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INTRODUCTION TO FILTER CIRCUITS

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Background:

• Filters may be classified as either digital or analog.

• Digital filters are implemented using a digital computer or special purpose digital

hardware.

• Analog filters may be classified as either passive or active and are usually

implemented with R, L, and C components and operational amplifiers.

• An active filter is one that, along with R, L, and C components, also contains an

energy source, such as that derived from an operational amplifier.

• A passive filter is one that contains only R, L, and C components.

• It is not necessary that all three be present. L is often omitted (on purpose)

from passive filter design because of the size and cost of inductors – and
they also carry along an R that must be included in the design.
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Types Passive Analog Filters

Four types of filters - “Ideal”

lowpass highpass
Vo/Vi Vo/Vi

f
f

bandpass bandstop
Vo/Vi Vo/Vi

f
f
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Types of Passive Analog Filters

• A low pass filter passes low frequencies and stops high frequencies.

• A high pass filter passes high frequencies and rejects low frequencies.

• A band pass filter passes frequencies within a frequency band and blocks or

attenuates frequencies outside the band.

• A band stop filter passes frequencies outside a frequency band and blocks

or attenuates frequencies within the band.

Practical Filter Transfer Function vs. Frequency

H( f ) H( f )

Low Pass High Pass

Frequency Frequency

H( f ) H( f )

Band Pass Band Reject

Frequency Frequency

Prof. Yasser G. Hegazy 5

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Analysis of Passive Analog Filters

1.0 Low Pass Filter

Passes low frequencies

Attenuates high frequencies

R +
+
VI C VO
_
_
The half-power frequency,
is usually known as the cutoff frequency ωC ,
is obtained by setting the magnitude of H(ω)
equal to 1/√2, thus,

Note that |H(0)| = 1 , |H(∞)| = 0.

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Cut off frequency

The cutoff frequency is the frequency at which the transfer function H

drops in magnitude to 70.71% of its maximum value. It is also
regarded as the frequency at which the power dissipated in a circuit
is half of its maximum value.

|Hmax| = 1 at w = 0, at wc , |H(wc)| = 0.707 Hmax

• A low pass filter can also be formed when the output of an RL circuit
is taken off the resistor.
• There are many other circuits for low_pass filters.
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2.0 High Pass Filter

• A high_pass filter is formed when the output of an RC circuit is taken

off the resistor as shown.

• Note that H(0) = 0, H(∞) = 1.

• the corner or cutoff frequency is

• The transfer function is

• A high_pass filter can also be

formed when the output of an
RL circuit is taken off the
inductor.
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High Pass Filters

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Band Pass Filter

The RLC series resonant circuit provides a band-pass filter when the
output is taken off the resistor as shown.

The transfer function is

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Band Pass Filter

• We observe that |H(0)| = 0, |H(∞)| = 0. The bandpass filter passes

• a band of frequencies (ω1 < ω < ω2) centered on ω0,
• the center frequency, which is given by

2
R  R  1
w2     
2L  2 L  LC

• Since the bandpass filter is a series resonant circuit, the halfpower

• frequencies, the bandwidth, and the quality factor are determined
• as the resonance chapter. A bandpass filter can also be formed by
cascading the lowpass filter (where ω2 = ωc) with the highpass filter
• (where ω1 = ωc) .
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Band Stop Filter

• A filter that prevents a band of

frequencies between two designated
values (ω1 and ω2) from passing is
variably known as a bandstop,
bandreject, or notch filter.
• A bandstop filter is formed when the
output RLC series resonant circuit is
taken off the LC series combination as
shown.

• The transfer function is:

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2
R  R  1
w1      
2L  2 L  LC

2
R  R  1
w2     
2L  2 L  LC

• ω0 is called the frequency of rejection, while the corresponding

• bandwidth (B = ω2 −ω1) is known as the bandwidth of rejection.
• The maximum gain of a passive filter is unity.
• To generate a gain greater than unity, one should use an active filter .
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Summary
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ACTIVE FILTERS

• There are three major limits to the passive filters considered in the previous

section.
• First, they cannot generate gain greater than 1; passive elements cannot

add energy to the network.

• Second, they may require bulky and expensive inductors.

• Third, they perform poorly at frequencies below the audio frequency range

(300 Hz < f <3000 Hz).

• Nevertheless, passive filters are useful at high frequencies.
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ACTIVE FILTERS

• Active filters consist of combinations of resistors, capacitors, and

• Opamps. They offer some advantages over passive RLC filters.

• First, they are often smaller and less expensive, because they do not require

inductors. This makes feasible the integrated circuit realizations of filters.

• Second, they can provide amplifier gain in addition to providing the same

frequency response as RLC filters.

• Third, active filters can be combined with buffer amplifiers (voltage followers) to

isolate each stage of the filter from source and load impedance effects. This
isolation allows designing the stages independently and then cascading them to
realize the desired transfer function.
• Active filters are less reliable and less stable. The practical limit of most active

filters is about 100 kHz, most active filters operate well below that frequency.
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First-Order Low pass Filter

• A typical active low-pass filter is shown.

• For this filter, the transfer function is

• At low frequency (ω → 0) , the gain or

dc gain = −Rf /Ri .
• The corner frequency is
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First-Order High-Pass Filter

• This is similar to the active low pass filter, except that at very high
frequencies (ω →∞), the gain tends to −Rf /Ri . The corner frequency
is
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Example

• Design a low-pass active filter with a dc gain of 4 and a corner

frequency of 500 Hz.

Solution:

• We have two equations and three unknowns. If we select Cf = 0.2

μF, then

• We use a 1.6 kW resistor for Rf and a 400W resistor for Ri .

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Example

• Determine what type of filter in the

circuit shown. Calculate the corner
• or cutoff frequency.
• Take R = 2 kW, L = 2 H, and C = 2 μF.

Solution:

• The magnitude of H is

• Since H(0) = 1 and H(∞) = 0, we conclude that the circuit in is a

second-order low pass filter.
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• The corner frequency is the same as the half-power frequency, where

• H is reduced by a factor of 1√2. Since the dc value of H(ω) is 1, at the
corner frequency,