in Verilog. The lecture concludes with an overview of loop constructs in Verilog, highlighting their importance in designing digital circuits. Overall, the session provides a comprehensive understanding of essential digital components and their applications in system design.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Electrical engineering

Electronic engineering: Digital electronics

Theoretical computer science

Theory of computation: Automata theory

Related concepts (32)

Shift register

A shift register is a type of digital circuit using a cascade of flip-flops where the output of one flip-flop is connected to the input of the next. They share a single clock signal, which causes the data stored in the system to shift from one location to the next. By connecting the last flip-flop back to the first, the data can cycle within the shifters for extended periods, and in this configuration they were used as computer memory, displacing delay-line memory systems in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Finite-state machine

A finite-state machine (FSM) or finite-state automaton (FSA, plural: automata), finite automaton, or simply a state machine, is a mathematical model of computation. It is an abstract machine that can be in exactly one of a finite number of states at any given time. The FSM can change from one state to another in response to some inputs; the change from one state to another is called a transition. An FSM is defined by a list of its states, its initial state, and the inputs that trigger each transition.

Processor register

A processor register is a quickly accessible location available to a computer's processor. Registers usually consist of a small amount of fast storage, although some registers have specific hardware functions, and may be read-only or write-only. In computer architecture, registers are typically addressed by mechanisms other than main memory, but may in some cases be assigned a memory address e.g. DEC PDP-10, ICT 1900.

Counter (digital)

In digital logic and computing, a counter is a device which stores (and sometimes displays) the number of times a particular event or process has occurred, often in relationship to a clock. The most common type is a sequential digital logic circuit with an input line called the clock and multiple output lines. The values on the output lines represent a number in the binary or BCD number system. Each pulse applied to the clock input increments or decrements the number in the counter.

Clock signal

In electronics and especially synchronous digital circuits, a clock signal (historically also known as logic beat) is an electronic logic signal (voltage or current) which oscillates between a high and a low state at a constant frequency and is used like a metronome to synchronize actions of digital circuits. In a synchronous logic circuit, the most common type of digital circuit, the clock signal is applied to all storage devices, flip-flops and latches, and causes them all to change state simultaneously, preventing race conditions.

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