ADVANCED POWER ELECTRONICS

Homework #2
Student: Dao Ngoc Dat / ID: 21650109
Subject: Filter study

Low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, band-stop filters: first, second, third order

Analog circuits for these filters, and s-domain transfer function, Bode plot
Digital implementation of these filters, z-domain transfer function.
Comparison of output performance

Report:
1. INTRODUCTION
A filter is a device that passes electric signals at certain frequencies or
frequency ranges while preventing the passage of others. Webster.
Filter circuits are used in a wide variety of applications. In the field of telecommunication, band-pass filters are used in the
audio frequency range (0 kHz to 20 kHz) for modems and speech processing. High-frequency band-pass filters (several
hundred MHz) are used for channel selection in telephone central offices. Data acquisition systems usually require antialiasing low-pass filters as well as low-pass noise filters in their preceding signal conditioning stages. System power supplies
often use band-rejection filters to suppress the 60-Hz line frequency and high frequency transients.
1.1 Filter Terminology
The range of signal frequencies that are allowed to pass through a filter, with little or no change to the signal level, is called
the passband. The passband cutoff frequency (or cutoff point) is the passband edge where there is a 3 dB reduction in signal
amplitude (the half-power point). The range of signal frequencies that are reduced in amplitude by an amount specified in
the design, and effectively prevented from passing, is called the stopband. In between the passband and the stopband is a
range of frequencies called the transition band, where the reduction in signal amplitude (also known as the attenuation)
changes rapidly. These features are illustrated in Figure 1, which gives the frequency response of a lowpass filter.

Fig.1: Low pass filter

Fig. 2: Frequency responses of basic filters

There are four possible frequency domain responses: lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and bandstop. Simplistic graphical
representations are given above in Figure 2
1.2 Frequency Domain Responses
(a) Lowpass filters pass low frequencies. That is, they allow frequencies from DC up to what is known as the cutoff
frequency with minimal loss of amplitude.

(b) Highpass filters pass high frequencies. They have the opposite function to that of lowpass filters, in that they allow
frequencies above the cutoff to pass with minimal loss. They do not pass DC.
(c) Bandpass filters pass a band of frequencies between the lower and upper cutoff points. The upper cutoff determines the
maximum frequency passed (with minimal loss). The lower cutoff decides the minimum frequency to be passed; DC is
blocked.
(d) Bandstop filters stop a band of frequencies between the lower and upper cutoff points. They are the opposite of bandpass
filters and allow two frequency bands to pass. One band that is passed goes from DC to the lower cutoff frequency. The
other band passed covers all frequencies above the upper cutoff point.
1.3 Active Filters
At high frequencies (> 1 MHz), all of these filters usually consist of passive components such as inductors (L), resistors
(R), and capacitors (C). They are then called LRC filters.
In the lower frequency range (1 Hz to 1 MHz), however, the inductor value becomes very large and the inductor itself gets
quite bulky, making economical production difficult.
In these cases, active filters become important. Active filters are circuits that use an operational amplifier (op amp) as the
active device in combination with some resistors and capacitors to provide an LRC-like filter performance at low frequencies
(Figure 3).
This report focuses only on active filter design using operational amplifiers.

Fig. 3: Second-Order Passive Low-Pass and Second-Order Active Low-Pass

2. LOW-PASS FILTER
2.1 First-Order Low-Pass Filters
The transfer function of a first-order low-pass filter has the general form:

( )=

Fig. 4: First-order low-pass filter: (a) Low-pass characteristic with K =1, (b) Filter design

A first-order filter that uses an RC network for filtering is shown in Fig. 4(b). The op-amp operates as a noninverting
amplifier, which has the characteristics of a very high input impedance and a very low output impedance.
The voltage (
rule:

in Laplaces domain of s) at the noninverting terminal of the op-amp can be found by the voltage divider

The output voltage of the noninverting amplifier is:

which gives the voltage transfer function H(s) as:

where the DC gain is:

Substituting =

into the transfer function, we get:

which gives the cutoff frequency

at 3-dB gain as:

2.2 Second-Order Low-Pass Filters

The roll-off of a first-order filter is only 20 dB/decade in the stop band. A second-order filter exhibits a stop-band roll-off
of 40 dB/decade and thus is preferable to a first-order filter.

