E40M

RC Filters

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 1

 Reading

• Reader:
– The rest of Chapter 7
• 7.1-7.2 is about log-log plots
• 7.4 is about filters

• A&L
– 13.4-13.5

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 2

 EKG (Lab 4)

• Concepts
– Amplifiers
– Impedance
– Noise
– Safety
– Filters

• Components
– Capacitors In this project we will build an
– Inductors electrocardiagram (ECG or EKG). This is a
– Instrumentation and noninvasive device that measures the
Operational Amplifiers electrical activity of the heart using
electrodes placed on the skin.
M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 3
 RC Circuit Analysis Approaches

1. For finding voltages and currents as functions of time, we solve

linear differential equations or run EveryCircuit.

2. For finding the response of circuits to sinusoidal signals,* we

use impedances and “frequency domain” analysis

*superposition can be used to find the response to any

periodic signals

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 4

Key Ideas on RC Circuit Frequency Analysis - Review

• All voltages and currents are sinusoidal

• So we really just need to figure out

– What is the amplitude of the resulting sinewave
– And sometimes we need the phase shift too (but not always)

• These values don’t change with time

– This problem is very similar to solving for DC voltages/currents

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 5

 Key Ideas on Impedance - Review

• Impedance is a concept that generalizes resistance:

– For sine wave input
mag (V ) Add j to represent
Z=
mag (i ) 90o phase shift

• Z for a resistor is just R

– It does not depend on frequency, it is simply a number.

• What about a capacitor?

V
ZC = =
V
=
VO sin 2πFt ( )
i CdV / dt 2πFCVO cos 2πFt ( )
V 1
ZC = =
i j ∗ 2πFC
M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 6
 Analyzing RC Circuits Using Impedance - Review

• The circuit used to couple sound into your

Arduino is a simple RC circuit.

• This circuit provides a DC voltage of Vdd/2 at

the output.

• For AC (sound) signals, the capacitor will

block low frequencies but pass high
frequencies. (High pass filter).

• For AC signals, the two resistors are in

parallel, so the equivalent circuit is shown on
the next page.

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 7

 Analyzing RC Circuits Using Impedance – Review
(High Pass Filter)

C=0.1µF Vout R j∗ 2πFRC

= =
vin vout Vin
R+
1 1+ j∗ 2πFRC
j∗ 2πFC
R=110kW
RC = 11ms; 2pRC about 70ms
1

0.8

0.6
Vout/Vin
0.4

0.2

0
0 50 100 150 F (Hz) 200

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 8

 RC FILTERS

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 9

 RC Circuits Can Make Other Filters

• Filters are circuits that change the relative strength of different

frequencies

• Named for the frequency range that passes through the filter

– Low pass filter:

• Passes low frequencies, attenuates high frequency

– High pass filter

• Passes high frequencies, attenuates low frequencies

– Band pass filter

• Attenuates high and low frequencies, lets middle frequencies pass

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 10

 RC Low Pass Filters

R=11 kW • Let’s think about this before we do any

vin vout math

C=0.1 µF
• Very low frequencies à

RC = 11 x 103 x 0.1 x 10-6 s

= 1.1 ms
• Very high frequencies à
2π RC = 6.9 ms
1/(2π RC ) = 145 Hz

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 11

 RC Low Pass Filters

R=11KW 1
vin vout Vout j∗ 2πFC 1 1
= = =
Vin 1 1+ j∗ 2πFRC 1 + jF/Fc
R+
C=0.1µF j∗ 2πFC
FC = 1/[2pRC]

0.8

0.6
Vout/Vin
0.4

0.2

RC = 1.1 ms 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Fc = 1/[2pRC] =145 Hz
F (Hz)
M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 12
 RC Filters – Something a Little More Complicated

C • Let’s think about this before we

vin vout
do any math

R 10C • Very low frequencies à

• Very high frequencies à

Vout/Vin capacitive divider

F
M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 13
 RC Filters – Something More Complicated

C 1
Z1 =
vin vout j ∗ 2πFC
1 R
Z2 = =
R 10C 1 1+ j ∗ 2πF10RC
+ j ∗ 2πF10C
R

Z1 R
Vout 1+ j∗ 2πF10RC
=
Vin R 1
Z2 +
1+ j∗ 2πF10RC j∗ 2πFC
j∗ 2πFRC j∗ 2πFRC
= =
j∗ 2πFRC + 1+ j∗ 2πF10RC 1+ j∗ 2πF11RC
( )

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 14

 RC Filters – Something More Complicated

Vout
= à Simplify using Fc = 1 / [2π R11C] = 13 Hz
Vin

Vout/Vin 0.1

0.08

0.06

0.04
C = 0.1µF, R =11 kW
0.02

0 F (Hz)
0 100 200 300 400 500

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 15

What If We Combine Low Pass and High Pass Filters?

