Passive Filter:

Passive Filter is is a kind of electronic filter that is made only from passive components – in
contrast to an active filter, it does not require an external power source (beyond the signal). Since
most filters are linear, in most cases, passive filters are composed of just the four basic linear
elements – resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transformers. More complex passive filters may
involve nonlinear elements, or more complex linear elements, such as transmission lines.

Passive Low Pass Filter

A Low Pass Filter is a circuit that can be designed to modify, reshape or reject all unwanted high
frequencies of an electrical signal and accept or pass only those signals wanted by the circuits
designer.

Passive Low Pass Filter Circuit

A simple passive RC Low Pass Filter or LPF, can be easily made by connecting together in series
a single Resistor with a single Capacitor as shown below. In this type of filter arrangement the
input signal ( VIN ) is applied to the series combination (both the Resistor and Capacitor together)
but the output signal ( VOUT ) is taken across the capacitor only.
This type of filter is known generally as a “first-order filter” or “one-pole filter” because it has
only “one” reactive component, the capacitor, in the circuit.
As mentioned previously in the Capacitive Reactance tutorial, the reactance of a capacitor varies
inversely with frequency, while the value of the resistor remains constant as the frequency changes.
At low frequencies the capacitive reactance, ( XC ) of the capacitor will be very large compared to
the resistive value of the resistor, R.h
This means that the voltage potential, VC across the capacitor will be much larger than the voltage
drop, VR developed across the resistor. At high frequencies the reverse is true with VC being small
and VR being large due to the change in the capacitive reactance value.

Frequency Response
By plotting the networks output voltage against different values of input frequency,
the Frequency Response Curve or Bode Plot function of the low pass filter circuit can be
found.

Frequency Response of a 1st-order Low Pass Filter

The Bode Plot shows the Frequency Response of the filter to be nearly flat for low frequencies
and all of the input signal is passed directly to the output, resulting in a gain of nearly 1, called
unity, until it reaches its Cut-off Frequency point ( ƒc ). This is because the reactance of the
capacitor is high at low frequencies and blocks any current flow through the capacitor.
After this cut-off frequency point the response of the circuit decreases to zero at a slope of -20dB/
Decade or (-6dB/Octave) “roll-off”. Note that the angle of the slope, this -20dB/ Decade roll-off will
always be the same for any RC combination.
Any high frequency signals applied to the low pass filter circuit above this cut-off frequency point will
become greatly attenuated, that is they rapidly decrease. This happens because at very high frequencies
the reactance of the capacitor becomes so low that it gives the effect of a short circuit condition on the
output terminals resulting in zero output.

Then by carefully selecting the correct resistor-capacitor combination, we can create a RC circuit that
allows a range of frequencies below a certain value to pass through the circuit unaffected while any
frequencies applied to the circuit above this cut-off point to be attenuated, creating what is commonly
called a Low Pass Filter.
For this type of “Low Pass Filter” circuit, all the frequencies below this cut-off, ƒc point that are unaltered
with little or no attenuation and are said to be in the filters Pass band zone. This pass band zone also
represents the Bandwidth of the filter. Any signal frequencies above this point cut-off point are generally
said to be in the filters Stop band zone and they will be greatly attenuated.
This “Cut-off”, “Corner” or “Breakpoint” frequency is defined as being the frequency point where the
capacitive reactance and resistance are equal, R = Xc . When this occurs the output signal is attenuated
to 70.7% of the input signal value or -3dB (20 log (Vout/Vin)) of the input. Although R = Xc, the output
is not half of the input signal. This is because it is equal to the vector sum of the two and is therefore
0.707 of the input.
As the filter contains a capacitor, the Phase Angle ( Φ ) of the output signal LAGS behind that of the
input and at the -3dB cut-off frequency ( ƒc ) is -45o out of phase. This is due to the time taken to charge
the plates of the capacitor as the input voltage changes, resulting in the output voltage (the voltage across
the capacitor) “lagging” behind that of the input signal. The higher the input frequency applied to the
filter the more the capacitor lags and the circuit becomes more and more “out of phase”.
The cut-off frequency point and phase shift angle can be found by using the following equation:

Second-order Low Pass Filter

Thus far we have seen that simple first-order RC low pass filters can be made by connecting a single
resistor in series with a single capacitor. This single-pole arrangement gives us a roll-off slope of -
20dB/decade attenuation of frequencies above the cut-off point at ƒ-3dB . However, sometimes in filter
circuits this -20dB/decade (-6dB/octave) angle of the slope may not be enough to remove an unwanted
signal then two stages of filtering can be used as shown.
Second-order Low Pass Filter Circuit

The above circuit uses two passive first-order low pass filters connected or “cascaded” together to form
a second-order or two-pole filter network. Therefore we can see that a first-order low pass filter can be
converted into a second-order type by simply adding an additional RC network to it and the more RC
stages we add the higher becomes the order of the filter.

