Lecture 1

Single-Time-Constant (STC) Circuits

Objectives
To analyze and understand STC circuits with emphasis on time constant
calculations
To identify different STC configurations: low pass and high pass
To study the switching performance of the STC circuits

Introduction

Circuits that are composed of, or can be reduced to, one reactive component and one
resistance are known as single-time-constant (STC) circuits.

Time Constant () is defined as the time required to charge a reactive element (capacitor
or inductor) to 63 percent (actually 63.2 percent) of full charge or to discharge it to 37
percent (actually 36.8 percent) of its initial value.

For an RC circuit, the value of one time constant is expressed mathematically as = RC.
For RL circuit = R/L.

The importance of the STC is appreciated, when we know that the analysis of a complex
amplifier circuit can be usually reduced to the analysis of one or more simple STC
circuits.

Time Constant Evaluation

Example 1:
Find the time constant of the circuit shown in Figure 1.


Figure 1 STC circuit for example 1.

Solution:

Apply Thvenins theorem to find the resistance seen by the capacitor. The solution
details are as follow:


Step 1:
Apply Thvenins theorem to the circuit that contains R
1
, R
2
, and v
I
to obtain R
th1
and
V
th1
as shown in Figure 2..



Figure 2 First reduction to the STC in Figure 1 using Thvenins theorem.

R
th1
is calculated by reducing v
I
to zero. That means both R
1
and R
2
will have the same
two nodes.
1 2 1
||
th
R R = R .
V
th1
is the open circuit voltage across R
2
which may be calculated using voltage division.
V
th1
=v
i
xR
2
/(R
1
+R
2
)
2 1 2 1
/( )
i th
V v R R R = +

Step 2:
The STC in Figure 1 may be simplified using Thvenins circuit in Figure 2 to obtain the
simplified circuit in Figure 3.



Figure 3 First application of Thvenins theorem to simplify the STC circuit in Figure 1

Step 3:

Figure 4 Second reduction to the STC circuit in Figure 1 using Thvenins theorem.
R
th
is calculated by reducing v
th1
to zero. That means both R
th1
and R
3
will be in series and
the resultant resistance will be in parallel with R
4
.
R
th
= (R
th1
+R
3
)|| R
4
= ((R
1
|| R
2
)+R
3
)|| R
4
.
V
th
is the open circuit voltage across R
4
which may be calculated using voltage division.
V
th
=V
th1
*R
4
/(R
th1
+R
3
+R
4
) = v
I
*R
2
/(R
1
+R
2
) *R
4
/( (R
1
|| R
2
) +R
3
+R
4
)

Step 4:

4 3 4 2 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 1
/( ) /( ) /( || )
i th th th
V V R R R R v R R R R R R R R = + + = + + +
4
The STC in Figure 2 may be simplified using Thvenins circuit in Figure 4 to obtain the
simplified circuit in Figure 5.



Figure 5 Second application of Thvenins theorem to simplify the STC circuit in Figure 1

This will result in the resistance seen by the capacitor C as:
.
1 2 3
[( || ) ] || R R R R +
4
Thus,
1 2 3 4
{[( || ) ] || } R R R R C = +

Comment: Since the time constant is independent of the sources, first of all set all
sources to zero. That means, short-circuit all voltage sources and open circuit all current
sources. Then, reduce the circuit as shown in Figure 6.



Figure 6 Reduction of STC circuits to a single reactive element and a single resistance

From Figure 6, the time constant will equal to R
eq
C
eq
for Figure 5-a, or L
eq
/R
eq
for Figure
5-b.

Example 2: Find the time constant of the circuit shown in Figure 7.



Figure 7 STC Circuit for Example 2

Solution:
Set the source to zero (i.e short circuit v
I
) to obtain the circuit in Figure 8-a.
The circuit in Figure 8-a may be further simplified using resistance reduction to obtain
the circuit in Figure 8-b.
From Figure 8-b, the resistance seen by the capacitor C will equal to .
Thus, the time constant will equal to
1 2
||
eq
R R R =
1 2
( || ) R R C =




Figure 8 Reduction of the STC circuit in Figure 7 for time constant calculation

Example 3: Find the time constant of the circuit shown in Fig. 9.




Figure 9 STC circuit for Example 3

Solution:
Set the source to zero (i.e short circuit v
I
) to obtain the circuit in Figure 10-a.
The circuit in Figure 10-a may be further simplified using capacitance reduction to obtain
the circuit in Figure 10-b.
From Figure 10-b, the capacitance seen by the resistor R will equal to .
Thus, the time constant will equal to
1 2 eq
C C C = +
1 2
{ } C C R = +



R C
2
C
1
R
C
eq
(a) (b)

Figure 10 Reduction of the STC circuit in Figure 9 for time constant calculation


Example 4:

Find the time constant of the circuit shown in Figure 11.



Figure 11 STC circuit for Example 4

Solution:
Set the source to zero (i.e short circuit v
I
) to obtain the circuit in Figure 12-a.
The circuit in Figure 12-a may be further simplified by noting that R
1
and R
2
are parallel
and C
1
and C
2
are parallel to obtain the circuit in Figure 12-b.
From Figure 12, the equivalent capacitance is , and the equivalent
resistance is .

Thus, the time constant will equal to

1 2 1 2
{ }{ || C C R R } = +
2 1
C C C + =
eq
1 2
||
eq
R R R =


Figure 12 Reduction of the circuit in Figure 11 for time constant calculation

Example 5:

Find the time constant of the circuit shown in Figure 13.



