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 Low Pass Filter Circuit

Al Penney
VO1NO

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.
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.

5
 Second-order Low Pass Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

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”.

Low Pass Filter Summary

So to summarize, the Low Pass Filter has a constant output voltage
from D.C. (0Hz), up to a specified Cut-off frequency, ( ƒC ) point. This cut-
off frequency point is 0.707 or -3dB( dB = –20log*VOUT/IN ) of the
voltage gain allowed to pass.
The frequency range “below” this cut-off point ƒC is generally known as
the Pass Band as the input signal is allowed to pass through the filter.
The frequency range “above” this cut-off point is generally known as
the Stop Band as the input signal is blocked or stopped from passing
through.

6
A simple 1st order low pass filter can be made using a single resistor in series
with a single non-polarized capacitor (or any single reactive component) across
an input signal Vin, whilst the output signal Vout is taken from across the
capacitor.
The cut-off frequency or -3dB point, can be found using the standard
formula, ƒc = 1/(2πRC). The phase angle of the output signal at ƒc and is -
45o for a Low Pass Filter.
The gain of the filter or any filter for that matter, is generally expressed
in Decibels and is a function of the output value divided by its corresponding
input value and is given as:

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.

6
Low Pass Filter Summary
So to summarize, the Low Pass Filter has a constant output voltage
from D.C. (0Hz), up to a specified Cut-off frequency, ( ƒC ) point. This cut-
off frequency point is 0.707 or -3dB( dB = –20log*VOUT/IN ) of the
voltage gain allowed to pass.
The frequency range “below” this cut-off point ƒC is generally known as
the Pass Band as the input signal is allowed to pass through the filter.
The frequency range “above” this cut-off point is generally known as
the Stop Band as the input signal is blocked or stopped from passing
through.
A simple 1st order low pass filter can be made using a single resistor in
series with a single non-polarized capacitor (or any single reactive
component) across an input signal Vin, whilst the output signal Vout is
taken from across the capacitor.
The cut-off frequency or -3dB point, can be found using the standard
formula, ƒc = 1/(2πRC). The phase angle of the output signal at ƒc and
is -45o for a Low Pass Filter.
The gain of the filter or any filter for that matter, is generally expressed
in Decibels and is a function of the output value divided by its
corresponding input value and is given as:

7
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.

7
 The High Pass Filter Circuit

Al Penney
VO1NO

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.

8
 Second-order High Pass
Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

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).
High Pass Filter Summary
We have seen that the Passive High Pass Filter is the exact opposite to
the low pass filter. This filter has no output voltage from DC (0Hz), up to
a specified cut-off frequency ( ƒc ) point. This lower cut-off frequency
point is 70.7% or -3dB (dB = -20log VOUT/VIN) of the voltage gain
allowed to pass.
The frequency range “below” this cut-off point ƒc is generally known as
the Stop Bandwhile the frequency range “above” this cut-off point is
generally known as the Pass Band
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”

9
type distortion. When used like this in audio applications the high pass filter is
sometimes called a “low-cut”, or “bass cut” filter.

9
High Pass Filter Summary
We have seen that the Passive High Pass Filter is the exact opposite to
the low pass filter. This filter has no output voltage from DC (0Hz), up to
a specified cut-off frequency ( ƒc ) point. This lower cut-off frequency
point is 70.7% or -3dB (dB = -20log VOUT/VIN) of the voltage gain
allowed to pass.
The frequency range “below” this cut-off point ƒc is generally known as
the Stop Bandwhile the frequency range “above” this cut-off point is
generally known as the Pass Band
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.

