Butterworth filters

Experiment-428 S

LOW, HIGH, AND

BAND PASS
BUTTERWORTH FILTERS
Keerthana P
Dept of Electronics, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri-574199, INDIA
Email:keerthiksd@gmail.com

Abstract
Using 741C Opamp low-, high-, and band pass filter circuit response to a sine
wave input is studied and the pass band gain and cut-off frequencies are
verified vis a vis the corresponding theoretical values.

Introduction

Filters are frequently used as electronic circuit elements. Active and passive filters are
the two main types of filters based on the nature of the components used. Passive filters
are made of passive components, such as L, C and R. An active filter along with passive
components also contains one or more active components. Various combinations of L,
C, and R result in LC, RC, and ̟ filters. Further, these filters are classified on the basis of
the range of frequencies attenuated by them. There are four such classifications, namely
Low pass filter (LPF), High pass filter (HPF), Band pass filter (BPF), and Band reject
filters (BRF) [1, 2].

A passive filter has gain less than one and an active filter provides gain more than one
in the output signal. This is done at the cost of the amplifier bandwidth. In most of the
filter applications such trade-off is required. To obtain a large bandwidth, passive filters
are used. The most important active element for designing an active filter is operational
amplifier (Opamp). In this experiment active filter response is studied using an Opamp.
The band reject filter requires three Opamps and hence a separate experiment is being
done to design this filter [3].

Low pass filter (LPF)

A low pass passive filter consists of two passive components as shown in Figure-1(a). It
allows low frequency signals to pass through but attenuates high frequency signals.

1
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

Figure-1(b) shows a high pass filter in which low frequency signals are attenuated and
high frequency signals are allowed to pass through. The frequency band for which
attenuation is -3dB is known as the cut-off frequency. Hence both high pass and low
pass filters have cut-off frequencies that can be determined from the transfer functions
of the respective filters.

Applying the voltage divider formula to the low pass filter circuit in Figure-1(a), the
output voltage is given by

R1 C2

V1 C1 V2 V3 R2 V4

Figure-1: (a) Low pass filter; 1(b): High pass filter



 
V2 = V1 …1

where XC1 is the reactive impedance of capacitor C1 given by


XC1 = - ω …2


Substituting for XC1 in Equation-2 and simplifying gives the transfer gain of the low
pass fitter, ALP, as


ALP = …3

    ω

The voltage gain is a function of frequency and when

R C ω =1, the voltage gain becomes


√
ALP = …4

This happens at a frequency


ωH =
 
…5

The frequency ωH = 2̟fH is known as the higher cut-off frequency of the low pass filter.

2
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

High pass filter (HPF)

By interchanging the components, i.e. R and C, one gets a high pass filter as shown in
Figure-1(b). Applying the same principle of voltage divider, one can write the output
voltage as

V =
V

 
…6


Where XC2 = - ω …7


Substituting for X C2 and simplifying, the voltage gain of a HPF is given by

 
AHP =  = 
…8

   
  
The voltage gain is a function of frequency and when

R C ω =1, it reduces to


√
AHP = …9

This happens at a frequency ωL known as the lower cut-off frequency of the high pass
filter which is given by


 
ωL = …10

This frequency ωL = 2̟fL is known as lower cut-off frequency of the high pass filter.

Band pass filter (BPF)

A band pass filter allows a predetermined band of frequencies to pass through. This is
achieved by connecting a high pass filter with a low pass filter as shown in Figure-2.
Hence the final voltage gain is a product of voltage gains of both LPF and HPF, as given
by Equations- 3 and 8 respectively.
R1

C2

V5 R2 V6
C1

Figure-2: Band pass filter

3
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

  
 
ABP = AHP x ALP = = x …11

   
   ω
  

As seen from the above equation, voltage gain depends on both the upper and lower
cut- off frequencies as well as the cut-off frequency defined by respective parts of the
filter.

The Butterworth filter

The Butterworth filter, an active filter used in analog signal processing, has a flat
frequency response in the pass band region; hence it is also referred to as a ‘maximally
flat magnitude filter’. It was first described in 1930 by the British engineer and physicist
Stephen Butterworth in his paper entitled "On the Theory of Filter Amplifiers", hence
the name. Now it has been regarded as a useful circuit for various purposes.
Chebyshev, inverse Chebyshev, Bessel, and Elliptic filters are some other active filters
used in general electronic circuit applications.

