Clamper (electronics)

Not to be confused with Clipper (electronics), a similar circuit that imposes fixed limits and does not offset the signal.
Not to be confused with Voltage clamp, a technique and device used in electrophysiology.
Positive unbiased voltage clamping vertically translates the input waveform so that all parts of it are approximately greater than 0 V. The negative swing of the output will not dip below about −0.6 V, assuming a silicon PN diode.[1]

A clamper (or clamping circuit or clamp) is an electronic circuit that fixes either the positive or the negative peak excursions of a signal to a defined voltage by adding a variable positive or negative DC voltage to it.[2] The clamper does not restrict the peak-to-peak excursion of the signal (clipping); it moves the whole signal up or down so as to place its peaks at the reference level.

A diode clamp (a simple, common type) consists of a diode, which conducts electric current in only one direction and prevents the signal exceeding the reference value; and a capacitor, which provides a DC offset from the stored charge. The capacitor forms a time constant with a resistor load, which determines the range of frequencies over which the clamper will be effective.

  1. ^ Martin Hartley Jones (1995). A Practical Introduction to Electronic Circuits. Cambridge University Press. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-521-47879-3.
  2. ^ Makarov, Sergey N.; Ludwig, Reinhold; Bitar, Stephen J. (27 June 2016). Practical electrical engineering. Switzerland: Springer International. p. 827. ISBN 9783319211732. OCLC 953450203.