10
 Band Pass Filter Circuit

Al Penney
VO1NO

Unlike the low pass filter which only pass signals of a low frequency
range or the high pass filter which pass signals of a higher frequency
range, a Band Pass Filters passes signals within a certain “band” or
“spread” of frequencies without distorting the input signal or
introducing extra noise. This band of frequencies can be any width and
is commonly known as the filters Bandwidth.
Bandwidth is commonly defined as the frequency range that exists
between two specified frequency cut-off points ( ƒc ), that are 3dB
below the maximum centre or resonant peak while attenuating or
weakening the others outside of these two points.
Then for widely spread frequencies, we can simply define the term
“bandwidth”, BW as being the difference between the lower cut-off
frequency ( ƒcLOWER ) and the higher cut-off frequency ( ƒcHIGHER ) points.
In other words, BW = ƒH – ƒL. Clearly for a pass band filter to function
correctly, the cut-off frequency of the low pass filter must be higher than
the cut-off frequency for the high pass filter.
The “ideal” Band Pass Filter can also be used to isolate or filter out
certain frequencies that lie within a particular band of frequencies, for
example, noise cancellation. Band pass filters are known generally as
second-order filters, (two-pole) because they have “two” reactive
component, the capacitors, within their circuit design. One capacitor in

11
the low pass circuit and another capacitor in the high pass circuit.

11
 Frequency Response of a
2nd Order Band Pass Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

Band Pass Filter Summary

A simple passive Band Pass Filter can be made by cascading together a
single Low Pass Filter with a High Pass Filter. The frequency range, in
Hertz, between the lower and upper -3dB cut-off points of the RC
combination is know as the filters “Bandwidth”.
The width or frequency range of the filters bandwidth can be very small
and selective, or very wide and non-selective depending upon the
values of R and C used.
The centre or resonant frequency point is the geometric mean of the
lower and upper cut-off points. At this centre frequency the output
signal is at its maximum and the phase shift of the output signal is the
same as the input signal.
The amplitude of the output signal from a band pass filter or any
passive RC filter for that matter, will always be less than that of the input
signal. In other words a passive filter is also an attenuator giving a
voltage gain of less than 1 (Unity). To provide an output signal with a
voltage gain greater than unity, some form of amplification is required
within the design of the circuit.
A Passive Band Pass Filter is classed as a second-order type filter
because it has two reactive components within its design, the

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capacitors. It is made up from two single RC filter circuits that are each first-
order filters themselves.
If more filters are cascaded together the resulting circuit will be known as an
“nth-order” filter where the “n” stands for the number of individual reactive
components and therefore poles within the filter circuit. For example, filters can
be a 2nd-order, 4th-order, 10th-order, etc.
The higher the filters order the steeper will be the slope at n times -
20dB/decade. However, a single capacitor value made by combining together
two or more individual capacitors is still one capacitor.

We can see from the amplitude and phase curves above for the band pass
circuit, that the quantities ƒL, ƒH and ƒC are the same as those used to describe
the behaviour of the band-pass filter. This is because the band stop filter is
simply an inverted or complimented form of the standard band-pass filter. In
fact the definitions used for bandwidth, pass band, stop band and center
frequency are the same as before, and we can use the same formulas to
calculate bandwidth, BW, center frequency, ƒC, and quality factor, Q.
The ideal band stop filter would have infinite attenuation in its stop band and
zero attenuation in either pass band. The transition between the two pass
bands and the stop band would be vertical (brick wall). There are several ways
we can design a “Band Stop Filter”, and they all accomplish the same purpose.
Generally band-pass filters are constructed by combining a low pass filter (LPF)
in series with a high pass filter (HPF). Band stop filters are created by
combining together the low pass and high pass filter sections in a “parallel”
type configuration as shown.

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 Band Stop Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

By combining a basic RC low-pass filter with a RC high-pass filter we can

form a simple band-pass filter that will pass a range or band of
frequencies either side of two cut-off frequency points. But we can also
combine these low and high pass filter sections to produce another kind
of RC filter network called a band stop filter that can block or at least
severely attenuate a band of frequencies within these two cut-off
frequency points.
The Band Stop Filter, (BSF) is another type of frequency selective circuit
that functions in exactly the opposite way to the Band Pass Filter we
looked at before. The band stop filter, also known as a band reject filter,
passes all frequencies with the exception of those within a specified stop
band which are greatly attenuated.
If this stop band is very narrow and highly attenuated over a few hertz,
then the band stop filter is more commonly referred to as a notch filter,
as its frequency response shows that of a deep notch with high
selectivity (a steep-side curve) rather than a flattened wider band.
Also, just like the band pass filter, the band stop (band reject or notch)
filter is a second-order (two-pole) filter having two cut-off frequencies,
commonly known as the -3dB or half-power points producing a wide
stop band bandwidth between these two -3dB points.