Fig. 5: Second-order low-pass filter: (a) Low-pass characteristic with K = 1, (b) Filter design

where K is the DC gain, Q is the quality factor and is the undamped natural (or resonant) frequency. A typical frequency
characteristic is shown in Fig. 5(a); for high values of Q, overshoots will be exhibited at the resonant frequency . For
frequencies above , the gain rolls off at the rate of 40 dB/decade.
A first-order filter can be converted to a second-order filter by adding an additional RC network, known as the SallenKey
circuit, as shown in Fig. 5(b). The transfer function of the filter network is:

where

= (1 +

) is the DC gain

Setting the denominator equal to zero gives the characteristic equation:

which will have two real parts and two equal roots. Setting =
to zero, we get:

in the above equation and then equating the real parts

which gives the cutoff frequency as:

To simplify the design of second-order filters, equal resistances and capacitances are normally usedthat is, R1 = R2 =
R3 = R, C2 = C3 = C. Then the transfer function can be simplified to:

3. HIGH-PASS FILTERS
High-pass filters can be classified broadly into two types: first-order and second-order. Higher-order filters can be
synthesized from these two basic types. Since the frequency scale of a low-pass filter is 0 to and that of a high-pass filter
is to , their frequency scales have a reciprocal relationship. Therefore, if we can design a low-pass filter, we can convert
it to a high-pass filter by applying an RC-CR transformation. This transformation can be accomplished by replacing
by
and
by . The op-amp, which is modeled as a voltage-controlled voltage source, is not affected by this
transformation. The resistors that are used to set the DC gain of the op-amp circuit are not affected either.
3.1 First-Order High-Pass Filters
The transfer function of a first-order high-pass filter has the general form

A typical high-pass frequency characteristic is shown in Fig. 6(a). A first-order high-pass filter can be formed by
interchanging the frequency-dependent resistor and capacitor of the low-pass filter of Fig. 5(b). This arrangement is shown
in Fig. 6(b).

Fig. 6: First-order high-pass filter: (a) High-pass characteristic, (b) Filter design
The voltage at the noninverting terminal of the op-amp can be found by the voltage divider rule. That is,

The output voltage of the noninverting amplifier is

which gives the voltage gain as

the cutoff frequency

at 3-dB gain as

The magnitude and phase angle of the filter gain can be found from:

and:
This filter passes all signals with frequencies higher than . However, the high-frequency limit is determined by the
bandwidth of the op-amp itself. The gainbandwidth product of a practical 741-type op-amp is 1 MHz.
3.2 Second-Order High-Pass Filters
A second-order high-pass filter has a stop-band characteristic of 40 dB/decade rise. The general form of a second-order
high-pass filter is:

where K is the DC gain, Q is the quality factor and is the undamped natural (or resonant) frequency. Figure 7(a) shows
a typical frequency response. As in the case of the first-order filter, a second-order high-pass filter can be formed from a
second-order low-pass filter by interchanging the frequency-dominant resistors and capacitors. Figure 7(b) shows a secondorder high-pass filter derived from the SallenKey circuit of Fig. 6(b). The transfer function can be derived
by applying the RC-to-CR transformation and substituting 1/s for s in the transfer function of a second-order low-pass filter.
For R1 = R2 = R3 = R and C2 = C3 = C, the transfer function becomes:

The cutoff frequency is deduced as:

Fig. 7: Second-order high-pass filter: (a) High-pass characteristic with K = 1, (b) Filter design

4. BAND-PASS FILTERS
A band-pass filter has a passband between two cutoff frequencies and such that
range is attenuated. The transfer function of a BP filter has the general form

> . Any frequency outside this

where KPB is the pass-band gain and

is the center frequency in radians per second. There are two types of band-pass
filters: wide band pass and narrow band pass. A filter may be classified as wide band pass if Q 10 and narrow band pass
if Q > 10.
The relationship of Q to 3-dB bandwidth and center frequency

For a wide-band-pass filter, the center frequency

where is the low cutoff frequency, in hertz, and
output peaks at the center frequency .

is given by

can be defined as:

is the high cutoff frequency, in hertz. In a narrow-bandpass filter, the

4.1 Wide-Band-Pass Filters

The frequency characteristic of a wide-band-pass filter is shown in Fig. 8(a), where

> .

As shown in Fig. 8(b), we use two filters: one low-pass filter and one high-pass filter. The output is obtained by multiplying
the low-frequency response by the high-frequency response; this solution can be implemented simply by cascading the first-

order (or second-order) high-pass and low-pass sections. The order of the band-pass filter depends on the order of the highpass and low-pass sections. This arrangement has the advantage that the falloff, rise, and midband gain can be set
independently. However, it requires more op-amps and components.
Figure 8(c) shows a 20 dB/decade wide-band-pass filter implemented with first-order highpass and first-order low-pass
filters. In this case, the magnitude of the voltage gain is equal to the product of the voltage gain magnitudes of the high-pass
and low-pass filters. In this case, the transfer function of the wide-midband filter for first-order implementation becomes

And the transfer function for second-order implementation is:

where KPB overall pass-band gain high-pass gain KH low-pass gain KL.

