Description
The SN74HC93N is a 4-Bit Binary Ripple Counter manufactured by Texas Instruments, housed in a standard 14-pin DIP through-hole package. These high-speed silicon-gate CMOS devices are pin-compatible with low power Schottky TTL (LSTTL) and consist of four master-slave flip-flops internally connected to provide a divide-by-two section and a divide-by-eight section.
Each section has a separate clock input (CP0 and CP1) to initiate state changes of the counter on the HIGH-to-LOW clock transition. A gated asynchronous master reset (MR1 and MR2) is provided, which overrides both clocks and resets all flip-flops. Since the divide-by-two section isn't internally connected to the following stages, the device can be operated in various counting modes — by externally connecting output Q0 to input CP1 and applying the input pulses to CP0, the chip performs simultaneous frequency divisions of 2, 4, 8, and 16 at the Q0–Q3 outputs, giving a full 4-bit ripple counter. It can also be used as a standalone 3-bit ripple counter when needed.
The 74HC93 supports a wide operating voltage range of 2V to 6V, making it flexible for use in both 3.3V and 5V logic systems, unlike its LS-series counterpart which is limited to 5V. This, combined with its low power CMOS design, makes the SN74HC93N a solid choice for frequency division, event counting, and general digital timing circuits in modern low-voltage designs as well as legacy TTL-compatible systems.
Key Specifications
- Function: 4-bit binary ripple counter (divide-by-2 and divide-by-8 sections)
- Logic Family: High-Speed CMOS (HC)
- Package: 14-pin PDIP (through-hole)
- Operating Voltage: 2V to 6V
- Manufacturer: Texas Instruments
- Asynchronous gated master reset (MR1, MR2)
- Pin-compatible with LSTTL (74LS93)
Common Applications
- Frequency division (÷2, ÷4, ÷8, ÷16)
- Digital event counters and timers
- Clock/timing circuits in digital systems
- Binary counting for display drivers (e.g., paired with 7-segment displays)
- Educational and hobbyist digital logic projects
Package Includes
- 1 x SN74HC93N IC (14-pin DIP)