IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO.

3, MARCH 2014 1053

Letters
Integrated Active Filter for Differential-Mode Noise Suppression
Marwan Ali, Eric Labouré, and François Costa, Member, IEEE

Abstract—This letter presents a novel integrated structure for TABLE I

electromagnetic interference (EMI) active filter. This approach in- SPECIFICATION OF DC–DC CONVERTER UNDER TEST
tegrates an active filter with a passive one to form a hybrid EMI
filter. The chosen active filtering circuit is integrated on the printed
board circuit embedding the integrated EMI choke. Theoretical
and realization results show the integration compatibility between
the active part and the passive part. Then, EMI measurements
show that the proposed integrated hybrid filter can greatly reduce
the noise at high and low frequencies while reducing the overall
bulkiness.
Index Terms—Common-mode choke, electromagnetic interfer-
ence (EMI), hybrid filter, integration, leakage inductance.
high-frequency filtering such that the advantages of each tech-
nique are associated complementarily. In order to improve the
I. INTRODUCTION efficiency of passive part and reduce its volume, the passive com-
ponents are integrated within the printed board circuit (PCB).
WITCHING power conversion systems leads to high con-
S ducted and radiated electromagnetic disturbances in a wide
frequency band [1], [2]. These emissions may bring malfunc-
Actually, this letter focuses on the integrated active part, the
noise model and the integrated passive structure being previ-
ously studied [5]. First, the CM and DM hybrid filter design
tions to other electronic equipments used in sensitive appli-
approach will be revised. After presenting the effectiveness of
cations. To protect the network and meet standards for elec-
the integrated passive filter, the choice of topology of the ac-
tromagnetic interference (EMI) including the aeronautic stan-
tive filter is discussed. Then, a structure compatible with our
dard “DO160F [150 kHz, 30 MHz],” an EMI filter is absolutely
application is chosen and studied in Section III. Based on PCB
necessary.
integration process for the passive part, the active one is mounted
Two main families of EMI filtering exist: active filters and
on the top layer of the PCB; Section IV describes the realiza-
passive filters. Several studies showed the interest of the EMI
tion steps of this active part. Finally, experimental results with
active filters below 1 MHz and discussed their limitations in a
the fully integrated hybrid EMI filter are shown to validate its
frequency range up to several megahertz [3], [4]. Other stud-
effectiveness in a wide frequency band and ensure its multiple
ies discussed the passive filters limitations: volume, effective-
benefits.
ness, parasitic elements, radiation [5]. In this study, a dc–dc
power supply designed to equip a civil aircraft is considered
II. HYBRID FILTER DESIGN APPROACH
as a “black box,” which generates EMIs. The specifications of
the power converter are given in Table I. Effective optimized The filter components values are mainly depending on the
EMI filter requires a specific design separating the common- required filter attenuations for specific frequency ranges. The
mode (CM) and the differential-mode (DM) parasitic currents. calculation process of these required attenuations and the mea-
Based on a model constituted by disturbance equivalent sources surement method have been given in [6]. A CM filtering at high
and CM and DM equivalent impedances, an optimized hybrid frequency and a DM filtering at low and high frequencies are
filter was proposed in a previous study [6]. It includes an ac- necessary. Hybrid filter is known to be the best approach to opti-
tive part for low-frequency cancellation and a passive part for mize EMI filtering in a wide frequency band. For one part of the
frequency band, a DM active filter compensates parasitic sig-
nals, but the limitations of the active filter begin to be significant
beyond a few megahertz. To cover the entire frequency band,
Manuscript received May 21, 2013; revised July 4, 2013; accepted July 17, the active filter must be associated with a passive filter giving
2013. Date of current version September 18, 2013. Recommended for publica-
tion by Associate Editor M. A. E. Andersen. the required attenuation in the high-frequency range [7]–[9].
M. Ali and F. Costa are with SATIE, 94235 Cachan, France (e-mail:
ali@satie.ens-cachan.fr; francois.costa@satie.ens-cachan.fr).
E. Labouré is with LGEP, 91192 Gif sur Yvette, France (e-mail:
A. Integration of Passive Filter
eric.laboure@lgep.supelec.fr). The CM passive filter consists of two symmetrical capacitors
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. between each line and the ground, associated with two cou-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPEL.2013.2276396 pled inductors [see Fig. 1(a)]. The leakage inductance of the
0885-8993 © 2013 IEEE
1054 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO. 3, MARCH 2014

Fig. 2. CM and DM current with passive integrated EMI filter.

