Integrated Circuit Image Gallery Binary Countdown Integrated
Circuit The trend of dramatically increasing the embedded
electronics content of automobiles, elevators, jet engines, and
other traditionally electro-mechanically controlled systems is
accompanied by a proliferation of subsystems having separate
central processing units (CPUs). The demand for a means of
communication to coordinate action among multiple CPUs is
driving the increased reliance on chip-based communication
protocols. Known formally as a binary countdown circuit, a
counter is an integrated circuit that is often used to provide
protocol for wired or wireless communication systems such as
local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANS). View a
high magnification image of a binary countdown chip. Protocol
chips are embedded in the medium access control (MAC) mechanism,
the heart of the digital communications network. The MAC
determines how the network resources (wire, fiber or RF
frequency) will be shared among nodes. Its determinis