Introduction To

Analog Filters

The University of Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

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 Filters
Background:

. Filters may be classified as either digital or analog.

. Digital filters are implemented using a digital computer

or special purpose digital hardware.

. Analog filters may be classified as either passive or

active and are usually implemented with R, L, and C
components and operational amplifiers.
 Filters
Background:

. An active filter is one that, along with R, L, and C

components, also contains an energy source, such
as that derived from an operational amplifier.

. A passive filter is one that contains only R, L, and

C components. It is not necessary that all three be
present. L is often omitted (on purpose) from
passive filter design because of the size and cost
of inductors – and they also carry along an R that
must be included in the design.
 Filters
Background:

. The analysis of analog filters is well described in

filter text books. The most popular include Butterworth,
Chebyshev and elliptic methods.

. The synthesis (realization) of analog filters, that is, the

way one builds (topological layout) the filters, received
significant attention during 1940 thru 1960. Leading
the work were Cauer and Tuttle. Since that time,
very little effort has been directed to analog filter
realization.
 Filters
Background:

. Generally speaking, digital filters have become the focus

of attention in the last 40 years. The interest in digital
filters started with the advent of the digital computer,
especially the affordable PC and special purpose signal
processing boards. People who led the way in the work
(the analysis part) were Kaiser, Gold and Radar.

. A digital filter is simply the implementation of an

equation(s) in computer software. There are no R, L,
C components as such. However, digital filters can also
be built directly into special purpose computers in
hardware form. But the execution is still in software.
 Passive Analog Filters
Background: Four types of filters - “Ideal”

lowpass highpass

bandpass bandstop
 Passive Analog Filters
Background: Realistic Filters:

lowpass highpass

bandpass bandstop
 Passive Analog Filters
Background:

It will be shown later that the ideal

filter, sometimes called a “brickwall”
filter, can be approached by making the
order of the filter higher and higher.

The order here refers to the order of the

polynomial(s) that are used to define the
filter. Matlab examples will be given later
to illustrate this.
 Passive Analog Filters
Low Pass Filter Consider the circuit below.

R +
+
V I C VO
_
_

Low pass filter circuit

1
VO ( jw) jwC 1
 
Vi ( jw) R
1 1  jwRC
jwC
 Passive Analog Filters
Low Pass Filter

0 dB
-3 dB . Bode

1/RC  Passes low frequencies

Attenuates high frequencies

1
x
0.707 Linear Plot

0 1/RC 
 Passive Analog Filters
High Pass Filter Consider the circuit below.

+
C
+
Vi R
_ VO
_

High Pass Filter

VO ( jw) R jwRC
 
Vi ( jw) R 1 1  jwRC
jwC
 Passive Analog Filters
High Pass Filter

0 dB
. -3 dB
Passes high frequencies
Bode
1/RC Attenuates low frequencies

1/RC 

1
0.707 x.

Linear

0 1/RC 
 Passive Analog Filters
Bandpass Pass Filter Consider the circuit shown below:

C L +
+
Vi R VO
_
_

When studying series resonant circuit we showed that;

R
VO ( s ) s
 L
Vi ( s) s 2  R s  1
L LC
 Passive Analog Filters
Bandpass Pass Filter
We can make a bandpass from the previous equation and select
the poles where we like. In a typical case we have the following shapes.

0 dB
-3 dB
. . Bode

lo hi 
1 . .
0.707
Linear

0 lo hi 
 Passive Analog Filters
Bandpass Pass Filter Example
Suppose we use the previous series RLC circuit with output across R to
design a bandpass filter. We will place poles at –200 rad/sec and – 2000 rad/sec
hoping that our –3 dB points will be located there and hence have a bandwidth
of 1800 rad/sec. To match the RLC circuit form we use:

2200 s 2200s 2200 s

 
s 2  2200 s  400000 ( s  200)( s  2000) 200 x 2000(1  s )(1  s )
200 2000
The last term on the right can be finally put in Bode form as;

0.0055 jw
jw jw
(1  )(1  )
200 2000
 Passive Analog Filters
Bandpass Pass Filter Example
From this last expression we notice from the part involving the zero we
have in dB form;
20log(.0055) + 20logw

