Counting Circuits Employing Ferroelectric Devices

A new type of counting circuit utilizing ferroelectric devices has been developed. This circuit, although similar to the older energy storage type of counter, overcomes most of the disadvantages of the older circuit. Whereas the older circuit required standardization of the input pulse to stabilize the counting ratio, i.e., the number of input pulses per output pulse, the use of a ferroelectric device to meter charge removes the need for such standardization. A second ferroelectric device used to integrate the packets of charge developed by the first removes the lower bound on the repetition rate of pulses to be counted. Circuits have been built with counting ratios up to 40 to 1. They have operated satisfactorily under conditions of changing voltage, temperature, and pulse spacing. Several counters may be connected in cascade to provide higher counting ratios.