Fig. 1. (a) Equivalent electrical circuit of a single-stage passive EMI filter.

(b) Realization of the integrated passive EMI filter.

coupled inductor and the capacitor added between the two lines
constitute a DM passive filter.
To increase the effectiveness of the passive filter, a planar mul-
tilayer structure of the passive components integrated within the
PCB is proposed. The symmetric disposal of its magnetic, di-
electric, and conductive layers is shown in Fig. 1(b). Capacitors
are made from a dielectric material known as C-Ply and the
magnetic core has been obtained from a ferrite material dedi-
cated to high-frequency filtering and sized to meet the CM and
DM attenuation requirements.
The effectiveness of the integrated passive part has been val-
idated by an effective reduction of interference level at the Line
Impedance Stabilization Network (LISN) at high frequency as
shown in Fig. 2. A DM active filter must be added to reduce
EMI interferences due to the switching in the frequency band
up to 2.5 MHz.

B. Active Filter Topologies Fig. 3. Four active filter topologies. (a) Type I: voltage cancellation-current
detection. (b) Type II: voltage cancellation-voltage detection. (c) Type III: cur-
Two active noise cancellation strategies are possible: voltage rent cancellation-current detection. (d) Type IV: current cancellation-voltage
cancellation as seen in Fig. 3(a) and (b), and current cancellation detection.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO. 3, MARCH 2014 1055

LDM and CDM are the DM passive filtering components, and

Linjection is the auxiliary inductance for DM voltage injection.
The differential amplifier cell is represented by gain A. ICDM is
the circulating current in capacitor CDM , and IDM source is the
equivalent current source.
In order to evaluate the DM noise levels in the LISN and
meet the standard DO160F given in dB μA, the LISN current
is calculated for the feedforward circuit by (1) and for feedback
circuit by (2)
ZDM
ILISN = (IDM S o u r c e − IDM )
(ZLISN //ZC D M )
  
LDM
× 1−A − IC D M (1)
LInjection

ZDM (I − IDM )
ILISN =  DM S o 
urce
 − IC D M . (2)
(ZLISN //ZC D M ) 1 + A LD M
LIn je c tio n

In both cases, it is required that “ZCDM < ZLISN ” for max-

Fig. 4. Simplified circuit of voltage cancellation-voltage detection: (a) feed-
forward, (b) feedback.
as seen in Fig. 3(c) and (d). If the current that flows into the LISN
is wanted to be canceled, a noise measure system can either be
connected in series [see Fig. 3(a) and (c)] or in parallel [see
Fig. 3(b) and (d)]. In each case, the active system must take up
voltage or current. Therefore, four topologies are possible, as
shown in Fig. 3 with the standard EMI converter model. The
power converter is represented by its noise equivalent source
(Us ) and its equivalent impedances (Ls and Cs ). Zg is the
equivalent impedance of LISN and Ug is the network voltage
source.
In the configurations of types I and II, an injector is connected
in series with the circuit impedances to compensate its voltage
and would mandatorily require the presence of a decoupling
capacitor. In the configurations of types III and IV (current
cancellation), an injector is connected in parallel with the circuit
impedances to compensate its current and so the decoupling
capacitor is not required.
III. PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRATED ACTIVE FILTER
To choose an active filter topology that is compatible with
our application, refer back to the converter EMI model given
in [6]. A DM decoupling capacitor is already placed at the input
of the converter; therefore, the DM noise source is considered
as a voltage source. In this case, the topology that uses a voltage
compensation effect is chosen (type I or II). To avoid a bulky
detection system using a transformer, type II is preferred.
A. Study of the Chosen Active Filter
The voltage compensation effect is generated by a DM trans-
former for voltage injection. Two active filter circuits are possi-
ble: feedforward voltage cancellation and feedback voltage can-
cellation. Their simplified circuits are shown in Fig. 4(a) and (b).
imum attenuation of ILISN . At high frequencies, the DM noise
current flows in CDM (C = 25 nF), and its impedance ZCDM
decreases the active filter efficiency.
For efficient filtering in the case of feedforward circuit, it is
required that

