Question 18.15: For the input wave to the symmetrical clipper shown in Fig. ...
For the input wave to the symmetrical clipper shown in Fig. 18.41, find the output voltage waveform. Assume that the barrier voltage of each diode is 0.6 V.
Fig. 18.41 shows the symmetrical clipper.
(i) Diode D_1 is reverse biased for all positive inputs and negative inputs less than 0.6 V. Diode D_2 is reverse biased for all negative inputs and positive inputs less than 0.6 V.
(ii) For all positive inputs greater than 0.6V, D_2 is forward biased and output voltage stays at 0.6 V. For all negative inputs greater than –0.6 V, D_1 is forward biased and output stays at – 0.6 V.
Thus for the input voltage waveform, the output voltage varies between – 0.6 V and 0.6 V. This circuit is sometimes used to convert a sine-wave input to a reasonably square-wave output signal.