Figure 13 STC circuit for example 5


Solution:
Set the source to zero (i.e short circuit v
I
) to obtain the circuit in Figure 14-a.
The circuit in Figure 14-a may be further simplified by noting that L
1
and L
2
are parallel
to obtain the circuit in Figure 10-b.
From Figure 10, the inductance seen by the resistor R will equal to . Thus,
the time constant will equal to
1 2
||
eq
L L L =
1 2
{ || } L L
R
=



Figure 14 Reduction of the STC circuit in Figure 13 for time constant calculation
Classification of STC Circuits

STC circuits may be classified into two categories, low-pass (LP) and high-pass
(HP) types, with each category displaying distinctly different signal responses.
Low-Pass circuits pass dc (signal with zero frequency) and attenuate high
frequencies, with the transmission being zero at =.
High-Pass circuits pass high frequencies and attenuate low frequencies, with the
transmission being zero at dc (=0).
To classify the STC as a LP or HP we may test the output response at either =0
or =.
At =0 capacitors should be replaced by open circuits and inductors should be
replaced by short circuits. If the output is zero, the circuit is of the high-pass type
otherwise, if the output is finite, the circuit is of the low-pass type.
At = capacitors should be replaced by short circuits and inductors should be
replaced by open circuits. If the output is finite, the circuit is of the high-pass type
otherwise, if the output is zero, the circuit is of the low-pass type.
Table 1 provides a summary to the classification test procedure.


Table 1Rules for finding the types of STC circuits

Test at Replace Circuit is LP if Circuit is HP if
= 0 C by open circuit & L by short circuit Output is finite Output is zero
= C by short circuit & L by open circuit Output is zero Output is finite

Figure 15 shows examples of low-pass STC circuits, and Figure 16 shows
examples of high-pass STC circuits.
Please note that each circuit could be either HP or LP depending on the input and
output variable.
As an exercise please verify the circuits type in Figures 15 and 16using the rules
in table 1.
Detailed frequency response of the STC circuits will be addressed in the next
lecture. While the time response to various test signals will be discussed in the
next section.



Figure 15 STC circuits of the low-pass type




Figure 16 STC circuits of the low-pass type


Time response of STC circuits : Step response of STC Circuits

The first order differential equation describing the system may be solved given
the problem initial conditions to yield the required current or voltage.
Alternatively, we may obtain the required current or voltage without solving any
differential equation by finding the following quantities:
a. the initial value of the capacitor voltage or the inductor current y
0+

b. the final value of the capacitor voltage or the inductor current (at t=) y

c. the time constant
Then use the equation: y(t) = y

- (y

y
0+
).e
(-t/)
The step response will depend on the STC type (HP, or LP)
Figure 17 shows the step response of both HP and LP types.
For the low-pass circuit
o y
0+
= 0 (sudden change is considered very high frequency)
o y

= S (DC signal represents zero frequency)

o y(t)=S(1- e
(-t/)

) which is shown in Figure 17-b
o The slope at t=0 is S/
For the high-pass circuit
o y
0+
= S (sudden change is considered very high frequency)
o y

= 0 (DC signal represents zero frequency)

o y(t)=S.e
(-t/)

which is shown in Figure 17-c
o The slope at t=0 is S/



Figure 17-a A step-function signal of height S.



Figure 17-b The output y(t) of a low-pass STC circuit excited by a step of height S.



Figure 17-c The output y(t) of a high-pass STC circuit excited by a step of height S.


Pulse response of STC Circuits

Figure 18 shows a pulse signal with a height "P" and width "T".
The pulse function may be treated as the sum of two step functions one with a
height P at time t=0 and the other with a height -P at time t=T
Similar to the step response, the pulse response will depend on the STC type (LP
or HP)




Figure 18 A pulse signal with a height "P" and width "T"


a) Low Pass circuit response

The response will depend on the ratio between the pulse width T and the
time constant .
Figure 19 shows the response for three different time constant ratio cases
Since low pass circuit passes the DC faithfully, the area under the curve
will be constant equal to T times P as the input signal.
If <<T, the output will be similar to the input with smoothed edges
(remember that sudden changes represent very high frequencies)
As shown in Figure 19-a, the rise time is defined as the time required for
the output to rise from 10% to 90% of the pulse height. Similarly, the fall
time is defined as the time required for the output to fall from 90% to 10%
of the pulse height.
From the exponential equation we can easily prove that t
r
=t
f
=2.2*
An interesting case is when >>T where the circuit will act as an
integrator.


Figure 19 The output y(t) of a low-pass STC circuit excited by a pulse in Figure 18

b) High Pass circuit response

Similar to the low pass circuit. The response will depend on the ratio
between the pulse width T and the time constant .
Figure 20 shows the response for three different time constant ratio cases
Since high pass circuit has an infinite attenuation to DC, the area under the
curve will equal to zero.
If >>T, the output will be similar to the input with small tilt and zero
average (positive area will equal to the negative area)
The tilt P may be calculated by noting the slope of the step response at
t=0 is P/. That means P may be approximated by the slope times T =
PT/.
An interesting case is when <<T where the circuit will act as a
differentiator.



Figure 20 The output y(t) of a high-pass STC circuit excited by a pulse in Figure 18