If a number ( n ) of such RC stages are cascaded together, the resulting RC filter circuit would be known
as an “nth-order” filter with a roll-off slope of “n x -20dB/decade”.

So for example, a second-order filter would have a slope of -40dB/decade (-12dB/octave), a fourth-order
filter would have a slope of -80dB/decade (-24dB/octave) and so on. This means that, as the order of the
filter is increased, the roll-off slope becomes steeper and the actual stop band response of the filter
approaches its ideal stop band characteristics.

Second-order filters are important and widely used in filter designs because when combined with first-
order filters any higher-order nth-value filters can be designed using them. For example, a third order
low-pass filter is formed by connecting in series or cascading together a first and a second-order low
pass filter.

But there is a downside too cascading together RC filter stages. Although there is no limit to the order of
the filter that can be formed, as the order increases, the gain and accuracy of the final filter declines.

When identical RC filter stages are cascaded together, the output gain at the required cut-off frequency
( ƒc ) is reduced (attenuated) by an amount in relation to the number of filter stages used as the roll-off
slope increases. We can define the amount of attenuation at the selected cut-off frequency using the
following formula.
So for a second-order passive low pass filter the gain at the corner frequency ƒc will be equal to 0.7071 x
0.7071 = 0.5Vin (-6dB), a third-order passive low pass filter will be equal to 0.353Vin (-9dB), fourth-order
will be 0.25Vin (-12dB) and so on. The corner frequency, ƒc for a second-order passive low pass filter is
determined by the resistor/capacitor (RC) combination and is given as.

In reality as the filter stage and therefore its roll-off slope increases, the low pass filters -3dB corner
frequency point and therefore its pass band frequency changes from its original calculated value above
by an amount determined by the following equation.

Frequency Response of a 2nd-order Low Pass Filter

In practice, cascading passive filters together to produce larger-order filters is difficult to implement
accurately as the dynamic impedance of each filter order affects its neighbouring network. However, to
reduce the loading effect we can make the impedance of each following stage 10x the previous stage,
so R2 = 10 x R1 and C2 = 1/10th C1. Second-order and above filter networks are generally used in the
feedback circuits of op-amps, making what are commonly known as Active Filters or as a phase-shift
network in RC Oscillator circuits.

Application:
Applications of passive Low Pass Filters are in audio amplifiers and speaker systems to direct the lower
frequency bass signals to the larger bass speakers or to reduce any high frequency noise or “hiss” type
distortion. When used like this in audio applications the low pass filter is sometimes called a “high-cut”,
or “treble cut” filter.

If we were to reverse the positions of the resistor and capacitor in the circuit so that the output voltage
is now taken from across the resistor, we would have a circuit that produces an output frequency
response curve similar to that of a High Pass Filter, and this is discussed in the next tutorial

Passive High Pass Filter:

A High Pass Filter is the exact opposite to the low pass filter circuit as the two components have been
interchanged with the filters output signal now being taken from across the resistor .Where as the low
pass filter only allowed signals to pass below its cut-off frequency point, ƒc, the passive high pass filter
circuit as its name implies, only passes signals above the selected cut-off point, ƒc eliminating any low
frequency signals from the waveform.

Passive High Pass Filter Circuit

In this circuit arrangement, the reactance of the capacitor is very high at low frequencies so the
capacitor acts like an open circuit and blocks any input signals at VIN until the cut-off frequency
point ( ƒC ) is reached. Above this cut-off frequency point the reactance of the capacitor has
reduced sufficiently as to now act more like a short circuit allowing all of the input signal to pass
directly to the output as shown below in the filters response curve.
Frequency Response of a 1st Order High Pass Filter
The Bode Plot or Frequency Response Curve above for a passive high pass filter is the exact opposite to
that of a low pass filter. Here the signal is attenuated or damped at low frequencies with the output
increasing at +20dB/Decade (6dB/Octave) until the frequency reaches the cut-off point ( ƒc ) where
again R = Xc. It has a response curve that extends down from infinity to the cut-off frequency, where the
output voltage amplitude is 1/√2 = 70.7% of the input signal value or -3dB (20 log (Vout/Vin)) of the input
value.

Also we can see that the phase angle ( Φ ) of the output signal LEADS that of the input and is equal
to +45o at frequency ƒc. The frequency response curve for this filter implies that the filter can pass all
signals out to infinity. However in practice, the filter response does not extend to infinity but is limited by
the electrical characteristics of the components used.

