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Codiode/Problems/Sequential Logic

4-Bit Ripple Down-Counter

MediumLogic CircuitBuild

Timers, watchdog circuits, and timeout mechanisms often rely on asynchronous down-counters for hardware simplicity and low power. The ripple down-counter cascades flip-flops to decrement a binary value on every clock cycle without requiring a global synchronous clock network.

Construct a 4-bit ripple down-counter. The outputs Q3, Q2, Q1, and Q0 must decrement by one on each falling edge of the clk signal. The count sequence wraps from 0 back to 15. Assume all flip-flops initialize to 0.

| clk falling edges | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | Q0 | |---------------------|------|------|------|------| | 0 (Initial) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

Constraints

  • Implement an asynchronous ripple architecture.
  • Connect the clk input exclusively to the clock pin of the Q0 stage.
  • Clock every subsequent stage using an output from the immediately preceding stage.

Topics

Sequential LogicCountersRipple

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