18/01/2019 Diode Clipping Circuits and Diode Clipper

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Diode Clipping Circuits

The Diode Clipper, also known as a Diode Limiter, is a wave shaping circuit that takes an input waveform
and clips or cuts off its top half, bottom half or both halves together.

This clipping of the input signal produces an output waveform that resembles a attened version of the input.
For example, the half-wave recti er is a clipper circuit, since all voltages below zero are eliminated.

But Diode Clipping Circuits can be used a variety of applications to modify an input waveform using signal
and Schottky diodes or to provide over-voltage protection using zener diodes to ensure that the output
voltage never exceeds a certain level protecting the circuit from high voltage spikes. Then diode clipping
circuits can be used in voltage limiting applications.

We saw in the Signal Diodes tutorial that when a diode is forward biased it allows current to pass through
itself clamping the voltage. When the diode is reverse biased, no current ows through it and the voltage
across its terminals is unaffected, and this is the basic operation of the diode clipping circuit.

Although the input voltage to diode clipping circuits can have any waveform shape, we will assume here that
the input voltage is sinusoidal. Consider the circuits below.

Positive Diode Clipping Circuits

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In 18/01/2019
this diode clipping circuit, the diode is forward biased
Diode (anode
Clipping Circuitsmore positive
and Diode Clipperthan cathode) during the

positive half cycle of the sinusoidal input waveform. For the diode to become forward biased, it must have
the input voltage magnitude greater than +0.7 volts (0.3 volts for a germanium diode).

When this happens the diodes begins to conduct and holds the voltage across itself constant at 0.7V until the
sinusoidal waveform falls below this value. Thus the output voltage which is taken across the diode can never
exceed 0.7 volts during the positive half cycle.

During the negative half cycle, the diode is reverse biased (cathode more positive than anode) blocking
current ow through itself and as a result has no effect on the negative half of the sinusoidal voltage which
passes to the load unaltered. Thus the diode limits the positive half of the input waveform and is known as a
positive clipper circuit.

Negative Diode Clipping Circuits

Here the reverse is true. The diode is forward biased during the negative half cycle of the sinusoidal
waveform and limits or clips it to –0.7 volts while allowing the positive half cycle to pass unaltered when
reverse biased. As the diode limits the negative half cycle of the input voltage it is therefore called a negative
clipper circuit.

Clipping of Both Half Cycles

If we connected two diodes in inverse parallel as shown, then both the positive and negative half cycles
would be clipped as diode D1 clips the positive half cycle of the sinusoidal input waveform while diode D2
clips the negative half cycle. Then diode clipping circuits can be used to clip the positive half cycle, the
negative half cycle or both.

For ideal diodes the output waveform above would be zero. However, due to the forward bias voltage drop
across the diodes the actual clipping point occurs at +0.7 volts and –0.7 volts respectively. But we can
increase this ±0.7V threshold to any value we want up to the maximum value, (VPEAK) of the sinusoidal
waveform either by connecting together more diodes in series creating multiples of 0.7 volts, or by adding a
voltage bias to the diodes.

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Biased Diode Clipping Circuits
18/01/2019 Diode Clipping Circuits and Diode Clipper

To produce diode clipping circuits for voltage waveforms at different levels, a bias voltage, VBIAS is added in
series with the diode to produce a combination clipper as shown. The voltage across the series combination
must be greater than VBIAS + 0.7V before the diode becomes suf ciently forward biased to conduct. For
example, if the VBIAS level is set at 4.0 volts, then the sinusoidal voltage at the diode’s anode terminal must
be greater than 4.0 + 0.7 = 4.7 volts for it to become forward biased. Any anode voltage levels above this bias
point are clipped off.

Positive Bias Diode Clipping

Likewise, by reversing the diode and the battery bias voltage, when a diode conducts the negative half cycle
of the output waveform is held to a level –V BIAS – 0.7V as shown.

Negative Bias Diode Clipping

A variable diode clipping or diode limiting level can be achieved by varying the bias voltage of the diodes. If
both the positive and the negative half cycles are to be clipped, then two biased clipping diodes are used. But
for both positive and negative diode clipping, the bias voltage need not be the same. The positive bias voltage
could be at one level, for example 4 volts, and the negative bias voltage at another, for example 6 volts as
shown.

Diode Clipping of Different Bias levels

When the voltage of the positive half cycle reaches +4.7 V, diode D1 conducts and limits the waveform at
+4.7 V. Diode D2 does not conduct until the voltage reaches –6.7 V. Therefore, all positive voltages above
+4.7 V and negative voltages below –6.7 V are automatically clipped.
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The advantage of biased diode clipping circuitsDiode
18/01/2019 is that it prevents
Clipping theDiode
Circuits and output signal from exceeding preset
Clipper

voltage limits for both half cycles of the input waveform, which could be an input from a noisy sensor or the
positive and negative supply rails of a power supply.

