Lecture 9

RC Filters

9-1

Outlines of Filter Design

input output
Filter

Filtering:
Certain desirable features are retained
Other undesirable features are suppressed
9-2
 Filters
Filters have the property of removing unwanted frequencies
from our signal.

Classes: Passive (made of capacitors, resistors, inductors)

Active (involving an amplifier)
Types: Low-Pass (remove high frequencies)
High-Pass (remove low frequencies or DC)
Band-Pass (remove a range of frequencies on
two sides)
Notch (removes frequencies in the middle) 9-3

Classification of Filters

Signal Filter

Analog Filter Digital Filter

Element Type Frequency Band

Active Passive Low-Pass Band-Pass All-Pass

High-Pass Band-Reject

9-4
 Filters – Type of filters

Passive
filters

9-5
http://www.ece.eps.hw.ac.uk/~pmr/teaching/ae/lectures/circuits1.htm

Terminology in Filter Design

• Signal-To-Noise Ratio (S/N)
⎛ WS ⎞
S = 10 ⋅ log⎜⎜ ⎟⎟dB
N
⎝ WN ⎠
• Bandwidth
¾the range of frequencies of |G(jw)|>0.707
• Cutoff Frequency
¾the end of pass-band frequency
• Break-point of a filter
¾the point with a gain of -3dB
9-6
 RC Filters
In combination with a resistor, a capacitor’s variation in reactance with frequency can be
used to construct a simple low-pass or high-pass filter:

Vin C Vout Vin R Vout

High-pass filter R Low-pass filter C

R XC
Vout = Vin ⋅ Vout = Vin ⋅
Z Z
Z = R 2 + X C2 Z = R 2 + X C2
1 1
XC = XC =
2πfC 2πfC

9-7

Passive Low-Pass Filter

H( jω) • The pass-band is from
Vout
0 to some frequency
Vin wp.
• Its stop-band extends
form some frequency
ws, to infinity.
ωp ωs ω • In practical circuit
R design, engineers often
choose amplitude gain
Vin C Vout RL of 0.95 for passive RC
filters:
9-8
 Passive High-Pass Filter
H( jω) • Its stop-band is form 0
Vout to some frequency ws
Vin
• The pass-band is from
some frequency wp to
infinity.
ωs ωp ω
C • In practical circuit
design, engineers
Vin R Vout choose amplitude gain
of 0.95 for passive CR
filters: 9-9

Design of Passive Filters

R The amplitude response:
V out 1
=
1 + ( RC ω )
Vin C Vout RL V in 2

The amplitude gain:

ZL
Transfer Function G=
ZF + Z L

H ( jω ) =
1
jRCω + 1
The 3dB break-point is at:
1 1
f3dB = =
H (s ) =
1 2πRC 2πτ
RCs + 1
9-10
 Guideline of Pass Filter Design
R Select resistor based on amplitude gain:
ZL
C G= = 0.95
Vin Vout RL ZF + ZL
0.05
ZF ≈ R = Z L = 0.053⋅ RL
0.95
Transfer Function Select capacitor based on cut-off freq:
H (s ) =
1
τs + 1 τ 1
C= =
R 2πRf3dB
Time Constant
τ = RC
9-11

Higher Order Filters

R R1 R2

Vin C Vout Vin C1 C2 Vout

First Order RC Low Pass Second Order RC Low Pass

The higher the order of the filter,

the closer it approaches ideal characteristics.

9-12
 Active Filters
• Active filters employ Op-Amps to attenuate
select frequencies and amplify signal during
filtering process.
• Q factor of a filter is defined as the ratio of
the center frequency fc to the bandwidth fH -
fL :
fC
Q=
( fH − fL )
9-13

Active filters- cascading low pass filters

First
order

Second order

3rd order

5th order
9-14
Op Amp for everyone, Ron Mancini, Ed, Texas instrument, 2001.
 Low-Pass Active Filter
Passive filters take up lots of space in a circuit and
cause signal to be lost. Combining a passive RC C1
filter with an op amp for amplification creates
what is known as an active filter. By “active”
we mean that the filter requires power RF
R1
to operate.
-
Here is an example of an R2
active low-pass filter. The signal +
is provided to the noninverted
input through an RC low-pass filter C2
made up of R2 and C2. Feedback to
limit gain comes through C1 and RF. The
parallel combination of C1 and RF presents
an impedance which decreases with increasing
frequency, meaning that more negative feedback is provided to the inverting input at
higher frequencies, reducing gain at those frequencies.

9-15

Design of Low Pass Active Filters

C2 The -3 dB cut-off frequency:
fH = 1
(2πRF C2 )
RF
R1 The DC gain:
Vin
- K LP = −
RF
A R1
Vout
B
+ Example:
Design a low pass filter with
Transfer Function: cut-off frequency of 5 kHz,
ω0 and DC gain of 10:
T .F . = K LP
s + ω0 Two equations, three unknowns
9-16
 High-Pass Active Filter
RF
R1
-
C1 C2
+
R2
Here is an example of an active high-pass
filter. C2 and R2 make up an RC high-pass
filter at the input of the op amp. R3 provides
a path for the input when the frequency is
too low for C2 to freely conduct. When the R3
input signal passes through R3 instead of
into the amplifier, the output is tied directly to the input and the gain is reduced. So, this
amplifier has low gain at low frequencies and higher gain at high frequencies. C1 prevent
any DC at the input from being coupled to the output.

9-17

Design of High Pass Active Filters

The -3 dB cut-off frequency:
fH = 1
(2πR1C1 )
RF The DC gain:
C1 R1
R
- K HP = F
Vin
A R1
+ Vout Two equations, three
B
unknowns
Select one component based
Transfer Function: on other conditions, and
T .F . = K HP
s determine the values of the
s + ω0 other two components.
9-18
 Filter Class
• A filter of a given order can be made to approximate to
ideal characteristics in a number of ways, depending on
the values of the filter components (or say: depending on
the filter class.
• Two useful classes are Butterworth (maximally flat) and
Chebyshev (equal-ripple) filters (n is the filter order)
Vout 1
Butterworth Filter = 2n
Vin ⎛ f ⎞
1+ ⎜ ⎟
⎝ fC ⎠
Vout 1
Chebyshev Filter =
1 + E 2Cn2 ⎛⎜ f ⎞⎟
Vin
⎝ fC ⎠
9-19

Higher Order Active Filters

Filter Class R1 R2 C1 C2 K

Buterworth 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.59

3.01 dB at ωH
C1
Vin Chebyshev 1.00 1.00 0.94 0.97 2.00
+ 1 dB ripple
R1 R2
-
Vout
C2
The above list gives the gain and
Rb
component valves for one of the
Ra
many choices for ωH=1. You may
find more combinations from
Gain=K filter design handbook(s).

9-20
 Active Filters– High Pass Filters

Low pass High pass

9-21
Op Amp for everyone, Ron Mancini, Ed, Texas instrument, 2001.

Active Filters – Band Pass Filter

9-22
Op Amp for everyone, Ron Mancini, Ed, Texas instrument, 2001.
 Active Filters – Band Reject Filter

Active band
Passive band reject filter
reject filter 9-23
Op Amp for everyone, Ron Mancini, Ed, Texas instrument, 2001.

References
• Op Amp for everyone, Ron Mancini, Ed,
Texas instrument, 2001.

9-24