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Then the function of a band stop filter is too pass all those frequencies from
zero (DC) up to its first (lower) cut-off frequency point ƒL, and pass all those
frequencies above its second (upper) cut-off frequency ƒH, but block or reject
all those frequencies in-between. Then the filters bandwidth, BW is defined as:
(ƒH – ƒL).
So for a wide-band band stop filter, the filters actual stop band lies between its
lower and upper -3dB points as it attenuates, or rejects any frequency between
these two cut-off frequencies.

13
 Band Stop Filter Response

Al Penney
VO1NO

We can see from the amplitude and phase curves above for the band
stop circuit, that the quantities ƒL, ƒH and ƒC are the same as those used
to describe the behaviour of the band-pass filter. This is because the
band stop filter is simply an inverted or complimented form of the
standard band-pass filter. In fact the definitions used for bandwidth,
pass band, stop band and center frequency are the same as before, and
we can use the same formulas to calculate bandwidth, BW, center
frequency, ƒC, and quality factor, Q.
The ideal band stop filter would have infinite attenuation in its stop
band and zero attenuation in either pass band. The transition between
the two pass bands and the stop band would be vertical (brick wall).
There are several ways we can design a “Band Stop Filter”, and they all
accomplish the same purpose.
Generally band-pass filters are constructed by combining a low pass
filter (LPF) in series with a high pass filter (HPF). Band stop filters are
created by combining together the low pass and high pass filter
sections in a “parallel” type configuration as shown.

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15
 Single Crystal Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

The simplest crystal filter employs a single crystal. This type of RF filter
was developed in the 1930s and was used in early receivers dating from
before the 1960s but is rarely used today. Although it employs the very
high Q of the crystal, its response is asymmetric and it is too narrow for
most applications, having a bandwidth of a hundred Hz or less.
In the circuit there is a variable capacitor that is used to compensate for
the parasitic capacitance in the crystal. This capacitor was normally
included as a front panel control.

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This form of band pass RF filter provided a significant improvement in
performance over the single. In this configuration the parasitic
capacitances of each of the crystals cancel each other out and enable
the circuit to operate satisfactorily. By adopting a slightly different
frequency for the crystals, a wider bandwidth is obtained. However the
slope response outside the required pass band falls away quickly,
enabling high levels of out of band rejection to be obtained. Typically
the parallel resonant frequency of one crystal is designed to be equal to
the series resonant frequency of the other.
Despite the fact that the half lattice crystal filter can offer a much flatter
in-band response there is still some ripple. This results from the fact that
the two crystals have different resonant frequencies. The response has a
small peak at either side of the centre frequency and a small dip in the
middle. As a rough rule of thumb it is found that the 3 dB bandwidth of
the RF filter is about 1.5 times the frequency difference between the two
resonant frequencies. It is also found that for optimum performance the
matching of the filter is very important. To achieve this, matching
resistors are often placed on the input and output. If the filter is not
properly matched then it is found that there will be more in-band ripple
and the ultimate rejection may not be as good.

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A two pole filter (i.e. one with two crystals) is not normally adequate to meet
many requirements. The shape factor can be greatly improved by adding
further sections. Typically ultimate rejections of 70 dB and more are required in
a receiver. As a rough guide a two pole filter will generally give a rejection of
around 20 dB; a four pole filter, 50 dB; a six pole filter, 70 dB; and an eight pole
one 90 dB.

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For many years the half lattice filter was possibly the most popular
format used for crystal filters. More recently the ladder topology has
gained considerable acceptance. In this form of crystal pass band filter
all the resonators have the same frequency, and the inter-resonator
coupling is provided by the capacitors placed between the resonators
with the other termination connected to earth.

