What is clippers and clampers?

Question

What is clippers and clampers?

Answer 1

They are circuits that typically use diodes.

Clippers are also known as limiters.  For a given signal (like a sine wave), if the peaks of the signal are too large for the next part of the circuit to handle, then a clipper circuit may be put in to limit the level of the signal to some maximum value.  If the signal peak exceeds the set limit of the clipper, then it will come out of the limiter looking more like a square-wave than a sine-wave.  Zener diodes will turn on at certain voltages.  Zeners are the basis for clippers.  If the signal is higher than the zener voltage, the diode turns on and shunts the signal current through the diode (instead of onto the next part of the circuit).

Rock guitar players use clippers to add distortion to their sound.  Square waves have lots of harmonics which sounds like distortion.

Clamp circuits also use diodes.  In this case, instead of limiting the peaks of signals and preventing them from going too high, a clamp will hold the voltage of a signal to a certain preset voltage.  If the signal is a sine wave and you want to add a DC offset to it, then you can use a clamp circuit.

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