A flip flop IC (integrated circuit) is a semiconductor device used in a flip flop circuit - a type of circuit that has two stable states. Flip flop circuits are mainly used in computers to store and transfer data.RS offer an extensive range of high-quality electronic components from leading brands including Nexperia, Texas Instruments, ON Semiconductor and Toshiba.

How do flip flop circuits work?

Flip flop circuits are non-linear circuits, which means that the output from one of its gates (devices which allow an electronic system to decide based on the number of its inputs) is fed 'back' to be processed with the input signal.

Flip flop circuits work on an input signal mixed with this previous output signal so that their own outputs are dependent upon their previous state. Flip flop circuits differ from latches in that they have a control signal (clock) input.

Types of Flip Flop ICs

There are four main types of devices with the following logic functions;

SR Flip-Flop - (Set-Reset)
D-type Flip-Flop - (Data)
T Flip-Flop - (Toggle)
JK Flip-Flop

All these devices are available in industry-standard packages, pin counts, pinouts and mounting types.

What are flip flop ICs used for?

A flip flops ICs can store information. By connecting several flip flop ICs together, you can store data that can represent the state of a sequencer, the value of a counter or an ASCII character in a computer's memory.The devices are used in a wide range of electronic applications and digital circuits. Some of the most common are

Frequency Dividers
Counters
Shift Registers
Storage Registers