LDM
A = 1. (3)
LInjection
Due to the nonlinearity of the magnetic components and the
uncertainties of the active components, this condition (3) is not
easily controllable. Inversely, in the feedback structure, the gain
A has just to be large, what is easy to achieve. Therefore, the
feedback structure has been chosen for final design.
B. Optimization of the Integrated Hybrid Filter
In [6], a planar magnetic core was integrated within the PCB
[see Fig. 5(a)]. To take advantage of this integrated magnetic
component, an auxiliary magnetic leg and an extra winding
are added to the coupled inductor to perform the DM voltage
cancellation [see Fig. 5(b)].
To avoid magnetic saturation of the component in DM, the air-
gap (em in ) in the central leg is calculated for maximum current
(IM = 2.5 A), maximum induction (BM ax = 0.3 T) and 14
wires (7 + 7)
nμ0 IM ∼
em in = = 150 μm. (4)
BM ax
The complete circuit of the integrated hybrid filter is shown
in Fig. 6(a). The voltage detection cell consists of resistors (R1
and R2 ) that determine the gain (A = R2 /R1 ). The resistances
values are chosen according to the required gain “A.” To avoid
the dc current cancellation (energy transmission), two capacitors
(C) are placed at the input of the cell. These capacitors should
exhibit low impedance between 150 kHz and 2 MHz to ensure
good signal detection.
For low-power application (40 W), a low-voltage operational
amplifier is the best choice for processing the detected signal.
1056 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO. 3, MARCH 2014

Fig. 6. (a) Circuit of integrated hybrid EMI filter (active + passive). (b) Circuit
used to supply the active filter (±5 Vd c ) connected at the input of the converter
side.

Fig. 5. (a) Planar coupled inductors for CM and DM passive EMI filter.
(b) Auxiliary winding added at the central leg.

Since the very fast amplifiers cannot inject a high current, a

current amplifier (Buffer) would be required. A low DM required
attenuation (≈20 dB, i.e., low value of current injection) in this
application leads to avoid the buffer.

IV. REALIZATION OF THE INTEGRATED HYBRID FILTER

A. Realization of the Voltage Detection Cell
To improve the integration process of the hybrid filter and
minimize the parasitic inductances at the input of the active filter,
a voltage detection cell is realized using Surface Mount Tech-
nology (SMT) components. To avoid additional disturbances on
the input side, the active filter supply (Supply– and Supply+) is
connected at the converter side, so its variable current is included
in the noise source to balance [see Fig. 6(b)].