Fig. 8: Wide-band-pass filter

4.2 Narrow-Band-Pass Filters
A typical frequency response of a narrow-band-pass filter is shown in Fig. 9(a). This characteristic can be derived by setting
a high Q-value for the band-pass filter shown in Fig. 9(b). This filter uses only one op-amp in the inverting mode. Because
it has two feedback paths, it is also known as a multiple feedback filter. For a low Q-value, it can also exhibit the
characteristic of a wide-band-pass filter.
A narrow-band-pass filter is generally designed for specific values of fC and Q or fC and BW. The op-amp, along with C2
and R2, can be regarded as an inverting differentiator such that

The equivalent filter circuit is shown in Fig. 9(c). The transfer function of the filter network is:

Fig. 9: Narrow-band-pass filter: (a) Narrow-band characteristic, (b) Filter design, (c) Equivalent circuit

5. BAND-REJECT FILTERS
A band-reject filter attenuates signals in the stop band and passes those outside this band. It is also called a band-stop or
band-elimination filter. The transfer function of a second-order band-reject filter has the general form where KPB is the passband gain. Band-reject filters can be classified as wide band reject or narrow band reject. A narrow-band-reject filter is
commonly called a notch filter. Because of its higher Q (>10), the bandwidth of a narrow-band-reject filter is much smaller
than that of a wide-band-reject filter.

5.1 Wide-Band-Reject Filters

The frequency characteristic of a wide-band-reject filter is shown in Fig. 10(a). This characteristic can be obtained by adding
a low-pass response to a high-pass response, as shown in Fig. 10(b); the solution can be implemented by summing the
responses of a first-order (or second-order) high-pass section and low-pass section through a summing amplifier. This
arrangement is shown in Fig. 10(c).
The order of the band-reject filter depends on the order of the high-pass and low-pass sections. For a band-reject response
to be realized, the cutoff frequency fL of the high-pass filter must be larger than the cutoff frequency fH of the low-pass
filter. In addition, the pass-band gains of the high-pass and low-pass sections must be equal. With an inverting summer
(A3), the output will be inverted.
5.2 Narrow-Band-Reject Filters
A typical frequency response of a narrow-band-reject filter is shown in Fig. 11(a). This filter, often called a notch filter,
is commonly used in communication and biomedical instruments to eliminate undesired frequencies such as the 60-Hz
power line frequency hum. A twin-T network, which is composed of two T-shaped networks, as shown in Fig. 11(b), is
commonly used for a notch filter. One network is made up of two resistors and a capacitor; the other uses two capacitors
and a resistor. To increase the Q of a twin-T network, it is used with a voltage follower. The transfer function of a twin-T
network is given by

where:

Fig. 10: Wide-band-reject filter

Fig. 11: Narrow-band-reject filter: (a) Narrow-band-reject characteristic, (b) Filter design

6. SUMMARY
The table below summarizes the characteristics of second-order filters

with K is the DC gain, Q is the quality factor and is the undamped natural (or resonant) frequency and:
then transfer function in frequency domain of second order filters can be deduced as:
Case 1: Second order Low-pass filter:

Case 2: Second order High-pass filter:

Case 3: Second order Band-pass filter:

Case 4: Second order Band-stop filter:

7. COMPARISON
This part will give example designs of those filters described above. The Bode graphs (with gain(dB) and phase delay) are
showed in order to easily compare the output performance between these designs.
7.1 Low-pass filter design

(a) First order Low-pass filter

(b) Second order Low-pass filter

(c) Third order Low-pass filter

Fig. 12: Low-pass filter design example, with cutoff frequency is 1kHz

7.2 High-pass filter design

(a) First order High-pass filter

(b) Second order High-pass filter

(c) Third order High-pass filter

Fig. 13: High-pass filter design example, with cutoff frequency is 10 kHz

7.3 Band-pass filter design

(a) Second order Band-pass filter

(b) Fourth order Band-pass filter

Fig. 14: Band-pass filter design example, with center frequency is 1 kHz, bandwidth is 200 Hz

7.4 Band-stop filter design

(a) Second order Band-stop filter

(b) Fourth order Band-stop filter

Fig. 15: Band-pass filter design example, with center frequency is 1 kHz, bandwidth is 200 Hz

8. DIGITAL IMPLEMENT
After finding the transfer functions of the filters, we use z-transform to obtain a real-time discrete equivalent of a filter in
the continuous system.
The bilinear transform can be used to convert continuous-time filters (represented in the Laplace domain) into discrete-time
filters (represented in the Z-domain), and vice versa. The following substitution is used:

(T: sampling time)

8.1 Low-pass filter

8.1.a First order Low-pass filter

H LPF ( s )
H ( z)

c
s c
c

c : cutoff frequency

2 z 1
c
T z 1

c z 1

2
z 1 c z 1
T

c 1 z 1

2
2

c z c
T
T

cT 1 z 1

2 cT cT 2z 1

2 1
2

c c z
T
T

with ( ) = ( ) ( ) ,

c z 1

( ) = ( 1)
, then from the equation above, we have:
( ) = ( 1)

