A counter IC (integrated circuit) are electronic devices that are designed for counting externally input clock pulses.How does a counter IC work?This IC operates by reading the counter data output via the I2C-bus serial interface from a microcontroller or another system. It has a configuration of a 24-bit binary-up counter and can count from 0 to 24 bit and also operates at a ultra-low current consumption in comparison to that of a event counter in a microcontroller.Types of Counter ICsCounter ICs have a range of different types of configurations such as;Shift registers – Shift registers are a sequential logic device made up of a cascade of flip-flops, through which a sequence of bits are ’shifted’. These devices are commonly used to convert between serial and parallel interfaces.Clock Generator – Clock Generators produces a clock signal for use in synchronizing a circuit’s operation.Dividers – Dividers also known as clock dividers provide an output clock signal that is a divided frequency of the input.There are also various types of counter types such as BCD, Binary, Decade, Divide by N and Octal.Applications of Counter ICsCounter ICs are widely used in an array of applications such as;Frequency countersDigital clocksADCs (Analog to digital converters)Time measurement