The cut-off frequency point for a first order high pass filter can be found using the same equation as that
of the low pass filter, but the equation for the phase shift is modified slightly to account for the positive
phase angle as shown below.

The circuit gain, Av which is given as Vout/Vin (magnitude) and is calculated as:

Second-order High Pass Filter

The above circuit uses two first-order filters connected or cascaded together to form a second-order or
two-pole high pass network. Then a first-order filter stage can be converted into a second-order type by
simply using an additional RC network, the same as for the 2nd-order low pass filter. The resulting
second-order high pass filter circuit will have a slope of 40dB/decade (12dB/octave).As with the low pass
filter, the cut-off frequency, ƒc is determined by both the resistors and capacitors as follows.

In practice, cascading passive filters together to produce larger-order filters is difficult to implement
accurately as the dynamic impedance of each filter order affects its neighbouring network. However, to
reduce the loading effect we can make the impedance of each following stage 10x the previous stage,
so R2 = 10*R1 and C2 = 1/10th of C1.

ِAppllication

A very common application of this type of passive filter, is in audio amplifiers as a coupling capacitor
between two audio amplifier stages and in speaker systems to direct the higher frequency signals to the
smaller “tweeter” type speakers while blocking the lower bass signals or are also used as filters to
reduce any low frequency noise or “rumble” type distortion. When used like this in audio applications
the high pass filter is sometimes called a “low-cut”, or “bass cut” filter

Passive Band Pass Filter

We can say that a Band pass filter is a combination of both low pass filter and high pass filter. The name
of the filter itself indicates that it allows only a certain band of frequencies and blocks all the remaining
frequencies. In audio applications, sometimes it is necessary to pass only a certain range of frequencies,
this frequency range do not start at 0Hz or end at very high frequency but these frequencies are within a
certain range, either wide or narrow. These bands of frequencies are commonly termed as Bandwidth.

Passive Band Pass Filter Circuit

Band pass filter is obtained by cascading passive low pass and passive high pass filters. This arrangement
will provide a selective filter which passes only certain frequencies. This new RC filter circuit can able to
pass either a narrow range of frequencies or wide range of frequencies. This passage range of
frequencies that is either narrow or wide range will depend upon the way the passive low pass and high
pass filter cascade. The upper and lower cut-off frequencies depend on filter design. This band pass filter
is simply appears like a frequency selective filter.

The above figure shows the Band pass filter circuit. The input given is a sinusoidal signal. The properties
of low pass and high pass combinations give us Band pass filter. By arranging one set of RC elements in
series and another set of RC elements in parallel the circuit behaves like a band pass filter. This gives us a
second order filter because the circuit has two reactive components. One capacitor belongs to low pass
filter and another capacitor belongs to high pass filter. Without any variations in the input signal this band
pass filter will pass a certain range of frequencies. This filter does not produce any extra noise in the signal.
The cut-off frequency of the circuit can be calculated as follows.

Since this filter passes a band of frequencies this filter contains two cut off frequencies, lower cut-off
frequency ‘ fL' and higher cut-off frequency ‘fH’. Thus the range of the frequencies which are passed
through the filter is called as Band Width of the filter. In general the Band Width of the circuit can be
calculated by the frequencies 'fH and fL'. BW = fH - fL

Where, fH is the cut-off frequency of the high pass filter and fL is the cut-off frequency of the low pass
filter. ‘BW’ is the bandwidth of the filter. The band pass filter will pass the frequencies higher than the cut
off frequency of the high pass filter and lower than the cut off frequency of the low pass filter. This shows
that the cut off frequency of the low pass filter must be higher than the cut off frequency of the high pass
filter.

Frequency Response of Passive Band Pass Filter

The Bode Plot or frequency response curve above shows the characteristics of the band pass filter. Here
the signal is attenuated at low frequencies with the output increasing at a slope of +20dB/Decade
(6dB/Octave) until the frequency reaches the “lower cut-off” point ƒL. At this frequency the output voltage
is again 1/√2 = 70.7% of the input signal value or -3dB (20*log(VOUT/VIN)) of the input.

The output continues at maximum gain until it reaches the “upper cut-off” point ƒH where the output
decreases at a rate of -20dB/Decade (6dB/Octave) attenuating any high frequency signals. The point of
maximum output gain is generally the geometric mean of the two -3dB value between the lower and
upper cut-off points and is called the “Centre Frequency” or “Resonant Peak” value ƒr. This geometric
mean value is calculated as being ƒr 2 = ƒ(UPPER) x ƒ(LOWER).

A band pass filter is regarded as a second-order (two-pole) type filter because it has “two” reactive
components within its circuit structure, then the phase angle will be twice that of the previously seen first-
order filters, ie, 180o. The phase angle of the output signal LEADS that of the input by +90o up to the centre
or resonant frequency, ƒr point were it becomes “zero” degrees (0o) or “in-phase” and then changes
to LAG the input by -90o as the output frequency increases.