Crystal filters are widely used in many radio communications receiver

applications. Here these filters are able to provide very high levels of
performance and at a cost which is very reasonable for the performance
that is given. These RF filters may be made in a variety of formats
according to the applications and the performance needed. While these
RF filters can be made from discrete components, ready manufactured
crystal filters are normally bought, either off the shelf, of made to a
given specification.

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 Butterworth Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

The Butterworth filter is a type of signal processing filter designed to

have a frequency response as flat as possible in the passband. It is also
referred to as a maximally flat magnitude filter. It was first described
in 1930 by the British engineer and physicist Stephen Butterworth in his
paper entitled "On the Theory of Filter Amplifiers".

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31
32
 Chebyshev vs Butterworth

Al Penney
VO1NO

Chebyshev and Butterworth filters are designed for totally different

applications.

Butterworth filters are used in applications where maximum pass band

flatness is required.

Chebyshev filters are optimized to give a steeper roll off.

As you can see, the pass band of a Butterworth filter is quite flat. This
means a signal of frequency, say (1/2)*fc and (1/3)*fc will both have the
same amplification which is 1 (0 dB). So, they will pass through the filter
without no attenuation. This is required for conditioning analog signals
where you don't want to distort the signal too much. E.g. you want to
hook up an sensor to an ADC to get some readings but the problem is
that you have some high frequency noise. Now, you want to eliminate
this noise without affecting the sensor readings too much. In this case,
go with a Butterworth filter. Butterworth filters are also used for Anti-
aliasing applications.

Chebyshev filters are used where the frequency content of a signal is

more important than having a constant amplitude. Say, you have a
digital signal where you are sending a square wave to indicate 1 and

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nothing for 0. Now, you would not care so much about accurately recreating a
square wave when it pass through a filter. Even if the original square wave is
distorted by the filter to resemble more like a sine wave it is fine because all
you cared about, in the first place, was the presence of a square wave.

33
 Active Filters
• Passive filters suffer from attenuation.
• The more stages, the greater the attenuation.
• Active filters use op-amps, transistors or
FETs in their design.
• Power is provided by an external source.
• Op-amps offer high input impedance, low
output impedance, and a voltage gain
determined by resistors in feedback loop.
Al Penney
VO1NO

We also noticed that the main disadvantage of passive filters is that the
amplitude of the output signal is less than that of the input signal, ie,
the gain is never greater than unity and that the load impedance affects
the filters characteristics.
With passive filter circuits containing multiple stages, this loss in signal
amplitude called “Attenuation” can become quiet severe. One way of
restoring or controlling this loss of signal is by using amplification
through the use of Active Filters.
As their name implies, Active Filters contain active components such as
operational amplifiers, transistors or FET’s within their circuit design.
They draw their power from an external power source and use it to
boost or amplify the output signal.
Filter amplification can also be used to either shape or alter the
frequency response of the filter circuit by producing a more selective
output response, making the output bandwidth of the filter more
narrower or even wider. Then the main difference between a “passive
filter” and an “active filter” is amplification.
An active filter generally uses an operational amplifier (op-amp) within
its design and in the Operational Amplifier tutorial we saw that an Op-
amp has a high input impedance, a low output impedance and a

34
voltage gain determined by the resistor network within its feedback loop.

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 Active Low Pass Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

The most common and easily understood active filter is the Active Low
Pass Filter. Its principle of operation and frequency response is exactly
the same as those for the previously seen passive filter, the only
difference this time is that it uses an op-amp for amplification and gain
control. The simplest form of a low pass active filter is to connect an
inverting or non-inverting amplifier, the same as those discussed in the
Op-amp tutorial, to the basic RC low pass filter circuit as shown.
This first-order low pass active filter, consists simply of a passive RC filter
stage providing a low frequency path to the input of a non-inverting
operational amplifier. The amplifier is configured as a voltage-follower
(Buffer) giving it a DC gain of one, Av = +1 or unity gain as opposed to
the previous passive RC filter which has a DC gain of less than unity.
The advantage of this configuration is that the op-amps high input
impedance prevents excessive loading on the filters output while its low
output impedance prevents the filters cut-off frequency point from
being affected by changes in the impedance of the load.
While this configuration provides good stability to the filter, its main
disadvantage is that it has no voltage gain above one. However,
although the voltage gain is unity the power gain is very high as its
output impedance is much lower than its input impedance.

