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Basics and Overview of Flip Flops-Revised

Flip flops are fundamental building blocks that can store binary data in two stable states. They are used as data storage elements in computers and other digital systems. A flip flop differs from a latch in that it is synchronous - the stored data only changes on a clock signal. There are several types of flip flops including SR, JK, D and T flip flops, which vary in their input conditions and output behavior. Flip flops have many applications such as in counters, frequency dividers, shift registers, and storage registers.

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46 views5 pages

Basics and Overview of Flip Flops-Revised

Flip flops are fundamental building blocks that can store binary data in two stable states. They are used as data storage elements in computers and other digital systems. A flip flop differs from a latch in that it is synchronous - the stored data only changes on a clock signal. There are several types of flip flops including SR, JK, D and T flip flops, which vary in their input conditions and output behavior. Flip flops have many applications such as in counters, frequency dividers, shift registers, and storage registers.

Uploaded by

atul211988
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Basics and Overview of Flip Flops

A flip flop is an electronic circuit with two stable states that can be used to store binary
data. The stored data can be changed by applying varying inputs. Flip-flops and latches
are fundamental building blocks of digital electronics systems used in computers,
communications, and many other types of systems. Flip-flops and latches are used as data
storage elements. It is the basic storage element in sequential logic. But first let’s clarify
the difference between a latch and a flip flop.

Flip flop v/s Latch


The basic difference between a latch and a flip-flop is a gating or clocking mechanism.
For example, let us talk about SR latch and SR flip-flops. In this circuit when you Set S
as active the output Q would be high and Q’ will be low. This is irrespective of anything
else. (This is an active low circuit so active here means low, but for an active high circuit
active would mean high)

A flip flop on the other hand is synchronous and is also known as gated or clocked SR
latch.
In this circuit, the output is changed (i.e. the stored data is changed) only when you give
an active clock signal. Otherwise, even if the S or R is active the data will not change.
Let’s look at the types of flip flops to understand better.

SR Flip Flop

There are majorly 4 types of flip flops, with the most common one being SR flip flop. As
shown above, it is the simplest and the easiest to understand. The two outputs as shown
above are the inverse of each other. The outputs of a SR flip flop are highlighted in the
table below.

S R Q Q’

0 0 0 1

0 1 0 1

1 0 1 0

1 1 ∞ ∞

JK Flip-flop

Due to the undefined state in the SR flip flop, another is required in electronics. The JK
flip flop is a improvement on the SR flip flop where S=R=1 is not a problem.
The input condition of J=K=1, gives an output inverting the output state. However, the
outputs are same when one tests the circuit practically.

J K Q Q’

0 0 0 0

0 1 0 0

1 0 0 1

1 1 0 1

0 0 1 1

0 1 1 0

1 0 1 1

1 1 1 0

D Flip Flop

D flip flop is a better alternative that is very popular with digital electronics. They are
commonly used for counters and shift-registers and input synchronisation.
In a D flip flop, the output can be only changed at the clock edge, and if the input
changes at other times, the output will be unaffected.

Clock D Q Q’

↓»0 0 0 1

↑»1 0 0 1

↓»0 1 0 1

↑»1 1 1 0

The change of state of the output is dependent on the rising edge of the clock. The output
(Q) is same as the input and can only change at the rising edge of the clock.

T Flip Flop
A T flip flops is like JK flip-flop. These are basically single input version of JK flip flops.
This modified form of JK flip-flop is obtained by connecting both inputs J and K
together. This flip-flop has only one input along with the clock input.
These flip-flops are called T flip-flops because of their ability to complement its state
(i.e.) Toggle, hence the name Toggle flip-flop.

T Q Q (t+1)

0 0 0

1 1 1

0 1 1

1 1 0

Applications of Flip-Flops
These are the various types of flip-flops being used in digital electronic circuits and the
applications of Flip-flops are as specified below.

 Counters
 Frequency Dividers
 Shift Registers
 Storage Registers

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