INTERNAIONAL UNIVERSITY – VNU HCMC

SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

EE051IU
Principles of EE1

Passive Filter Circuits

Dr. Tran Le Giang

Fall 2022
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Content
I. Passive Filters
II. Low-pass Filters
III.High-pass Filters
IV.Band-pass Filters
V. Band-stop Filters
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

I. Passive Filters
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

• A filter is a frequency-selective circuit.

• A filter is designed to pass some frequencies and reject others.

• This property of filters is also called “frequency selectivity”.

• Passive filters – built using components such as resistors,
capacitors and inductors and do not provide amplification.
• Active filters – employ transistors or op-amps in addition to
resistors and capacitors.
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

• Passive filter contains only R, L, and C.

• Inductance is often omitted from passive filter design
because of the size and cost.

There are 4 basic categories of filters:

ü Low-pass filters

ü High-pass filters
ü Band-pass filters
ü Band-stop filters
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

• The passband is the range of

frequencies that are allowed to
pass through the filter.

• The critical frequency fc is specified

at the point where the response
drops by 3 dB from the passband
response.

• The stopband is the range of

frequency that has the most
attenuation.

• The transition region is the area

where the fall-off occurs.
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Ideal filters

lowpass highpass

bandpass bandstop
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Practical filters

lowpass highpass

bandpass bandstop
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

II. Low-pass Filers

EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

• Allows frequency from 0 Hz to critical frequency fH (also known as cutoff frequency).

• Ideally, the response drops abruptly at the critical frequency.

EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

A RL low-pass filter
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The definition for cutoff frequency widely used by electrical

engineers is:

“The frequency for which the transfer function magnitude is

decreased by the factor 1/ 2 from its maximum value”

It follows that the passband of a filter is defined as the range

of frequencies for which the amplitude of the output voltage
is at least 70.7%
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The average power delivered by any circuit to a load is

proportional to V!" , where V! is the amplitude of the voltage
drop across the load:
1 V!"
P=
2R
Then the maximum power delivered:
1 V!" #$%
P#$% =
2 R
If the source voltage V# is a sinusoidal source, the load voltage is
a maximum when the magnitude of the circuit’s transfer
function is also a maximum:
V! #$% = H#$% |V& |
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Now consider what happens to the average power when the

frequency of the voltage source is ω$ . The magnitude of the load
voltage at ω$ is:
1
V! j𝜔c = H j𝜔c V" = H#$% |V" |
2
1
V! j𝜔c = V! #$% V! j𝜔c
2

Hence, the power delivered to the load at the cutoff frequency:

&
1
V#$%
1 |V!& (j𝜔c)| 1 2
P j𝜔c = =
2 R 2 R
P#$%
P j𝜔c =
2
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

• At the cutoff frequency ω$ , the average power delivered by

the circuit is one-half the maximum average power. Thus,
𝛚𝐜 is also called the half-power frequency.
• In the filter’s passband, the average power delivered to a
load is at least 50% of the maximum average power.
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Time domain circuit S-domain circuit

V% (s) R/L
H s = =
V# s s + R/L
To analyze the frequency response, we make substitution s = jω
to the transfer function:
R/L
|H j𝜔 | =
𝜔 " + R/L "
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

We can compute the cutoff frequency. 𝛚𝐜

Note that 𝛚𝐜 is defined as the frequency at which
1
H j𝜔 = H'()
2
For the low-pass filter, H'() = H j0 = 1, thus
1 R/L
H j𝜔$ = 1 =
2 𝜔$" + R/L "

Solving for 𝛚𝐜 , we get

𝜔( = R/L
The cutoff frequency of the RL filter
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Example 01:

Choose values for R and L in the circuit of such that the resulting circuit could be
used in an electrocardiograph to filter out any noise above 10 Hz and pass the
electric signals from the heart at or near 1 Hz.

Then compute the magnitude of Vo at 1 Hz, 10 Hz, and 60 Hz to see how well the
filter performs.
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Example 02:

For the series RC circuit below,

a) Find the transfer function between the source voltage and the output voltage.

b) Determine an equation for the cutoff frequency in the series RC circuit.

c) Choose values for R and C that will yield a lowpass filter with a cutoff
frequency of 3 kHz.
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

For the low-pass filter, H'() = H j0 = 1, thus

1 1/RC
H j𝜔$ = 1 =
2 𝜔$" + 1/RC "

1
𝜔$ =
RC
The cutoff frequency of the RC filter
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

TRANSFER FUNCTION FOR LOW-PASS FILTERS

𝜔$
H s =
s + 𝜔$
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

III. High-pass Filters

EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

II. High-pass Filter

A RC high-pass filter
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Time domain circuit S-domain circuit