Applications of Passive Band Pass Filter

• These are used in wireless communication medium at transmitter and receiver circuits. In
transmitter section this filter will pass the only required signals and reduces the interfering of
signals with other stations. In receiver section, it will help from unwanted signal penetration in to
the channels.

• These are used to optimize the signal to noise ratio of the receiver.

• These are used in optical communication area like LIDARS.

• They are used in some of the techniques of colour filtering.

• In telephonic applications, at DSL to split phone and broad band signals.

Active Band Pass Filter Applications

The applications of bandpass filters include the following.

• These filters are extensively applicable to wireless transmitters & receivers.

• This filter can be used to optimize the S/N ratio (signal-to-noise) as well as the compassion of a
receiver.

• The main purpose of the filter in the transmitter is to limit the BW of the output signal to the
selected band for the communication.

• BPFs are also widely used in optics such as LIDARS, lasers, etc.

• The best application of this filter is audio signal processing, wherever a specific range of sound
frequencies is necessary though removing the rest.
 • These filters are applicable in sonar, instruments, medical, and Seismology applications

• These filters involve communication systems for choosing a particular signal from a variety of
signals.

Band Stop Filter

The band stop filter is formed by the combination of low pass and high pass filters with a parallel
connection instead of cascading connection. The name itself indicates that it will stop a particular band
of frequencies. Since it eliminates frequencies, it is also called as band elimination filter or band reject
filter or notch filter. We know that unlike high pass and low pass filters, band pass and band stop filters
have two cut-off frequencies. It will pass above and below a particular range of frequencies whose cut
off frequencies are predetermined depending upon the value of the components used in the circuit
design. Any frequencies in between these two cut-off frequencies are attenuated. It has two pass bands
and one stop band. The ideal characteristics of the Band pass filter are as shown below:

Where fL indicates the cut off frequency of the low pass filter fH is the cut off frequency of the high pass
filter. The center frequencies fc = √( fL x fH) The characteristics of a band stop filter are exactly opposite of
the band pass filter characteristics. When the input signal is given, the low frequencies are passed through
the low pass filter in the band stop circuit and the high frequencies are passed through the high pass filter
in the circuit. This is shown in below block diagram.
In practical, due to the capacitor switching mechanism in the high pass and low pass filter the output
characteristics are not same as that of in the ideal filter. The pass band gain must be equal to low pass
filter and high pass filter. The frequency response of band stop filter is shown below and green line
indicates the practical response in the below figure.

Band Stop Filter Circuit using R, L and C

A simple band stop filter circuit with passive components is shown below:

The output is taken across the inductor and capacitor which are connected in series. We know that for
different frequencies in the input the circuit behaves either as an open or short circuit. At low frequencies
the capacitor acts as an open circuit and the inductor acts like a short circuit. At high frequencies the
inductor acts like an open circuit and the capacitor acts like a short circuit.

Thus, by this we can say that at low and high frequencies the circuit acts like an open circuit because
inductor and capacitor are connected in series. By this it is also clear that at mid frequencies the circuit
acts like a short circuit. Thus the mid frequencies are not allowed to pass through the circuit.

The mid frequency range to which the filter acts as a short circuit depends on the values of lower and
upper cut-off frequencies. This lower and upper cut-off frequency values depends on the component
values. These component values are determined by the transfer functions for the circuit according to the
design. The transfer function is nothing but the ratio of the output to the input.

Where angular frequency, ω = 2πf

Notch Filter (Narrow Band Stop Filter)

The above circuit shows the Twin ‘T’ network. This circuit gives us a notch filter. A notch filter is nothing
but the narrow Band stop filter. The characteristic shape of the band stop response makes the filter as a
notch filter. This notch filter is applied to eliminate the single frequency. Since it consists of two ‘T’ shaped
networks, it is referred as Twin T network. The maximum elimination is occurs at the center frequency fC =
1/(2πRC).
In order to eliminate the specific value of the frequency in case of a notch filter, the capacitor chosen in
the circuit design must be less than or equal to the 1 µF. By using the center frequency equation, we can
calculate the value of the resistor. By using this notch circuit, we can eliminate single frequency at 50 or
60 Hz.

The second order notch filter with active component op-amp in non-inverting configuration is given as
follows:

The gain can be calculated as

Where Quality factor Q = 1/ 2 x (2 – Amax)

If the value of the quality factor is high, then the width of the notch filter is narrow.

