Riphah International University

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

EE-242 Electronic Devices Semester-III

Experiment No 04:

Diode Operation as a Clipper

Name of Student: _______________________________________

Roll No: _______________________________________

Group: _______________________________________

Date of Experiment: _______________________________________

Submitted on: ___________________________________________

Marks Obtained: __________________

Remarks: __________________

Instructor’s Signature__________________

RIPHAH International University Islamabad Page 1

EXP.NO: 04 Diode Clipper Operation

Objective:

To demonstrate the operation of a diode clipper.

COMPONENTS:

 15-k resistor, 1/4 W  Signal generator

 5-k potentiometer  Dual trace oscilloscope
 1N4001 silicon rectifier diode  Bread boarding socket.
0-15 V dc power supply
THEORY:

Diode clippers are wave-shaping circuits in that they are used to prevent signal voltages from
going above or below certain levels. The clipping level may be either equal to the diode's barrier
potential or made variable with a dc source voltage. Because of this limiting capability, the clipper is also
called a limiter.
Ohmmeter Check of Diode

 You will need a multimeter to confirm the polarity of a diode.

 Use your oscilloscope (or a second multimeter) to determine which of the multimeter leads has
a + voltage and which is - .
 Look at your multimeter to see what special features it has. You can do a diode check with the
resistance function, on the 200 Ω scale. Even better, try the continuity or diode-check feature,

as shown by the symbol , if your multimeter has one. The diode-check function will
display the diode’s voltage drop across the PN junction.
PROCEDURE:

1- Wire the circuit shown in Figure A, and adjust

your oscilloscope to the following settings:

Channels 1 and 2: 1 V/division, dc coupling.

Time base: 1 ms/division

Figure A: Positive Clipper

RIPHAH International University Islamabad Page 2

2- Using the oscilloscope (in the dual mode),
sketch the input and output waveforms, and
measure the level at which clipping occurs.
VO (Peak) = …………………………..

3- Now reverse the polarity of the diode in the

circuit, as shown in Figure B, and then sketch
the input and output waveforms and measure
the level at which clipping occurs.
V O (Peak) =…………………………..

Figure B: Negative Clipper

4- Now connect the circuit of Figure C, and adjust the potentiometer so that the dc voltage (VDC) is +
1.5 V, and sketch both the input and output waveforms, with measuring the output clipping level.
V O (Positive Peak) =…………………………..

RIPHAH International University Islamabad Page 3

 Figure C: Positive Biased Clipper

5- Vary the resistance of the potentiometer from one extreme to the other. What happens
to the clipping level?
.......................................................................................................……………………………………………………
………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………
6- Now reverse the polarities of both the diode and the dc power supply in the circuit, as shown in
Figure D. Adjust the potentiometer so that the dc voltage (VDC) is - 1.5 V, and sketch both the input
and output waveforms, with measuring the output clipping level.
V O ( Negative Peak) =………………………

Figure D: Negative Biased Clipper

7- Vary the resistance of the potentiometer from one extreme to the other. What happens to the
clipping level?
…………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

RIPHAH International University Islamabad Page 4

 REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. For the positive clipper circuit of Figure A, the positive peak voltage is
approximately
( )
(a) 0V (b) +0.6V (c) +3V (d) +6V

2. For the negative clipper circuit of Figure B, the positive peaks are not
clipped because the diode is

(a) reverse biased

( )
(b) forward biased

3. In all the clipping circuits in this experiment, the 15-k resistor is used to

(a) set the clipping level

(b) set the peak output voltage

(c) limit the voltage across the diode

( )
(d) limit the peak forward diode current

4. For the circuit of Figure C, the potentiometer is used to set the clipping
level of the output's

(a) positive peaks (b) negative peaks

( )
(c) positive and negative peaks

5. For the circuit of Figure D, the potentiometer is used to set the clipping
level of the output's

(a) positive peaks (b) negative peaks

( )
(c) positive and negative peaks

RESULT:

The Diode Application in a Clipper circuit is studied and verified.

RIPHAH International University Islamabad Page 5