A single R and C network results in a first order filter (LPF and HPF in our case) and a
pair of RC elements produces a second order filter. The transfer function of a second
order filter is more complicated compared to that of a first order. Hence in this
experiment we have selected first order low-pass and high-pass filters. Filter with 5-6
orders are used in many applications. In this experiment LPF and HPF are first order
Butterworth filters whereas the BPF is a second order filter.

First order low pass Butterworth filter

Figure-3(a) shows a first order low pass Butterworth filter circuit. The two inputs of the
Opamp are connected to passive components. The non-inverting input is fed to the RC
network and the inverting input is tied with two resistors that govern the gain and
stability of the circuit. Hence the total voltage gain is a product of inverting amplifier
gain and non-inverting amplifier gain. The inverting gain of the amplifier is given by

4
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

RF

+12V
RI
2 - 7
6
+ Vo

R1 3 4
Vin -12V

C1

Figure-3(a): Butterworth low pass filter


AF = 1+  …12


The non-inverting gain is the low pass filter gain given by Equation-3, i.e.


ALP =

    ω

Hence the total gain of the first order low pass Butterworth filter is a product of both
inverting- and non-inverting gains

AV (LP) = ALP x AF


AV (LP) = …13

   ω

First order high pass Butterworth filter

Figure-3(b) shows a first order high pass Butterworth filter. The total gain is product
inverting and non-inverting gains.



AV (HP) = …14

   
ω  

5
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

RF

+12V
RI
2 - 7
6
+ Vo

C2 3 4
Vin
-12V
R2

Figure-3(b): Butterworth high pass filter

Second order band pass Butterworth filter

Figure-3(c) shows a second order band pass filter. Similar to the above cases the voltage
gain is the product of inverting and non-inverting gains.

 

AV (BP) = x …15

   
   ω
ω  

The non-inverting gain remains the same for low-, high-, and band pass filters. Only the
unit gain bandwidth (fT) of the Opamp will affect this value of non-inverting gain. Since
we have used 741C Opamp, which has unity gain band frequency fT as 1MHz, the
frequency is limited
to 100 KHz.
RF

+12V

RI 2 - 7
6
+ Vo
C2
R1 3 4
Vin
-12V
R2 C1

Figure-3(c): Butterworth band pass filter

6
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

Design considerations

The non-inverting gain is constant for all the three filters. To get maximally flat
response, the non-inverting gain should be 1.58 for a Butterworth filter [4]. Hence pass
band gain is set to 1.58 by choosing proper values of RF and RI.



Pass band gain, AF =1.58 = 1 +

Taking RF = 15KΩ and R I =27KΩ gives

AF =1.55

Assuming the upper cut off frequency of the low pass filter as 50 KHz, calculated values
of R1 and C1 are


Higher cut-off frequency fH = ̟
 
= 50 KHz

C1R1= 3.18 µs

Taking R1 = 3.3KΩ, and

C1= 1nF, gives fH = 48.2 KHz

Similarly for a high pass filter we select lower cut-off frequency of the high pass filter as


̟ 
fL =1KHz =

This gives R2C2 = 1.59x10-4s

To get the above value of R2C2, we have chosen R2 =15KΩ, and C2 = 0.01µF.

For the band pass filter, same values of R and C are used so that the band width is

BW = FH-FL = 48.1 KHz-1.06 KHz = 47.16 KHz

Instruments used

Opamp applications experimental set-up model LIC-201 of KamalJeeth make,

consisting of: 12V split power supply; a set of capacitors and resistors; function
generator; and CRO the experimental set up used is shown in Figure-4.

7
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

Figure-4: Experimental set-up used

Experimental procedure

The experiment consists of three parts, namely:

Part-A: Frequency response of an LPF

Part-B: Frequency response of a HPF
Part-C: Frequency response of a BPF

Part-A: Frequency response of an LPF

1. The low pass filter circuit is rigged as shown in Figure-3(a).

2. A function generator is connected to input and sine wave input is selected
3. The frequency is set to 100Hz and amplitude to 1V (PP).
4. After the amplitude is set, it is kept constant throughout the experiment.
5. The input is monitored on channel-1 of the CRO and output of the filter is
monitored on Channel-2, as shown in Figure-5.