Frequency Response of the Band Stop Filter

By taking the frequency and gain, the frequency response of the stop band is obtained as below:
The bandwidth is taken across the lower and higher cut-off frequencies. According to ideal filter the pass
band must have the gain as Amax and a stop band must have zero gain. In practice, there will be some
transition region. We can measure the pass band ripple and stop band ripples as follows:

Pass Band Ripple = - 20 log10(1-ẟp) dB

Stop Band Ripple = - 20 log10(ẟs) dB

Where ẟp = Magnitude response of the pass band filter.

ẟs = Magnitude response of the stop band filter.

The typical stop bandwidth of the band stop filter is 1 to 2 decades. The highest frequency eliminated is
10 to 100 times the lowest frequencies eliminated.

Ideal Response of Notch Filter

Applications of Band Stop filter
In different technologies, these filters are used at different varieties.

• In telephone technology, these filters are used as the telephone line noise reducers and DSL internet
services. It will help to remove the interference on the line which will reduce the DSL performance.

• These are widely used in the electric guitar amplifiers. Actually,this electric guitar produces a ‘hum’ at
60 Hz frequency. This filter is used to reduce that hum in order to amplify the signal produced by the
guitar amplifier and makes the best equipment. These are also used in some of the acoustic
applications like mandolin, base instrument amplifiers.

• In communication electronics the signal is distorted due to some noise (harmonics) which makes the
original signal to interfere with other signals which lead to errors in the output. Thus, these filters are
used to eliminate these unwanted harmonics.

• These are used to reduce the static on radio, which are commonly used in our daily life.

• These are also used in Optical communication technologies, at the end of the optical fiber there may
be some interfering (spurious) frequencies of light which makes the distortions in the light beam.
These distortions are eliminated by band stop filters. The best example is in Raman spectroscopy.

• In image and signal processing these filters are highly preferred to reject noise.

• These are used in high quality audio applications like PA systems (Public address systems).

• These are also used in medical field applications,i.e., in biomedical instruments like EGC for removing
line noise.

Active filter
An active filter is a type of analog circuit implementing an electronic filter using active components,
typically an amplifier. Amplifiers included in a filter design can be used to improve the cost, performance
and predictability of a filter.[1]

An amplifier prevents the load impedance of the following stage from affecting the characteristics of the
filter. An active filter can have complex poles and zeros without using a bulky or expensive inductor. The
shape of the response, the Q (quality factor), and the tuned frequency can often be set with inexpensive
variable resistors.[2] In some active filter circuits, one parameter can be adjusted without affecting the
others.

Active low pass filter

Low Pass filter is a filter which passes all frequencies from DC to upper cut-off frequency fH and rejects
any signals above this frequency. In ideal case, the frequency response curve drops at the cut-off
frequency. Practically the signal will not drop suddenly but drops gradually from transition region to the
stop band region. Cut-off frequency means the point where the response drops -3 dB or 70.7% from the
pass band. Transition region means the area where falloff occurs. Stop band region means the area where
the attenuation occurs mostly to the input signals. So this filter is also called as high-cut filter or treble cut
filter. Rather than the passive components the Active Low Pass Filter is formed by active components like
Op-Amps, FETs and transistors. These filters are very effective when compared with the passive filters.
Active filters are introduced to overcome the defects of passive filters. A simple active low pass filter is
formed by using an op-amp. The operational amplifier will take the high impedance signal as input and
gives a low impedance signal as output. The amplifier component in this filter circuit will increase the
output signal amplitude. By this action of the amplifier the output signal will become wider or narrower.
The maximum frequency response of the filter depends on the amplifier used in the circuit design.

Active Low Pass Filter Circuit

The attenuation of the signal that is the amplitude of the output signal is lesser than amplitude of the
input signal in the passive circuit. In order to overcome this disadvantage of passive filter active filter is
designed. A Passive filter connected to the inverting or non-inverting op-amp gives us a simple active low
pass filter.First order active filter is formed by a single op-amp with RC circuit. A simple RC Passive Filter
connected to the non-inverting terminal of an operational amplifier is shown below:

This RC circuit will provide a low frequency path to the input of the amplifier. The amplifier acts as a buffer
circuit providing unity gain output. This circuit has more input impedance value. Even though the input
impendence of the op-amp is high below the cut-off frequency, this input impedance is limited by the

series impedance which is equal to R + (1/jωC).

The output impedance of the op-amp which is connected in the circuit is always low. This circuit will
provide high stability to filter. The main drawback of this configuration is voltage gain is unity. Even for
this circuit also the output power is high since the input impedance is low.

