Divide by 1.5 Counter

This is one of the favourite questions asked in interviews. One of the best answers I found was in Xilinx’s Xcell magazine by one of my favorite authors, Peter Alfke. Check out his article called “Unusual Dividers” on page 30.
http://www.xilinx.com/publications/archives/xcell/Xcell33.pdf

This blog post is devoted to him. He died yesterday. Peter’s greatest talent was not simply that he was an FPGA expert but that he could communicate very technical content in a very practical and concise way.

“He was very proud that he came from a long line of educators,” said Carter. “His ability to take complex ideas and communicate them very clearly was really quite remarkable, especially when you realize that English was his second language. He liked to share his wisdom and never did it in arrogant manner. He was a fabulous diplomat, very approachable, very welcoming…a true gentleman.”

At lunchtime at Xilinx, Peter always drew a crowd of admiring friends to his table and there was always room for more. It was not uncommon to find 10 or more people sitting at a table built for 4 listening to Peter’s advice and sharing stories about all things under the sun.

Alfke is survived by his wife, son and daughter and two grandchildren. He was 79.

Read EETimes article , blog entry and EETimes news article for more details.

The first known FIFO implemented in electronics was done by Peter Alfke in 1969 at Fairchild Semiconductors. More details
Here is link to his patent on FIFO.
First-in, first-out buffer system in an integrated circuit