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 Active Low Pass Filter - Amplified

Al Penney
VO1NO

The frequency response of the circuit will be the same as that for the
passive RC filter, except that the amplitude of the output is increased by
the pass band gain, AF of the amplifier. For a non-inverting amplifier
circuit, the magnitude of the voltage gain for the filter is given as a
function of the feedback resistor ( R2 ) divided by its corresponding
input resistor ( R1 ) value and is given as:
DC Gain = (1 + R2/R1)

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 Active High Pass Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

The basic operation of an Active High Pass Filter (HPF) is the same as
for its equivalent RC passive high pass filter circuit, except this time the
circuit has an operational amplifier or included within its design
providing amplification and gain control.
Technically, there is no such thing as an active high pass filter. Unlike
Passive High Pass Filters which have an “infinite” frequency response,
the maximum pass band frequency response of an active high pass filter
is limited by the open-loop characteristics or bandwidth of the
operational amplifier being used, making them appear as if they are
band pass filters with a high frequency cut-off determined by the
selection of op-amp and gain.

37
 Active High Pass Filter - Amplified

Al Penney
VO1NO

A first-order (single-pole) Active High Pass Filter as its name implies,

attenuates low frequencies and passes high frequency signals. It
consists simply of a passive filter section followed by a non-inverting
operational amplifier. The frequency response of the circuit is the same
as that of the passive filter, except that the amplitude of the signal is
increased by the gain of the amplifier and for a non-inverting amplifier
the value of the pass band voltage gain is given as 1 + R2/R1, the same
as for the low pass filter circuit.

38
 Frequency Response Curve

Al Penney
VO1NO

Technically, there is no such thing as an active high pass filter. Unlike

Passive High Pass Filters which have an “infinite” frequency response,
the maximum pass band frequency response of an active high pass filter
is limited by the open-loop characteristics or bandwidth of the
operational amplifier being used, making them appear as if they are
band pass filters with a high frequency cut-off determined by the
selection of op-amp and gain.

39
 Active Band Pass Filter

Al Penney
VO1NO

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.

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42
43
44
45
 Band Stop Filter Circuit

Al Penney
VO1NO

The use of operational amplifiers within the band stop filter design also
allows us to introduce voltage gain into the basic filter circuit. The two
non-inverting voltage followers can easily be converted into a basic
non-inverting amplifier with a gain of Av = 1 + Rƒ/Rinby the addition of
input and feedback resistors, as seen in our non-inverting op-amp
tutorial.

46
 Notch Filters

Al Penney
VO1NO

Notch filters are a highly selective, high-Q, form of the band stop filter
which can be used to reject a single or very small band of frequencies
rather than a whole bandwidth of different frequencies. For example, it
may be necessary to reject or attenuate a specific frequency generating
electrical noise (such as mains hum) which has been induced into a
circuit from inductive loads such as motors or ballast lighting, or the
removal of harmonics, etc.
But as well as filtering, variable notch filters are also used by musicians
in sound equipment such as graphic equalizers, synthesizers and
electronic crossovers to deal with narrow peaks in the acoustic response
of the music. Then we can see that notch filters are widely used in much
the same way as low-pass and high-pass filters.
Notch filters by design have a very narrow and very deep stop band
around their center frequency with the width of the notch being
described by its selectivity Q in exactly the same way as resonance
frequency peaks in RLC circuits.
The most common notch filter design is the twin-T notch filter network.
In its basic form, the twin-T, also called a parallel-tee, configuration
consists of two RC branches in the form of two tee sections, that use
three resistors and three capacitors with opposite and
opposing R and C elements in the tee part of its design as shown,

47
creating a deeper notch.

The upper T-pad configuration of resistors 2R and capacitor 2C form the low-
pass filter section of the design, while the lower T-pad configuration of
capacitors C and resistor Rform the high-pass filter section. The frequency at
which this basic twin-T notch filter design offers maximum attenuation is called
the “notch frequency”, ƒN and is given as:

47