Filters

• A filter is a frequency-selective circuit.

• Filters pass certain frequencies and reject others.
• Passive filters are created using components such
as: resistors, capacitors, and inductors that do not
amplify.
• Active filters use amplifying devices such as
transistors and operational amplifiers.
 Filters
• There are five basic kinds of filter circuits:
–Low-pass filters only pass frequencies below a
critical (cutoff) frequency.
–High-pass filters only pass frequencies above the
cutoff frequency.
–Bandpass filters pass frequencies over a narrow
range between lower and upper cutoff frequencies.
–Band-reject filters reject or stop frequencies over
a narrow range between lower and upper cutoff
frequencies.
–All-pass filters pass all frequencies over a desired
range but have a predictable phase shift
characteristic.
 RC Filters
• RC filters use combinations of resistors and
capacitors to achieve a desired frequency
response.
• Most RC filters are of the low-pass or high-pass
type.
• Any low-pass or high-pass filter is effectively a
frequency-dependent voltage divider.
• An RC coupling circuit is a high-pass filter
because the ac input component is developed
across the resistor while dc voltage is blocked by
a capacitor.
 Low-Pass Filter
• A low-pass filter is a circuit that introduces no
attenuation at frequencies below the cutoff
frequency but completely eliminates all signals
with frequencies above the cutoff.
• Low-pass filters are sometimes referred to as
high cut filters.
• The cutoff frequency of a filter is that point
where the resistance (R) and capacitive reactance
(XC) are equal
 RC low-pass filter

Figure : RC low-pass filter. (a) Circuit. (b) Low-pass filter.

 High-Pass Filter
• A high-pass filter passes frequencies above the
cutoff frequency with little or no attenuation but
greatly attenuates those signals below the cutoff.
• The basic high-pass filter is a voltage divider with
the capacitor serving as the frequency-sensitive
component.
• A high-pass filter can be implemented with a coil
and a resistor.
 RC high-pass filter

Figure: (a) RC high-pass filter. (b) RL high-pass filter.

 RC Notch Filter
• Notch filters, also called bandstop or
band-reject filters, attenuate a narrow range of
frequencies around a center point (frequency).
• A simple notch filter implemented with resistors
and capacitors is called a parallel-T or twin-T
filter.
• The center notch frequency is calculated:
RC Notch Filter
 LC Filters
• LC filters use combinations of inductors and
capacitors to achieve a desired frequency
response.
• They are typically used with radio frequency
(RF) applications.
– Passband is the frequency range over which
the filter passes signals.
– Stop band is the range of frequencies outside
the passband; that is, the range of frequencies
that is greatly attenuated by the filter.
– Attenuation is the amount by which undesired
frequencies in the stop band are reduced.
 LC Filters
• Insertion loss is the loss the filter introduces to
the signals in the passband.
• Impedance is the resistive value of the load and
source terminations of the filter.
• Ripple is a term used to describe the amplitude
variation with frequency in the passband.
• Shape factor is the ratio of the stop bandwidth to
the pass bandwidth of a bandpass filter.
 LC Filters
• A pole is a frequency at which there is a high
impedance in the circuit.
• Zero is a term used to refer to a frequency at
which there is zero impedance in the circuit.
• Envelope delay or time delay is the time it takes
for a specific point on an input waveform to pass
through the filter.
• Roll-off or attenuation rate is the rate of change
of amplitude with frequency in a filter.
 Types of Filters
• The most widely used LC filters are named after
the people who discovered them and developed
the analysis and design method for each.
• Butterworth: The Butterworth filter effect has
maximum flatness in response in the passband and
a uniform attenuation with frequency.
• Chebyshev: Has extremely good selectivity, and
attenuation just outside the passband is very high,
but has ripple in the passband.
 Types of Filters
• Cauer (Elliptical): Produces greater attenuation
out of the passband, but with higher ripple within
and outside of the passband.
• Bessel (Thomson): Provides the desired
frequency response (i.e., low-pass, bandpass,
etc.) but has a constant time delay in the
passband.
 Types of Filters

Figure: Butterworth, elliptical, Bessel, and Chebyshev response

curves.
Mechanical and Bandpass Filters
• A mechanical filter uses resonant vibrations of
mechanical disks to provide the selectivity.
• Bandpass filters, configured with series or
parallel resonant circuits, allow a narrow range of
frequencies around a center frequency to pass
with minimum attenuation but rejects frequencies
above and below this range.
 Band-Reject Filters
• Band-reject filters reject a narrow band of
frequencies around a center or notch frequency.
• Band-reject filters are also known as bandstop
filters or traps.

Figure: LC tuned bandstop filters. (a) Shunt. (b) Series. (c)

Response curve
 Active Filters
• Active filters are frequency-selective circuits that
incorporate amplifiers with feedback to produce
low-pass, high-pass, bandpass, and bandstop
performance. Advantages are:
– Gain
– No inductors
– Easy to tune
– Isolation
– Easier impedance matching
• A special form of active filter is the variable-state
filter, which can simultaneously provide low-pass,
high-pass, and bandpass operation from one circuit.
 Crystal and Ceramic Filters
• Crystal and ceramic filters are made of thin slivers
of quartz crystal or certain other types of ceramic
materials.
• Crystals and ceramic elements are widely used in
oscillators to set frequency of operation to a precise
value.
• Crystals and ceramic elements are also used as circuit
elements to form filters, specifically bandpass filters.

Figure: Quartz crystal. (a) Equivalent circuit. (b) Schematic symbol.

 Ceramic Filters

Figure : Schematic symbol for a ceramic filter.

Surface Acoustic Wave Filters
• The surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter is a special
form of a crystal filter designed to provide the exact
selectivity required by a given application.
• SAW filters are normally used at very high radio
frequencies where selectivity is difficult to obtain.
• They are widely used in modern TV receivers, radar
receivers, wireless LANs, and cell phones.
 Switched Capacitor Filters
• Switched capacitor filters (SCFs), also known as
analog sampled data filters or commutating
filters, are active IC filters made of op amps,
capacitors, and transistor switches.
• They provide a way to make tuned or selective
circuits in an IC without the use of discrete
inductors, capacitors, or resistors.
• The secret to the SCF is that all resistors are
replaced by capacitors that are switched by
MOSFET switches
 Switched Capacitor Filters

Figure: IC integrators. (a) Conventional integrator. (b) Switched

capacitor integrator.
 Analog and Digital Filter
• Analog Filter:
• Input: electrical voltage or current which is
the direct analogue of a physical quantity
(sensor output)
• Components: resistors, capacitors and op
amps
• Output: Filtered electrical voltage or current
• Applications: noise reduction, video signal
enhancement, graphic equalisers
 Digital Filter
• Digital Filter:
• Input: Digitized samples of analog input
(requires ADC)
• Components: Digital processor
(PC/DSP/ASIC/FPGA)
• Output: Filtered samples (requires DAC)
• Applications: noise reduction, video signal
enhancement, graphic equalisers
 FIR and IIR Filter
• FIR (Finite Impulse Response Filters):
• Simpler to design
• Inherently stable
• Can be designed to have linear phase
• Require lower bit precision

• IIR (Infinite Impulse Response Filters)

• Need less taps (memory, multiplications)
• Can simulate analog filters
Ideal Filter Frequency Response
Realistic vs. Ideal Filter Response
Filter specification parameters
- Passband Edge Frequency
- Stopband Edge Freque
- Peak Ripple Value In The Passban
- Peak Ripple Value In The Stopband
• Practical specifications are often given in terms of
loss function (in dB)

• Peak passband ripple

• Minimum stopband attenuation