Higher Order Filters RC low-pass filters, a few questions for further exploration The simple filters we have considered

d so far employ a single RC stage, as shown here.

vin"

R"

vout" C"

And you now know that the magnitude of the frequency response of this circuit is given by this expression.

v out v in

1 = 2 2 2 1 + R C

1/2

At frequencies far above the cutoff frequency (1/RC), RC 1, this expression becomes

v out v in

1 RC

so for doubling of the frequency (one octave increase) the response decreases by a factor of two. In logarithmic terms a factor of 2 is, 20*log102 = 6dB, so the so-called frequency roll-off of the single stage filter is 6 dB per octave. This is fairly gradual and one often wants filters that offer a greater degree of attenuation at high frequencies. Thus one can consider adding a second stage, another low pass filter following the first one.

R1# vin# C1#

a#

R2# vout# C2#

If we select the values of the components so that R1C1 = R2C2 what would the frequency response of this filter be? Q1) Ignore the loading of the output of the first stage (at point a) by the second stage to find an expression for |vout/vin|. After you find such an expression then consider the limit when RC 1. Q2) How many dB per octave is the frequency roll-off of this filter? In designing such a filter you will want to keep R1C1 = R2C2, so you may be tempted to simply make R1 = R2 and C1 = C2. Q3) Why is this a bad idea? (Hint: Notice that the series combination of R2 and C2 is in parallel with C1, what does this do to the R1C1 frequency response?) Q4) Can you think of a way to solve this problem, perhaps by choosing different values of R1C1 = R2C2