EE 210 Frequency Response Lab Supplement

A circuit is called frequency-dependent if the effect it has on an input signal is different

depending on the frequency of the input signal. In many applications, it is desirable to have a
circuit that performs differently for low frequency and high frequency signals. For example, a
graphic equalizer circuit in a stereo is frequency-dependent -- it is designed to amplify certain
frequencies but not others (depending on the settings of the graphic equalizer). The volume
control on your stereo, however, is not frequency-dependent -- it amplifies all the frequencies in
the input signal by the same amount.

For a circuit to be frequency-dependent, at least one of the components in the circuit must have
frequency-dependent V-I characteristics. This means that the mathematical relationship between
V and I must be a function of frequency.

As an example, consider the relation between V and I for a resistor. We know this relation to be
given by Ohm’s law, V = I·R. Note that there is no dependence on frequency in this equation. A
circuit composed only of resistors, then, will not be frequency-dependent. For example, a simple
voltage divider circuit that divides the voltage by 2 will do this for any applied input signal – a
10 V DC signal would become a 5 V DC signal; a 5 Vpp 100 Hz sinusoid would become a 2.5
Vpp 100 Hz sinusoid, etc.

Now consider the relation between V and I for a capacitor. This is given as:
dv ( t )
iC ( t )  C C
dt
Because higher-frequency signals have a larger first derivative than lower-frequency signals, the
presence of the derivative in this relationship means that the V-I relation for a capacitor is
frequency dependent.

Likewise, consider the relation between V and I for an inductor. This is given as:
di ( t )
vL ( t )  L L
dt
Again the presence of the derivative in this relationship means that the V-I characteristic for an
inductor is also frequency dependent.

This V-I frequency dependency can be illustrated easily. Consider a sinusoidal voltage signal
applied across the terminals of a 1 µF capacitor. From the V-I characteristics of the capacitor,
we can determine the current through the capacitor for the following two inputs:
v1 ( t )  10 sin( 100t )V  i1( t )  1cos( 100t ) mA
v2 ( t )  10 sin( 200t )V  i2 ( t )  2 cos( 200t ) mA

We see from this simple example that the input voltage signal that had a higher frequency (200
rad/sec) produces a large amplitude current than the 100 rad/sec signal (2 mA vs. 1 mA).

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A useful way to view this frequency-dependent nature of capacitors and inductors (*under very
specific conditions which we will learn about later*) is to think of capacitors and inductors as
frequency-dependent “resistors.” In a resistor, the amplitude of the voltage across a resistor is R
times the current through the resistor. In an inductor, the amplitude of the voltage across the
inductor is L   times the current through the resistor, where  is the frequency of the input
signal in radians/sec (   2  f , where f is the frequency in Hz). In a capacitor, the amplitude
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of the voltage across the capacitor is times the current through the capacitor. If we place
C 
these frequency-dependent “resistances” in a circuit, then, we can get a frequency-dependent
circuit.

Shortly in EE 210 (as well as follow-up courses like EE 350/353), we’ll study this frequency-
dependent property of capacitors and inductors from a mathematical perspective by introducing
the concept of impedance -- an extension of the concept of resistance which takes frequency-
dependency into account by using complex numbers. For purposes of this lab, however, we will
be content with examining this frequency-dependent property from a strictly experimental
perspective by measuring the frequency response of a circuit.

Frequency response is a term given to the analytical or experimental measure of the ratio of
output voltage (or current) magnitude to the input voltage (or current) magnitude for a variety of
frequencies of operation. The frequency response, therefore, is a measure of gain (output
magnitude/input magnitude) versus frequency. In other words, the frequency response indicates
how the circuit’s operation varies as a function of frequency. Experimentally, the frequency
response is measured by applying an input signal of a given voltage amplitude and measuring the
magnitude of the output signal and then repeating this measurement for a range of input signal
frequencies. After taking these measurements, we can graphically represent this data by plotting

voltage magnitude at the circuit output

vs. frequency (in Hz or rad/sec)
voltage magnitude at the circuit input

The plot of this data is appropriately called a frequency response magnitude plot. Later in EE
210, you will learn that there is another frequency-response plot called a phase plot. In this lab,
we will focus only on the magnitude plot.

Once a frequency response plot is generated, the shape of the plot gives an indication of the
purpose of the circuit. Frequency-dependent circuits with particular shaped frequency responses
are sometimes known as filters. Some basic kinds of filters are highpass, lowpass, bandpass,
and bandstop (or notch) filters. A lowpass filter amplifies low frequencies (or allows “low”
frequency signals to “pass” through the circuit) while attenuating high frequency signals. A
highpass filter amplifies high frequencies (or allows “high” frequency signals to “pass” through
the circuit) while attenuating low frequency signals. Bandpass filters allow frequencies within a
certain range (called the passband) to pass, and stop any frequency components that are higher or
lower frequency than the passband. Notch filters attenuate frequencies within a certain range
(called the stopband) and allow frequency components higher and lower than the stopband to
pass.

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Note: For a circuit that is not frequency-dependent, the frequency response plot would be a
horizontal line because the gain is independent of frequency of operation. In some cases, this is
desirable. For example, we want the frequency response of our headphones to be flat – we
wouldn’t want to use headphones that would artificially amplify higher frequencies differently
than lower frequencies.