A Termination IC can be several different types of device. A DC Termination IC, also known as an SHDSL/ISDN DC Termination IC is a device used to meet the ITU-T G.991.2 specification. They help meet the needs of this specification by providing the wetting current that inhibits corrosion at wire splices on customer premises equipment (CPE) side of the infrastructure. This process is also called sealing and extends the life expectancy of the cabling system.

DC Termination ICs have an integrated bridge rectifier for interface polarity correction, use optocouplers for DC signaling. They have inbuilt protection circuits for current limiting and excess power protection. They are usually available in small IC packages and are designed to add minimum distortion to the signals. Applications that use these devices include Routers and T1/E1 Line Cards.

Termination ICs can also be of a type that can impedance terminate a number of selectable serial protocols called Cable Terminator ICs. This solves a challenge designers face when implementing multiprotocol serial interfaces. Different protocols have different standards, in many cases differing impedance requirements, and can be balanced or unbalanced. Cable Termination ICs help by providing a way of switching this impedance by software control. Examples of switching include changing between RS423, RS422, RS232 and V.35 protocols.

Termination ICs can also be used in industrial automation applications. They provide the front-end circuitry of a Digital Input Module. They usually have multiple termination ports and incorporate input voltage clamping diode protection, current limiting and terminates the serial connection between a logic input and its associated sensor or switch. They are usually packaged in IC Packages that have good thermal characteristics for improved heat dissipation.

Termination ICs can also be Bus Termination Array types. These are standard logic types that are designed to ensure terminate TTL or CMOS bus lines in electronic circuits. They prevent overshoot, undershoot caused by line reflections (mismatches) and ensure signal integrity. They can incorporate special circuitry to hold the bus at set levels when no input is present, and provide electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection.