Q3Analog Electronics
Question
(A) Determine Vo and sketch output waveform of each circuit for given in fig. 2 and fig. 3:
Answer
Clipper circuits clip portions of the input waveform above or below a reference level, while clamper circuits shift the entire waveform up or down by adding a DC component.
A clipper (or limiter) is a diode circuit that removes (clips) any part of the input waveform that exceeds a reference voltage level. For a series positive clipper with a diode D in series, the diode is reverse biased for positive half cycles (above the reference) — so the positive peaks are clipped. For a parallel clipper with a battery reference , the output is:
A clamper (DC restorer) is a diode-capacitor circuit that shifts the DC level of the waveform without changing its shape. It adds a positive or negative DC voltage to the signal. The capacitor charges to the peak of the input, and that DC level is then added to the signal through the diode. A negative clamper shifts the waveform downward; a positive clamper shifts it upward. The output voltage has the same waveform shape but a different DC baseline.