Figure-5: Input and output waveforms of the low pass filter

(Top input (input =1V), bottom output (Output=1.5V)

Table-1: Frequency response of the low-pass filter

8
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

Frequency Output Voltage gain Frequency Output Voltage gain

(KHz) (V) Expt. Thet. (KHz) (V) Expt. Thet.
0.1 1.55 1.55 1.55 25 1.4 1.4 1.36
0.2 1.55 1.55 1.55 30 1.3 1.3 1.32
0.4 1.55 1.55 1.55 35 1.25 1.25 1.25
0.5 1.55 1.55 1.55 40 1.2 1.2 1.19
0.8 1.55 1.55 1.55 45 1.13 1.13 1.13
1 1.55 1.55 1.55 50 1.1 1.1 1.08
2 1.55 1.55 1.55 55 1.02 1.02 1.02
4 1.55 1.55 1.55 60 0.98 0.98 0.97
5 1.55 1.55 1.54 70 0.9 0.9 0.88
10 1.5 1.5 1.52 80 0.8 0.8 0.8
20 1.45 1.45 1.43 100 0.6 0.6 0.67
Input = 1V (PP)

6. The peak-to-peak output amplitude is noted and recorded in Table-1. The

theoretical value of gain is calculated using Equation-13 as

 .""
= √×$
×%% ×%%&%%&%'(
AV (LP) = =1.55


   
ω

7. The experiment is repeated by varying the frequency in suitable steps up to 100

KHz. The corresponding output is noted and presented in Table-1 and
corresponding theoretical value of voltage gain is also calculated and presented
in Table-1.

8. A graph is drawn taking frequency along X-axis on log scale and voltage gain on
Y-axis, as shown in Figure-6.

9. From the graph the -3dB cut-off or the upper cut-off frequency of the low pass
filter is noted and compared with the corresponding theoretical value.
fH - as read from the graph =50.11 KHz
fH - theoretical =48.2KHz

9
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

1.8
1.6
1.4

Volatge gain (Av)

1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.1 1 10 100
Frequency (KHz)

Figure-6: Low pass Butterworth filter response

Part-B: Frequency response of a HPF

10. The high pass filter circuit is rigged as shown in Figure-3(b).

11. A function generator is connected to the input and sine wave input is selected.

12. The frequency is set to 100Hz and amplitude as 1V (PP).

13. After the amplitude is set, it is kept constant throughout the experiment.

14. The input is monitored on channel-1 of the CRO and output of the filter is
monitored on Channel-2, as shown in Figure-7.

15. The peak-to-peak output amplitude is noted and recorded in Table-2 and the
corresponding theoretical value of gain is also calculated using Equation-14

 .""

AV (HP) = = = 0.145V

    
ω   ) 
* ×++ ×+++ ×,+.+×+' -

10
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

Figure-7: Input and Output waveforms of the high pass filter

16. The experiment is repeated by varying the frequency in suitable steps up to 100
KHz. The corresponding output is noted and tabulated in Table-2. The value of
theoretical voltage gain is also calculated and presented in Table-2.

17. A graph is drawn taking frequency along X-axis on log scale and voltage gain on
Y-axis, as shown in Figure-8.

18. From the graph the -3dB cut-off or the lower cut-off frequency of the high pass
filter is noted and compared with the corresponding theoretical value.

fL - as read from the graph =1.1 KHz

fL - theoretical =1KHz

Table-2: Frequency response of the high-pass filter

Frequency Voltage gain Voltage gain
Output Frequency Output
(KHz)
(V) Expt. Thet. (Hz) (V) Expt. Thet.
0.1 0.15 0.15 0.145 10 1.55 1.55 1.54
0.2 0.28 0.28 0.30 15 1.55 1.55 1.55
0.3 0.41 0.41 0.44 20 1.55 1.55 1.55
0.4 0.52 0.52 0.58 30 1.55 1.55 1.55
0.5 0.62 0.62 0.69 40 1.55 1.55 1.55
0.8 0.9 0.9 0.97 50 1.55 1.55 1.55
1 1.04 1.04 1.09 60 1.55 1.55 1.55
1.5 1.28 1.28 1.37 80 1.55 1.55 1.55
2 1.45 1.45 1.39 100 1.55 1.55 1.55
4 1.55 1.5 1.52 150 1.55 1.55 1.55
Input= 1V (PP)