Active Low Pass Filter with High Voltage Gain

The above active low pass filter circuit does not provide more than unity gain. Thus, we use below circuit
to provide high voltage gain:
When the input signals are at low frequencies the signals will pass through the amplifying circuit directly,
but if the input frequency is high the signals are passed through the capacitor C1. By this filter circuit the
output signal amplitude is increased by the pass band gain of the filter. We know that, for non-inverting
amplifier circuit the magnitude of the voltage gain is obtained by its feedback resistor R2 divided by its
corresponding input resistor R3. This is given as follows: Magnitude of the voltage gain = {1 + (R2/R3)}

Frequency Response of active low pass filter

If the external impedance connected to the input of the filter circuit changes, this impedance change
would also affect the corner frequency of the filter (components connected together in series or parallel).
One way of avoiding any external influence is to place the capacitor in parallel with the feedback
resistor R2 effectively removing it from the input but still maintaining the filters characteristics.

However, the value of the capacitor will change slightly from being 100nF to 110nF to take account of
the 9k1Ω resistor, but the formula used to calculate the cut-off corner frequency is the same as that used
for the RC passive low pass filter.
Second-order Low Pass Active Filter
As with the passive filter, a first-order low-pass active filter can be converted into a second-order low pass
filter simply by using an additional RC network in the input path. The frequency response of the second-
order low pass filter is identical to that of the first-order type except that the stop band roll-off will be
twice the first-order filters at 40dB/decade (12dB/octave). Therefore, the design steps required of the
second-order active low pass filter are the same.

Second-order Active Low Pass Filter Circuit

Applications of Active Low Pass Filters:

In electronics these filters are widely used in many applications. These filters are used as hiss filters in
audio speakers to reduce the high frequency hiss produced in the system and these are used as inputs for
subwoofers. These are also used in equalizers and audio amplifiers. In analog to digital conversion these
are used as anti-aliasing filters to control signals. In digital filters these are used in blurring of images,
smoothing sets of data signals. In radio transmitters to block harmonic emissions.

In acoustics these filters are used to filter the high frequency signals from the transmitting sound which
will cause echos at higher sound frequencies.

Active High Pass Filter

A high pass filter will allow the frequencies which are higher than the cut-off frequency and attenuate the
frequencies lower than the cut off frequency. In some cases this filter is also termed as ‘Low-Cut’ filter or
‘Base-cut’ filter. The amount of attenuation or the pass band range will depend on the designing
parameters of the filter. The pass band gain of an active filter is more than unity gain. The operation of
the active high pass filter is same as passive high pass filter, but the main difference is that the active high
pass filter uses operational an amplifier which provides amplification of the output signals and controls
gain.
Active High Pass Filter Circuit

Active High Pass Filter with High Voltage Gain

The operation is same as that of the passive high pass filter, but the input signal is amplified by the
amplifier at the output. The amount of amplification depends on the gain of the amplifier. The magnitude
of the pass band gain is equal to 1 + (R3/R2). Where R3 is the feedback resistor in Ω (ohms) and R2 is the
input resistor. The circuit of active high pass filter with amplification is given below

Voltage Gain of an Active High Pass Filter

Voltage Gain Av = Amax (f/fc) / √{1 + (f/fc)²}

Where f = operating frequency

fc = cut-off frequency

Amax = pass band gain of the filter = 1 + (R3/R2)

At low frequencies means when the operating frequency is less than the cut-off frequency, the voltage
gain is less than the pass band gain Amax. At high frequencies means when the operating frequency is
greater than the cut-off frequency, the voltage gain of the filter is equal to pass band gain. If operating
frequency is equal to the cut-off frequency, then the voltage gain of the filter is equal to 0.707 Amax.

Voltage Gain in (dB):

The magnitude of voltage gain is generally taken in decibels (dB):

Av(dB) = 20 log10 (Vout/Vin)

-3 dB = 20 log10 (0.707 * Vout/Vin)

The cut-off frequency which separates both pass band and stop band can be calculated using the below
formula

fC = 1 / (2πRC)

The phase shift of the active high pass filter is equal to that of the passive filter. It is equal to the +45° at
the cut-off frequency fC and this phase shift value is equated as

Ø = tan-1(1/2πfcRC)

Frequency Response of Active High Pass Filter

The frequency response curve with respect to the amplifiers open loop gain is shown below.

In frequency response of the active high pass filter the maximum pass band frequency is limited by the
bandwidth or the open loop characteristics of the operational amplifier. Due to this limitation the active
high pass filter response will appears like the wide band filter response. By using this op-amp based
active high pass filter we can achieve high accuracy with the use of low tolerance resistors and
capacitors.
Second Order High Pass Filter
Second order active filter frequency response is exactly opposite to the second order active low pass
filter response because this filter will attenuate the voltages below the cut-off frequency. The transfer
function of the second order filter is given below:

Vout(s) / Vin(s) = -Ks² / s² + (ω0/Q)s + ω0²

Where K = R1/R2 and ω0 = 1/CR

This is the general form of the second order high pass filter.

