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    Clipper or Limiter Circuits

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    Raj
    Diode limiters, or clippers, are circuits that use diodes to limit the amplitude of an input signal voltage. They work by clipping off portions of the signal that exceed certain voltage levels. There are positive and negative diode clipping circuits. Additional diodes or a bias voltage can be used to set the clipping level. Diode limiters are used in applications to protect circuits from high voltage spikes by ensuring the output voltage never exceeds a set level.

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    Clipper or Limiter Circuits

    Uploaded by

    Raj
    86 views8 pages
    Diode limiters, or clippers, are circuits that use diodes to limit the amplitude of an input signal voltage. They work by clipping off portions of the signal that exceed certain voltage levels. There are positive and negative diode clipping circuits. Additional diodes or a bias voltage can be used to set the clipping level. Diode limiters are used in applications to protect circuits from high voltage spikes by ensuring the output voltage never exceeds a set level.

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    Diode limiters, or clippers, are circuits that use diodes to limit the amplitude of an input signal voltage. They work by clipping off portions of the signal that exceed certain voltage levels. There are positive and negative diode clipping circuits. Additional diodes or a bias voltage can be used to set the clipping level. Diode limiters are used in applications to protect circuits from high voltage spikes by ensuring the output voltage never exceeds a set level.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    86 views8 pages

    Clipper or Limiter Circuits

    Uploaded by

    Raj
    Diode limiters, or clippers, are circuits that use diodes to limit the amplitude of an input signal voltage. They work by clipping off portions of the signal that exceed certain voltage levels. There are positive and negative diode clipping circuits. Additional diodes or a bias voltage can be used to set the clipping level. Diode limiters are used in applications to protect circuits from high voltage spikes by ensuring the output voltage never exceeds a set level.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 8

    3/17/2019

    P hy s i c s A ca d e my

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    www.physicsacademy.org

    Unit 3: Diodes and Applications


    Lecture 10b: Diode Limiters or
    Clippers
    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek
    Al-Azhar University of Gaza
    1

    Diode Limiters or Clippers

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    • Diode circuits, called limiters or clippers, are sometimes used to clip
    off portions of signal voltages above or below certain levels.
    • Diode Clipping Circuits is a wave shaping circuit that takes an input
    waveform and clips or cuts off its top half, bottom half or both halves
    together.
    • Diode Clipping Circuits can be used a variety of applications to modify
    an input waveform to ensure that the output voltage never exceeds a
    certain level protecting the circuit from high voltage spikes.
    • Diode clipping circuits can be used in voltage limiting applications.

    1
    3/17/2019

    Positive Diode Clipping Circuits

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    • The diode is forward biased 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.
    • 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 blocking current flow through itself and
    as a result has no effect on the negative half of the sinusoidal voltage which passes to the load
    unaltered.
    3

    Negative Diode Clipping Circuits

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org

    • 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.
    4

    2
    3/17/2019

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    Output Voltage for Limiters Circuit
    • The magnitude of the output voltage of the un-clipped part of
    the input voltage, determined by the voltage divider formed by
    R1 and the load resistor, RL, as follows:

    • If R1 is small compared to RL, then Vout ≊ Vin


    5

    Example

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    What would you expect to see displayed on an oscilloscope
    connected across RL in the limiter shown in the Figure

    3
    3/17/2019

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    Solution
    • The diode is forward-biased and
    conducts when the input voltage goes
    below -0.7 V. (so it is negative limiter).
    • The peak output voltage across RL

    The scope will display an


    output waveform

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    Clipping of Both Half Cycles
    • 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.
    We can increase this ±0.7V threshold to any value 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.
    8

    4
    3/17/2019

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    +ve Biased Diode Clipping Circuits

    • The level to which an ac voltage is limited can be adjusted by adding


    a bias voltage, VBIAS, in series with the diode.
    • The voltage at point A must equal VBIAS + 0.7 V before the diode will
    become forward-biased and conduct.
    • Once the diode begins to conduct, the voltage at point A is limited
    to VBIAS+0.7 V so that all input voltage above this level is clipped off. 9

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    -Ve Biased Diode Clipping Circuits

    • To limit a voltage to a specified negative level, the diode and bias


    voltage must be connected as in the Figure.
    • In this case, the voltage at point A must go below –VBIAS–0.7 V to
    forward-bias the diode and initiate limiting action.

    10

    5
    3/17/2019

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    Example
    In the circuit below combining a
    positive limiter with a negative
    limiter. Determine the output
    voltage waveform?

    Solution
    When the voltage at point A reaches +5.7 V, diode
    D1 conducts and limits the waveform to +5.7 V.
    Diode D2 does not conduct until the voltage reaches
    -5.7 V.
    Therefore, positive voltages above +5.7 V and
    negative voltages below -5.7 V are clipped off.
    11

    Diode limiters with Voltage-Divider Bias

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    • The bias voltage sources can be replaced by a resistive voltage divider that
    derives the desired bias voltage from the dc supply voltage. The bias voltage
    is set by the resistor values according to the voltage-divider formula.

    12

    6
    3/17/2019

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    Example
    Describe the output voltage
    waveform for the diode limiter
    in the Figure.

    Solution
    The circuit is a positive limiter.

    The positive part of the output voltage waveform


    is limited to VBIAS + 0.7 V (8.25V).
    13

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    Limiter Application
    • Many circuits have certain restrictions on the input level to
    avoid damaging the circuit.
    • Almost all digital circuits should not have an input level that
    exceeds the power supply voltage. An input of a few volts
    more than this could damage the circuit. To prevent the input
    from exceeding a specific level, you may see a diode limiter
    across the input signal path in many digital circuits.

    14

    7
    3/17/2019

    Quiz

    Dr. Hazem Falah Sakeek | www.hazemsakeek.net | www.physicsacademy.org


    The bias voltage is set to +4.3 V. The output of the biased
    limiter shown will be clipped
    a. above +3.6 V R1

    10 V 1.0 k
    b. below +3.6 V RL
    Vin 0 VBIAS =
    4.3 V + 100 k
    c. above +5.0 V –

    d. below +5.0 V

    15

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