Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a system for pulsed direct-current (DC) biasing and clamping a substrate. In one embodiment, the system includes a plasma chamber having an electrostatic chuck (ESC) for supporting a substrate. An electrode is embedded in the ESC and is electrically coupled to a biasing and clamping network. The biasing and clamping network includes at least a shaped DC pulse voltage source and a clamping network. The clamping network includes a DC source and a diode, and a resistor. The shaped DC pulse voltage source and the clamping network are connected in parallel. The biasing and clamping network automatically maintains a substantially constant clamping voltage, which is a voltage drop across the electrode and the substrate when the substrate is biased with pulsed DC voltage, leading to improved clamping of the substrate.