Second Order High Pass Filter Circuit

The designing procedure for the second order active filter is same as that of the first order filter because
the only variation is in the roll-off. If the roll-off of the first order active high pass filter is 20dB/decade,
then roll-off of the second order filter is 40 dB/ decade. It means the twice of the value of the first order
filter. The circuit of second order filter is shown below:

The gain of the filter is 1+ R1/R2 and the equation of the cut-off frequency is fc = 1/ 2π√R3R4C1C2

Higher Order High Pass Filter

By cascading first order filter with second order filter we can obtain the third order filter. When we
cascade two second order filters we can get the fourth order filter. Like this with the help of first order
and second order filters we get the higher order filters. With the increase in the order of the filter, the
difference between actual stop band and theoretical stop band increases. But the overall gain of the
higher order filter is equal because we already saw that the resistors and capacitors which determine
the frequency response values will be same.
The cascading order is shown below:

Applications of Active High Pass Filters

• These are used in the loud speakers to reduce the low level noise.

• Eliminates rumble distortions in audio applications so these are also called are treble boost
filters.

• These are used in audio amplifiers to amplify the higher frequency signals.

• These are also used in equalizers.

Active Band Pass Filter

The principal characteristic of a Band Pass Filter or any filter for that matter, is its ability to pass
frequencies relatively unattenuated over a specified band or spread of frequencies called the “Pass Band”.

For a low pass filter this pass band starts from 0Hz or DC and continues up to the specified cut-off
frequency point at -3dB down from the maximum pass band gain. Equally, for a high pass filter the pass
band starts from this -3dB cut-off frequency and continues up to infinity or the maximum open loop gain
for an active filter.
However, the Active Band Pass Filter is slightly different in that it is a frequency selective filter circuit used
in electronic systems to separate a signal at one particular frequency, or a range of signals that lie within
a certain “band” of frequencies from signals at all other frequencies. This band or range of frequencies is
set between two cut-off or corner frequency points labelled the “lower frequency” ( ƒL ) and the “higher
frequency” ( ƒH ) while attenuating any signals outside of these two points.

Simple Active Band Pass Filter can be easily made by cascading together a single Low Pass Filter with a
single High Pass Filter as shown.

The cut-off or corner frequency of the low pass filter (LPF) is higher than the cut-off frequency of the high
pass filter (HPF) and the difference between the frequencies at the -3dB point will determine the
“bandwidth” of the band pass filter while attenuating any signals outside of these points. One way of
making a very simple Active Band Pass Filter is to connect the basic passive high and low pass filters we
look at previously to an amplifying op-amp circuit as shown.

Active Band Pass Filter Circuit

This cascading together of the individual low and high pass passive filters produces a low “Q-factor” type
filter circuit which has a wide pass band. The first stage of the filter will be the high pass stage that uses
the capacitor to block any DC biasing from the source. This design has the advantage of producing a
relatively flat asymmetrical pass band frequency response with one half representing the low pass
response and the other half representing high pass response as shown.
 The higher corner point ( ƒH ) as well as the lower corner frequency cut-off point ( ƒL ) are calculated the
same as before in the standard first-order low and high pass filter circuits. Obviously, a reasonable
separation is required between the two cut-off points to prevent any interaction between the low pass
and high pass stages. The amplifier also provides isolation between the two stages and defines the overall
voltage gain of the circuit.

The bandwidth of the filter is therefore the difference between these upper and lower -3dB points. For
example, suppose we have a band pass filter whose -3dB cut-off points are set at 200Hz and 600Hz. Then
the bandwidth of the filter would be given as: Bandwidth (BW) = 600 – 200 = 400Hz.

The normalised frequency response and phase shift for an active band pass filter will be as follows.

Active Band Pass Frequency Response

While the above passive tuned filter circuit will work as a band pass filter, the pass band (bandwidth) can
be quite wide and this may be a problem if we want to isolate a small band of frequencies. Active band
pass filter can also be made using inverting operational amplifier.

So by rearranging the positions of the resistors and capacitors within the filter we can produce a much
better filter circuit as shown below. For an active band pass filter, the lower cut-off -3dB point is given
by ƒC1 while the upper cut-off -3dB point is given by ƒC2.
Inverting Band Pass Filter Circuit

This type of band pass filter is designed to have a much narrower pass band. The centre frequency and
bandwidth of the filter is related to the values of R1, R2, C1 and C2. The output of the filter is again taken
from the output of the op-amp.