Evaluating at w = 200, the first pole break, we get a 0.828 dB

what this means is that our –3dB point will not be at 200 because
we do not have 0 dB at 200. If we could lower the gain by 0.829 dB
we would have – 3dB at 200 but with the RLC circuit we are stuck
with what we have. What this means is that the – 3 dB point will
be at a lower frequency. We can calculate this from
200 dB
log x 20  0.828 dB
wlow dec
 Passive Analog Filters
Bandpass Pass Filter Example
This gives an wlow = 182 rad/sec. A similar thing occurs at whi where
the new calculated value for whi becomes 2200. These calculations
do no take into account a 0.1 dB that one pole induces on the other
pole. This will make wlo somewhat lower and whi somewhat higher.
One other thing that should have given us a hint that our w1 and w2
were not going to be correct is the following:

R
s
L ( w1  w2 ) s
 2
R 1
(s2  s  ) ( s  ( w1  w2 ) s  w1w2 )
L LC
What is the problem with this?
 Passive Analog Filters
Bandpass Pass Filter Example
The problem is that we have
R
  w1  w2   BW  ( w2  w1 )
L
Therein lies the problem. Obviously the above cannot be true and that
is why we have aproblem at the –3 dB points.

We can write a Matlab program and actually check all of this.

We will expect that w1 will be lower than 200 rad/sec and w2 will be
higher than 2000 rad/sec.
 Passive Analog Filters
Bode Diagrams
From: U(1)
0
-3 dB
-5 dB -5
Phase (deg); Magnitude (dB)

-10

-15

100

50
To: Y(1)

-50

-100
2 3 4
10 10 10
 A Bandpass Digital Filter
Perhaps going in the direction to stimulate your interest in taking a course
on filtering, a 10 order analog bandpass butterworth filter will be
simulated using Matlab. The program is given below.
N = 10; %10th order butterworth analog prototype

[ZB, PB, KB] = buttap(N);

numzb = poly([ZB]);
denpb = poly([PB]);
 
wo = 600; bw = 200; % wo is the center freq
% bw is the bandwidth
[numbbs,denbbs] = lp2bs(numzb,denpb,wo,bw);
 
w = 1:1:1200;
 
Hbbs = freqs(numbbs,denbbs,w);
Hb = abs(Hbbs);
 
plot(w,Hb)
grid
xlabel('Amplitude')
ylabel('frequency (rad/sec)')
title('10th order Butterworth filter')
 
 
A Bandpass Filter
 RLC Band stop Filter
Consider the circuit below:

R +
+ L
Vi VO
_ Gv (s ) C


The transfer function for VO/Vi can be expressed as follows:

1
2
s 
Gv ( s )  LC
R 1
s2  s 
L LC
 RLC Band Stop Filter
Comments
This is of the form of a band stop filter. We see we have complex zeros
on the jw axis located

1
j
LC

From the characteristic equation we see we have two poles. The poles
an essentially be placed anywhere in the left half of the s-plane. We
see that they will be to the left of the zeros on the jw axis.

We now consider an example on how to use this information.

 RLC Band Stop Filter
Example

Design a band stop filter with a center frequency of 632.5 rad/sec

and having poles at –100 rad/sec and –3000 rad/sec.

The transfer function is:

s 2  300000
s 2  3100s  300000

We now write a Matlab program to simulate this transfer function.

 RLC Band Stop Filter
Example

num = [1 0 300000];

den = [1 3100 300000];

w = 1 : 5 : 10000;

Bode(num,den,w)
 RLC Band Stop Filter
Example

Bode

Matlab
 Basic Active Filters
Low pass filter
C

R fb

+ R in +
V in
_ V O
_
 Basic Active Filters
High pass
R fb

C R in
+
V in +
_ V O
_
 Basic Active Filters

Band pass filter

R C 2
1

C 1 R 2 R fb
R 1 R 2
R i
+
V in
_ +
V O
_
 Basic Active Filters
Band stop filter
C 1

R 1
R 1

R fb

R 2 R i
+ C 2 +
V in V O
_
_