EE-301 Lab Manual, ME Department, Wah Engineering College
EXPERIMENT # 5
To examine the diode Applications as : Diode Clippers/Limiters
Objective: To examine the Application as: Diode Clippers/Limiters
Apparatus:
Proteus software installed pc.
Theory:
Clipper Circuits:
In electronics, a clipper is a device designed to prevent the output of a circuit from exceeding a
predetermined voltage level without distorting the remaining part of the applied waveform.
A clipping circuit consists of linear elements like resistors and non-linear elements like junction
diodes or transistors, but it does not contain energy-storage elements like capacitors. Clipping
circuits are used to select for purposes of transmission, that part of a signal wave form which lies
above or below a certain reference voltage level.
Thus a clipper circuit can remove certain portions of an arbitrary waveform near the positive or
negative peaks. Clipping may be achieved either at one level or two levels. Usually under the
section of clipping, there is a change brought about in the wave shape of the signal.
Clipping Circuits are also called as Slicers, amplitude selectors or limiters. Using square
waveform it is easier to analyse the clipper network than sinusoidal waveform, because in square
waveform only two level (i.e. two DC level) have to be considered.
Model Circuit:
Fig-1: Clipper circuit
EE-301 Lab Manual, ME Department, Wah Engineering College
In the example circuits above, one or two zener diodes are used to clip the voltage VIN. In the
first circuit, the voltage is clipped to the reverse breakdown voltage of the zener diode. The
output voltage in the first circuit should also never be more negative than the diode's forward
voltage (such as .7V for a typical diode), but it is not shown in the picture. In the second, the
voltage in either direction is limited to the reverse breakdown voltage plus the voltage drop
across one zener diode.
Task Performed:
Fig-2: Clipper circuit schematic diagram
Fig-3: Proteus results
Clampers:
EE-301 Lab Manual, ME Department, Wah Engineering College
A clamper is an electronic circuit that fixes either the positive or the negative peak excursions of
a signal to a defined value by shifting its DC value. The clamper does not restrict the peak-to-
peak excursion of the signal, it moves the whole signal up or down so as to place the peaks at the
reference level. A diode clamp (a simple, common type) consists of a diode, which conducts
electric current in only one direction and prevents the signal exceeding the reference value; and
a capacitor which provides a DC offset from the stored charge. The capacitor forms a time
constant with the resistor load which determines the range of frequencies over which the clamper
will be effective.
A clamping circuit is used to place either the positive or negative peak of a signal at a desired
level. The dc component is simply added or subtracted to/from the input signal. The clamper is
also referred to as an IC restorer and ac signal level shifter.
A clamp circuit adds the positive or negative dc component to the input signal so as to push it
either on the positive side, as illustrated in figure (a) or on the negative side, as illustrated in
figure (b). The circuit will be called a positive clamper, when the signal is pushed upward by the
circuit. When the signal moves upward, as shown in figure (a), the negative peak of the signal
coincides with the zero level. The circuit will be called a negative clamper, when the signal is
pushed downward by the circuit. When the signal is pushed on the negative side, as shown in
figure (b), the positive peak of the input signal coincides with the zero level.
Fig-4: Clampers
Conclusion:
Clipping circuits are used to remove a part of an input signal that is above or below a reference
line. Whereas clamping is used to shift an input signal defined by independent voltage source. As
evidently seen from the above figures the output has both been removed by a certain reference
level and has also been shifted by an amount specified by independent voltage source.