• What do you think it will

R1=11K C3=0.1µF
do?
vin vout
• We’ll use a filter that
C2=0.1µF R4=110K operates like this in the
ECG lab project.
Vout/Vin

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 16

 Analysis Options: Nodal Analysis

i1 i3 Z3 • Let’s first solve it using Z1-Z4 and nodal

v1 vout
vin analysis
Z1
i2
Z2 Z4 i4

Vout − V1 Vout Z4
i3 = i4 ∴ = ∴ Vout = V1
Z3 Z4 Z3 + Z 4

V1 − Vin V1 V1 − Vout
i1 = i2 + i3 ∴ = +
Z1 Z2 Z3

• We have 2 equations in 2 unknowns (V1 and Vout). So we could solve this

for Vout/Vin in terms of the impedances.

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 17

 Analysis Options: Using R, C and Voltage Dividers

R1=11K
C3=0.1µF For convenience, let s = j*2πF
v1 vout
vin Vout R4 sR 4C3
= =
V1 1 1+ sR 4C3
R4 +
C2=0.1µF R4=110K sC3
We can replace R4, C3 and C2 with Zeqv
1 1 1+ sR 4C3
Zeqv = = =
1 sC3 ⎛C ⎞
+ sC2 + sC2 sC2 ∗ ⎜⎜ 3 +1+ sR 4C3 ⎟⎟
1 1+ sR 4C3 C
R4 + ⎝ 2 ⎠
sC3

1+ sR 4C3
⎛C ⎞
sC2 ∗ ⎜⎜ 3 +1+ sR 4C3 ⎟⎟
V1 C
⎝ 2 ⎠ 1+ sR 4C3
∴ = =
Vin 1+ sR 4C3 ⎛C
3
⎞
R1 + 1+ sR 4C3 + sR1C2 ∗ ⎜⎜ +1+ sR 4C3 ⎟⎟
⎛C ⎞ C
⎝ 2 ⎠
sC2 ∗ ⎜⎜ 3 +1+ sR 4C3 ⎟⎟
⎝ C2 ⎠
M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 18
 Output Response

C3=0.1µF
R1=11K
vout Vout R4 sR 4C3
v1 = =
vin V1
R4 +
1 1+ sR 4C3
sC3
C2=0.1µF R4=110K 1+ sR 4C3
⎛C ⎞
sC2 ∗ ⎜⎜ 3 +1+ sR 4C3 ⎟⎟
V1 ⎝ C2 ⎠ 1+ sR 4C3
= =
Vin 1+ sR 4C3 ⎛C ⎞
R1 + 1+ sR 4C3 + sR1C2 ∗ ⎜⎜ 3 +1+ sR 4C3 ⎟⎟
⎛C ⎞ ⎝ C2 ⎠
sC2 ∗ ⎜⎜ 3 +1+ sR 4C3 ⎟⎟
⎝ C2 ⎠

Vout VVout
1 sR 4C3 sR 4C3
= =
V1 V Vin ⎛C ⎞ 1+ s(R C + R C + R C ) + s2R C R C
1+ sR 4C3 + sR1C2 ∗ ⎜⎜ 3 +1+ sR 4C3 ⎟⎟ 4 3 1 2 1 3 1 2 4 3
⎝ C2 ⎠

Vout j ∗ 2πFR 4C3

Or, =
Vin 1+ j ∗ 2πF(R C + R C + R C ) + j ∗ 2πF 2 R C R C
4 3 1 2 1 3 ( 1 2 4 3 )
M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 19
 Output Response

C3=0.1µF
R1=11K
v1 vout
Vout j ∗ 2πFR 4C3
vin =
Vin 1+ j ∗ 2πF(R C + R C + R C ) + j ∗ 2πF 2 R C R C
4 3 1 2 1 3 (
1 2 4 3 )
C2=0.1µF R4=110K

1.2 Gain of Filters

0.8

Vout/Vin 0.6
0.4

0.2

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Low Pass High Pass Band Pass F (Hz)

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 20

 So What Are The Answers To These Questions?

How do we design circuits that What determines how fast CMOS

respond to certain frequencies? circuits can work?

Why did you put a 200 µF

capacitor between Vdd and Gnd
on your Arduino?

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 21

 Learning Objectives

• Become more comfortable using impedance

– To solve RC circuits

• Understand how to characterize RC circuits

– Which are low pass, high pass and bandpass filters

• Be able to sketch the frequency dependence of an RC circuit by

reasoning about how capacitors behave at low and high
frequencies

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 22