Multiple Feedback Band Pass Active Filter

We can improve the band pass response of the above circuit by rearranging the components again to
produce an infinite-gain multiple-feedback (IGMF) band pass filter. This type of active band pass design
produces a “tuned” circuit based around a negative feedback active filter giving it a high “Q-factor” (up to
25) amplitude response and steep roll-off on either side of its centre frequency. Because the frequency
response of the circuit is similar to a resonance circuit, this center frequency is referred to as the resonant
frequency, ( ƒr ). Consider the circuit below.

Infinite Gain Multiple Feedback Active Filter

This active band pass filter circuit uses the full gain of the operational amplifier, with multiple negative
feedback applied via resistor, R2 and capacitor C2. Then we can define the characteristics of the IGMF filter
as follows:

We can see then that the relationship between resistors, R1 and R2 determines the band pass “Q-factor”
and the frequency at which the maximum amplitude occurs, the gain of the circuit will be equal to -2Q2.
Then as the gain increases so to does the selectivity. In other words, high gain – high selectivity.

Different Types of Band Pass Filters

The categorization of the bandpass filter can be done in two types such as wide bandpass filter as well
as narrow band pass filter.

Wide Band Pass Filter

If the value of quality factor is less than ten, then the pass band is wide, which gives us the larger
bandwidth. This band pass filter is called Wide Band Pass Filter.

In this filter the high cut-off frequency must be greater than the lower cut-off frequency. It uses two
amplifying elements (Op-amps) in design.

First the signal will pass through the high pass filter, the output signal of this high pass filter will tends to
infinity and thus the signal which tends to infinity is given to the low pass filter at the end.

This low pass filter will low pass the high frequency signal.

When the High Pass Filter is cascaded with Low pass filter the simple Band Pass Filter is obtained. In
order to realise this filter the order of the low pass and high pass circuits must be same.

By cascading one first order low pass and high pass gives us the second order band pass filter and by
cascading two first order low pass filters with two high pass filters forms a fourth order band pass filter.

Due to this cascading the circuit produces a low value quality factor. The capacitor in the first order high
pass filter will block any DC biasing from the input signal.

The gain rolls off at both the stop bands is ± 20 dB /decade in the case of second order filter (High +
Low). The high Pass and low pass filters must be in first order only.

Similarly, when the high pass and low pass filters are at second order, then the gain roll off at both the
stop bands is ± 40dB/Decade.
The voltage gain expression for band pass filter is given as:

| Vout / Vin | = [Amax * (f/fL)] / √{[1+(f/fL)²][1+(f/fH)²]}

It is obtained by the individual gains of both high pass and low pass filters, the individual gains of both
high pass and low pass filter are given below.

Voltage Gain for High Pass filter:

| Vout / Vin | = [Amax1 * (f/fL)] / √[1+(f/fL)²]

Voltage Gain for Low pass filter:

| Vout / Vin | = Amax2 / √[1+(f/fH)²]

Amax = Amax1 * Amax2

Where Amax1 is the gain of the high pass stage and Amax2 is the gain of the low pass stage.

The response of the wide band filter is shown below.

Narrow Band Pass Filter
If the value of quality factor is greater than ten then the pass band is narrow and bandwidth of the pass
band is also less. This band pass filter is called as Narrow Band Pass Filter.

It uses only one active component (op-amp) rather than two and this op-amp is in inverting
configuration. In this filter the gain of the op-amp is maximum at centre frequency fc.

Narrow Band Pass Filter Circuit

The input is applied to the inverting input terminal. This shows that the Op-amp is in inverting
configuration. This filter circuit produces narrow band pass filter response.

The voltage gain of the above filter circuit is AV = – R2 / R1

The cut-off frequencies of the filter circuit are

fC1 = 1 / (2πR1C1) and fC2 = 1 / (2πR2C2)

References:

1. https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/filter_2.html
2. https://www.electronicshub.org/passive-low-pass-rc-filters/?ref=previous
3.https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/filter_4.html
4. https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/filter_5.html
5. https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/filter_6.html
6. https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/filter_3.html
7. https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/filter_7.html
8. https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/band-stop-filter.html
9. https://www.elprocus.com/what-is-a-band-pass-filter-circuit-diagram-types-
and-applications/
10. https://circuitdigest.com/tutorial/active-high-pass-filter
11. https://www.electrical4u.com/high-pass-filter/
12. https://www.electronicshub.org/band-stop-filter/
13. https://www.electronicshub.org/active-low-pass-filter/
14. https://www.electronicshub.org/band-stop-filter/
15. https://www.electronicshub.org/active-high-pass-filter/
16. https://www.electronicshub.org/active-band-pass-filter/
17. https://www.electronicshub.org/passive-band-pass-rc-filter/
18. https://www.electronicshub.org/passive-high-pass-rc-filters/