If the diode clipping levels are set too low or the input waveform is too great then the elimination of both
waveform peaks could end up with a square-wave shaped waveform.

Zener Diode Clipping Circuits

The use of a bias voltage means that the amount of the voltage waveform that is clipped off can be accurately
controlled. But one of the main disadvantages of using voltage biased diode clipping circuits, is that they
need an additional emf battery source which may or may not be a problem.

One easy way of creating biased diode clipping circuits without the need for an additional emf supply is to
use Zener Diodes.

As we know, the zener diode is a another type of diode that has been specially manufactured to operate in its
reverse biased breakdown region and as such can be used for voltage regulation or zener diode clipping
applications. In the forward region, the zener acts just like an ordinary silicon diode with a forward voltage
drop of 0.7V (700mV) when conducting, the same as above.

However, in the reverse bias region, the voltage is blocked until the zener diodes breakdown voltage is
reached. At this point, the reverse current through the zener increases sharply but the zener voltage, VZ
across the device remains constant even if the zener current, IZ varies.

Then we can put this zener action to good effect by using them for clipping a waveform as shown.

Zener Diode Clipping

The zener diode is acting like a biased diode clipping circuit with the bias voltage being equal to the zener
breakdown voltage. In this circuit during the positive half of the waveform the zener diode is reverse biased
so the waveform is clipped at the zener voltage, VZD1. During the negative half cycle the zener acts like a
normal diode with its usual 0.7V junction value.

We can develop this idea further by using the zener diodes reverse-voltage characteristics to clip both halves
of a waveform using series connected back-to-back zener diodes as shown.

Full-wave Zener Diode Clipping

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 18/01/2019 Diode Clipping Circuits and Diode Clipper

The output waveform from full wave zener diode clipping circuits resembles that of the previous voltage
biased diode clipping circuit. The output waveform will be clipped at the zener voltage plus the 0.7V forward
volt drop of the other diode. So for example, the positive half cycle will be clipped at the sum of zener diode,
ZD1 plus 0.7V from ZD2 and vice versa for the negative half cycle.

Zener diodes are manufactured with a wide range of voltages and can be used to give different voltage
references on each half cycle, the same as above. Zener diodes are available with zener breakdown voltages,
VZ ranging from 2.4 to 33 volts, with a typical tolerance of 1 or 5%. Note that once conducting in the reverse
breakdown region, full current will ow through the zener diode so a suitable current limiting resistor, R1
must be chosen.

Diode Clipping Summary

As well as being used as recti ers, diodes can also be used to clip the top, or bottom, or both of a waveform at
a particular dc level and pass it to the output without distortion,. In or examples above we have assumed that
the waveform is sinusoidal but in theory any shaped input waveform can be used.

Diode Clipping Circuits are used to eliminate amplitude noise or voltage spikes, voltage regulation or to
produce new waveforms from an existing signal such as squaring off the peaks of a sinusoidal waveform to
obtain a rectangular waveform as seen above.

The most common application of a “diode clipping” is as a ywheel or free-wheeling diode connected in
parallel across an inductive load to protect the switching transistor form reverse voltage transients.

116 Comments

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18/01/2019 Diode Clipping Circuits and Diode Clipper
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M Muhammad Adeel Ahsan

why does the clipping reduces when we increase the biasing the voltages

Posted on January 10th 2019 | 5:04 pm

 Reply

S Sharumathy b
Good ,need more examples and explanation regarding mathematical concepts

Posted on January 06th 2019 | 3:01 pm

 Reply

H Hayat
It is nice. But if u add examples, it become more breif

Posted on January 03rd 2019 | 8:04 am

 Reply

zainab
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/diode/diode-clipping-circuits.html 6/8
 good job
18/01/2019 Diode Clipping Circuits and Diode Clipper
z
Posted on December 13th 2018 | 5:40 pm
 Reply

A Abhi r RANJAN
I’m the candidate of alp mechanical electronics trade so Pls provide me some notes

Posted on December 04th 2018 | 3:29 am

 Reply

M Mohamed Aslam
I wants some notes about photo diode and schottky diode

Posted on October 27th 2018 | 4:59 pm

 Reply

B Binal baria
In a noise clipper circuit if the amplitude of noise is .97 volt then design a noise clipper circuit using a Si
and Gi diode.

Posted on October 24th 2018 | 5:39 pm

 Reply

Y Yomna alfadil
Amazing

Posted on October 14th 2018 | 7:35 am

 Reply

Johny Why
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 Hi, can the Full-wave Zener Clipper beDiode
18/01/2019 placed in a Circuits
Clipping high-current path?
and Diode Eg, after an H-bridge. -Thx!
Clipper

Posted on September 18th 2018 | 11:09 pm

 Reply

S Shivendr Yadav
Good explanation but I need some more examples to clear the concept

Posted on August 25th 2018 | 12:53 pm

 Reply

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