2 cT yk cT 2 yk 1 cT uk uk 1
yk

2 cT
cT
uk uk 1
yk 1
2 cT
2 cT

8.1.b Second order Low-pass filter

c2
H LPF ( s) 2
s 2c s c2

c : cutoff frequency

2 z 1 2

2 z 1
2
2
y ( z )
2c
c u ( z )c
T z 1

T z 1

y ( z ) 4 z 1 2c z 12T z 1 c2 z 1 T 2 c2 z 1 T 2u ( z )

y ( z )4 4 T T 8 2 T z 4 4 T T z T

y ( z ) 4 4cT c2T 2 z 2 8 2c2T 2 z 4 4cT c2T 2 c2T 2 z 2 2c2T 2 z c2T 2 u ( z )

c

2
c

2
c

2
c

yk 4 4cT c2T 2 yk 1 8 2c2T 2 yk 2 4 4cT c2T 2

uk c2T 2 uk 12c2T 2 uk 2c2T 2
yk

8 2c2T 2
4 4cT c2T 2

y
k

yk 2
4 4cT c2T 2
4 4cT c2T 2

c2T 2
2c2T 2
u
k

uk 1

4 4cT c2T 2
4 4cT c2T 2

c2T 2
uk 2
4 4cT c2T 2

2
c

2
c

2 1

2
c

2 T z T 2 z 2 u ( z )

8.2 High-pass filter

8.2.a First order High-pass filter

H HPF ( s )

s
s c

c : cutoff frequency

2 z 1
2 z 1
2 z 1
2 1 z 1
H ( z) T z 1

1
2 z 1
c 2 z 1 cT z 1 2 cT z cT 2 2 cT cT 2z
T z 1

2 cT yk cT 2 yk 1 2uk uk 1
yk

2 cT
2
uk uk 1
yk 1
2 cT
2 cT

8.2.b Second order High-pass filter

H HPF ( s )

s2

c : cutoff frequency

s 2 2c s c2

2 z 1 2
2 z 1 2
2 z 1
2
y ( z )
2c
c
u( z)
T z 1
T z 1
T z 1

y ( z ) 4z 1 2c z 12T z 1 c2 z 1 T 2 4 z 1 u ( z )

y ( z )4 4 T T 8 2 T z 4 4 T T z 4 8 z 4 z u ( z )
yk 4 4 T T yk 1 8 2 T yk 24 4 T T
y ( z ) 4 4cT c2T 2 z 2 8 2c2T 2 z 4 4cT c2T 2 4 z 2 8 z 4 u ( z )
2
c

2
c

2
c

2
c

2
c

2
c

4uk 8uk 1 4uk 2

yk

8 2c2T 2
4 4cT c2T 2

y
k

yk 2
4 4cT c2T 2
4 4cT c2T 2

4
8
uk
uk 1
2 2
4 4cT c T
4 4cT c2T 2

4
uk 2
4 4cT c2T 2

8.3 Band-pass filter

b
Q

H BPF ( s )
2

b
Q

b : centerf frequency

B : band frequency
s

2
b

b
B

2 z 1 b 2 z 1
2 z 1
2
y ( z )

b b
u ( z )
Q T z 1
T z 1
Q T z 1

2
2
y ( z )4 z 1 b z 12T z 1 b2 z 1 T 2 b z 1 z 12T .u ( z )
Q

y ( z ) 4 b 2T b2T 2 z 2 8 2b2T 2 z 4 b 2T b2T 2 b 2T z 2 1 u ( z )

Q
Q

y ( z ) 4 b 2T b2T 2 8 2b2T 2 z 1 4 b 2T b2T 2 z 2 b 2T 1 z 2 u ( z )

Q
Q

2
b

8 2 T

yk

yk 1

2
b

2T T

Q
Q

2T b2T 2

yk 2
2
b

2T T

b
Q

2T

uk uk 2
2
b

2T T

8.4 Band-stop filter

b : centerf frequency

s 2 b2

H BSF ( s )
2

b
Q

B : band frequency

2
b

b
B

2 z 1 b 2 z 1
2 z 1 2

2
2
y ( z )

b u ( z )
b
Q T z 1
T z 1
T z 1

y ( z ) 4 b 2T b2T 2 z 2 8 2b2T 2 z 4 b 2T b2T 2

Q
Q

4 b2T 2 z 2 8 2b2T 2 z 4 b2T 2 u ( z )

yk

2
b

8 2 T
4

b
Q

2
2
b

2T T

uk
2
b

yk 1

4 b2T 2

2T T

Q
Q

2T b2T 2
yk 2
2
b

2T T

8 2b2T 2
4

b
Q

2
b

2T T

4 b2T 2

uk 1
2

b
Q

uk 2
2
b

2T T