11
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

1.8
1.6
Volatge gain (Av) 1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Frequency (KHz)

Figure-8: High pass Butterworth filter response

Part-C: Frequency response of a BPF

19. The band pass filter circuit is rigged as shown in Figure-3(c).

20. The function generator is connected to the input and sine wave input is selected.
The frequency is set to 100Hz and amplitude as 1V (PP).

21. After the amplitude is set, it is kept constant throughout the experiment.

22. The input is monitored on channel-1 of the CRO and output of the filter is
monitored on Channel-2.

23. The peak-to-peak output amplitude is noted and recorded in Table-3 and the
corresponding theoretical value of gain is also calculated using Equation-15.

."" 
√×$  ×%%×%%&%%&% '(
AV (BP) = x =1.45

)  
* ×++ ×+++ ×,+.+×+'-


24. The experiment is repeated by varying the frequency of the input signal in
suitable steps reaching up to 100 KHz. The corresponding output is noted and
presented in Table-3 and the corresponding value of theoretical voltage gain is
also calculated and presented in Table-3.

25. A graph is drawn taking frequency along X-axis on log scale and voltage gain on
Y-axis, as shown in Figure-9.

12
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

26. From the graph the -3dB cut-off frequency of the band pass filter is noted and
compared with the corresponding theoretical value.

BW - as noted from the graph =50.11 KHz

BW - theoretical =47.16 KHz

Table-3: Frequency response of the band-pass filter

Frequency Output Voltage gain Frequency Output Voltage gain
(KHz) (V) Expt. Thet. (KHz) (V) Expt. Thet.
0.1 0.15 0.15 0.145 7 1.45 1.45 1.516
0.2 0.3 0.3 0.303 8 1.45 1.45 1.517
0.3 0.42 0.42 0.445 9 1.45 1.45 1.513
0.4 0.55 0.55 0.575 10 1.45 1.45 1.510
0.5 0.64 0.64 0.693 16 1.4 1.4 1.467
0.6 0.72 0.72 0.797 30 1.3 1.3 1.315
0.7 0.82 0.82 0.889 40 1.2 1.2 1.192
0.8 0.88 0.88 0.968 60 1 1 0.970
0.9 0.92 0.92 1.036 70 0.9 0.9 0.878
1 1 1 1.095 80 0.85 0.85 0.799
2 1.3 1.3 1.385 90 0.8 0.8 0.731
2.5 1.35 1.35 1.425 100 0.7 0.7 0.672
3 1.4 1.4 1.458 120 0.6 0.6 0.577
4 1.45 1.45 1.498 150 0.5 0.5 0.474
5 1.45 1.45 1.511 200 0.4 0.4 0.363
6 1.45 1.45 1.514 400 0.18 0.18 0.185
Input 1V (PP)

1.6
1.4
Volatge gain (Av)

1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Frequency (KHz)

Figure-9: Band pass Butterworth filter response

13
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS
Butterworth filters

Results

The results obtained are tabulated in Table-4

Table-4: Experimental results

Filters Pass band Cut-off frequency (KHz)
gain
Expt. Thet. Expt. Thet.
LPF 1.55 1.55 50.11 48.2
HPF 1.55 1.55 1.1 1
BPF 1.45 1.55 ./ = 1.1, .1 = 50.11 ./ = 1, .1 = 48.2
BPF, Band - - 49.01 47.2
width

References

[1] Ramakanth A Gayakwad, Op-amps & Linear Integrated Circuits, 2nd Edn, Page-
272, 1988.

[2] Robert F Coughlin & Frederick F Driscoll, Operational amplifiers and linear
integrated circuits, 3rd Edn, Page-271, 1987.

[3] http://www.ece.uah.edu/courses/ee426/Butterworth.pdf

[4] http://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-6-007-signals-and-systems-spring-
2011/lecture-notes/MITRES_6

14
KAMALJEETH INSTRUMENTS