B. Integration of the Auxiliary Winding Within the PCB

According to the planar magnetic design shown in Fig. 5(b),
an auxiliary winding has been integrated within the PCB in
the coupled inductors. In Fig. 7(b), the three windings PCB
integrated magnetic component can be seen before complete
integration. The turns of the windings are spaced by 0.8 mm. The
ceramic magnetic core (ferrite) is integrated within a PCB, and
the layers connecting vias are performed with metallized holes.
Active and passive parts are assembled to form the integrated
hybrid filter shown in Fig. 7(a). In this realization, SMT capac-
itors have been used to replace the integrated planar capacitors
used previously for passive filtering to simplify the realization
Fig. 7. Photograph of the integrated hybrid filter (volume = 7.3 cm3 ; mass =
without degrading the overall volume. Moreover, observe in 18 g). (a) Active filter monted in the upper face. (b) Coupled inductors integrated
fig. 7 that, due to the integration of the magnetic component within the PCB.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 29, NO. 3, MARCH 2014
Fig. 8. Photograph of the discrete passive filter previousely used at the input
of the converter (volume = 30 cm3 ; mass = 38 g).
Fig. 9. Measured voltages at input (V In ) and output (V O u t ) of the active
filter.
Fig. 10. CM and DM current with integrated hybrid EMI filter.
inside the PCB, a large part of its area is free to be used to
route some other part of the dc converter. The volume and mass
benefits of the integrated hybrid filter [shown in Fig. 7(a)] can
be deduced by comparing this (7.3 cm3 ; 18 g) with the discrete
passive solution shown in Fig. 8 (30 cm3 ; 38 g).
This hybrid filter is now set up to reduce the interferences
generated by the converter used to support our study. The per-
formance of the DM voltage detection and the generation of
the compensating voltage can be observed by comparing the
detected (VIn ) and injected (VOut ) signals shown in Fig. 9. In
Fig. 10, the current spectra illustrate how the integrated hybrid
1057
filter reduces CM interferences and DM in the frequency range
that extends from 150 kHz to 30 MHz. The effect of the DM ac-
tive filtering is shown between 150 kHz and 2 MHz. Moreover,
the CM current level was not affected by the active cancellation.
In the experiments, the power consumption of the active filter
is around 0.3 W with 30.8 W system power. This active filter
slightly degrades the efficiency of the converter, but without
this, a bulky passive filtering to achieve the same attenuation at
210 kHz is required.
V. CONCLUSION
In this letter, an integrated hybrid filter is presented. At high
frequencies, an integrated passive filter reduces the CM and DM
interferences. At low frequencies, a new integrated active filter
associated with an integrated choke is proposed. The structure
of integrated active filter is studied for DM voltage cancellation.
Finally, a full hybrid filter is integrated on the PCB. The results
of test verified the theoretical analysis and show a high efficiency
in the wide frequency band. The integrated hybrid filter reduces
the volume of the discrete passive filter by 75% and reduces its
mass by 53%. This integrated architecture has many advantages
and could be adapted to many other applications.
REFERENCES
[1] X. Pei, J. Xiong, Y. Kang, and J. Chen, “Conducted EMI emission in
PWM inverter,” in Proc. 4th Int. Power Electron. Motion Control Conf.,
2004, vol. 2, pp. 630–635.
[2] T. Ninomiya, M. Shoyama, C.-F. Jin, and G. Li, “EMI issues in switching
power converters,” in Proc. 13th Int. Symp. Power Semicond. Devices ICs,
2001, pp. 81–86.
[3] L. Lawhite and M. F. Schlecht, “Design of active ripple filters for power
circuits operating in the 1–10 MHz range,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron.,
vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 310–317, Jul. 1988.
[4] M. Di Piazza, G. Tine, and G. Vitale, “An improved active common-mode
voltage compensation device for induction motor drives,” IEEE Trans.
Ind. Electron., vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 1823–1834, Apr. 2008.
[5] S. Wang, J. van Wyk, and F. Lee, “Effects of interactions between filter
parasitics and power interconnects on EMI filter performance,” IEEE
Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 54, no. 6, pp. 3344–3352, Dec. 2007.
[6] M. Ali, E. Labouré, F. Costa, and B. Revol, “Design of a hybrid integrated
EMC filter for a DC-DC power converter,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron.,
vol. 27, no. 11, pp. 4380–4390, Nov. 2012.
[7] J. Biela, A. Wirthmueller, R. Waespe, M. Heldwein, K. Raggl, and J. Kolar,
“Passive and active hybrid integrated EMI filters,” IEEE Trans. Power
Electron., vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 1340–1349, May 2009.
[8] S. Wang, Y. Maillet, Fei Wang, D. Boroyevich, and R. Burgos, “Investiga-
tion of hybrid EMI filters for common-mode EMI suppression in a motor
drive system,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 1034–1045,
Apr. 2010.
[9] P. Pairodamonchai, S. Suwankawin, and S. Sangwongwanich, “Design and
implementation of a hybrid output EMI filter for high-frequency common-
mode voltage compensation in PWM inverters,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl.,
vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 1647–1651, Sep./Oct. 2009.