Introduction to Registers Electrical Engineering (EE) Notes | EduRev

Registers

Parallel In - Parallel Out (PIPO) Registers

An electronic register is a form of memory that uses a series of flip-flops to store the individual bits of a binary word such as a byte (8 bits) of data. The length of the stored binary word depends on the number of flip-flops that make up the register. A simple 4-bit register is illustrated in Fig. 5.7.1 and consists of four D type flip - flop, sharing a common clock input, providing synchronous operation ensuring all bits are stored at exactly the same time.

The binary word to be stored is applied to the four D inputs and is remembered by the flip-flops at the rising edge of the next clock (CK) pulse. The stored data can then be read from the Q outputs at any time, as long as power is maintained, or until a change of data on the D inputs is stored by a further clock pulse, which overwrites the previous data.

Different types of register are generally classified by the method of storage and readout used; this basic form of register is therefore classified as a ‘Parallel In/Parallel Out’ (PIPO) register.

Shift Registers.

Shift registers have a similar structure to the PIPO register but have the added ability to shift the stored binary word left or right, one bit at a time. This makes them extremely useful for many applications. They are used in handling serial data and converting it to parallel form or back again to serial form, and therefore are an essential component in communication systems. Shift registers are also essential in arithmetic circuits where binary numbers may be shifted right (and so divided by two), or left (multiplied by two) as part of a calculation. Shift registers can be used to delay the passage of data at a particular point in a circuit. As the data is shifted one bit at a time from input to output, the amount of delay will depend on the number of flip-flops in the register and the frequency of the clock pulses driving the shift register. Because a number of serial bits of data are stored as they enter the input, and are then recovered from the output at some later time, this action can also be described as a serial memory, or as a digital delay line.

The simple storage register shown in Fig. 5.7.1 can be modified to a shift register by connecting the output of one flip-flop into the input of the next, as shown in Fig. 5.7.2. The basis of shift register circuits is the D-type flip-flop, but the clocked SR  or the JK flip - flopmay also be converted to D-types by the inclusion of an inverter between S and R or between J and K. In all cases the clock input is in synchronous mode.

The serial input of the shift register in Fig. 5.7.2 is the D input of the first flip-flop, and the serial output is the Q output of the last flip-flop in the chain. The logic state at the serial input appears at the output, a number of clock pulses (equal to the number of flip flops) later.