V% (s) s
H s = =
V# s s + 1/RC
To analyze the frequency response, we make substitution s = jω
to the transfer function
𝜔
H j𝜔 =
j𝜔 " + 1/RC "
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

We can compute the cutoff frequency. 𝛚𝐜

Note that 𝛚𝐜 is defined as the frequency at which
1
H j𝜔 = H'()
2
For the low-pass filter, H'() = H j0 = 1, thus
1 𝜔
H j𝜔$ = 1 =
2 𝜔$" + 1/RC "

Solving for 𝛚𝐜 , we get

𝜔( = 1/RC
The cutoff frequency of the RC filter
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Example 03:
Show that the circuit below also acts as a high-pass filter
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Example 04:

Examine the effect of placing a load resistor in parallel with the inductor in the
RL high-pass filter shown in the circuit below:

a) Determine the transfer function for the circuit

b) Sketch the magnitude plot for the loaded RL high-pass filter, using the
values for R and L from the circuit in Example 03

(c) and letting RL = R. On the same graph, sketch the magnitude plot for the
unloaded RL high-pass filter of Example 03
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

TRANSFER FUNCTION FOR HIGH-PASS FILTERS

s
H s =
s + 𝜔$
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

IV. Band-pass Filters

EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

IV. Band-pass and Band-stop Filter

The first parameter is the center frequency, 𝛚𝟎 , defined as the frequency for
which a circuit’s transfer function is purely real.

Another name for the center frequency is the resonant frequency.

The center frequency is the geometric center of the passband; that is,
𝛚𝟎 = 𝛚𝐜𝟏 𝛚𝐜𝟐

For bandpass filters, the magnitude of the transfer function is maximum at

the center frequency

H#$% = |H jω+ |
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The second parameter is the bandwidth, ß, which is the width of the

passband.

The final parameter is the quality factor Q, which is the ratio of the
center frequency to the bandwidth
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The equivalent circuit for

𝜔=0

The equivalent circuit for

𝜔=∞
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The Series RLC Circuit

The transfer function of the RLC circuit

(R/L)s
H s =
s & + R/L s + (1/LC)
We substitute s = j𝜔

𝜔(R/L)
|H j𝜔 | =
(1/LC) − 𝜔 & & + 𝜔 R/L &
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Recall that the center frequency, ω+ , is defined as the frequency for which
the circuit’s transfer function is purely real.

The transfer function for the RLC circuit will be real when the capacitor
and inductor impedances sum to zero:

1
j𝜔+ L + =0
j𝜔+ C

Solving for ω+ , we get:

1
ω% =
LC
CENTER FREQUENCY
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

CUTOFF FREQUENCIES, SERIES RLC FILTERS

"
R R 1
ω$* =− + +
2L 2L LC
"
R R 1
ω$" = + +
2L 2L LC

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CENTER CUTOFF FREQUENCY AND CUT OFF FREQUENCIES

1
ω% = ω$* ω$" =
LC
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BANDWIDTH AND CUTOFF FREQUENCIES

β = ω$" − ω$*

" "
R R 1 R R 1
β= + + − − + +
2L 2L LC 2L 2L LC

BANDWIDTH IN THE RLC FILTERS

R
β=
L
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The quality factor is defined as the ratio of center frequency to bandwidth

-
+, ./
Q= =
, -/!

L
Q=
R" C

QUALITY FACTOR OF RLC CIRCUITS

EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Example 05:

Using the series RLC circuit below, choose values for R, L,and C
that yield a bandpass circuit able to select inputs within the
1 kHz–10 kHz frequency band.
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Example 06:

Determine the effect of the nonzero

source resistance Ri on the series RLC
bandpass filter characteristics.

a) Determine the transfer function for

the circuit.

b) Sketch the magnitude plot for the

circuit using the values for R, L, and C
from Example 05 and setting Ri = R.
On the same graph, sketch the
magnitude plot for the circuit in
Example 05, where Ri = 0.
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

TRANSFER FUNCTION FOR BAND-PASS FILTER

βs
H s = "
s + βs + ω"%

or
Kβs
H s = "
s + βs + ω"%
where the values for K and b depend on whether the series
resistance of the voltage source is zero or nonzero
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

V. Band-stop Filters
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The equivalent circuit for

𝜔=0

The equivalent circuit for

𝜔=∞
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The transfer function

1 1
sL + s& +
H s = sC = LC
1 R 1
R + sL + s& + s+
sC L LC

Substituting j𝜔 for s, the transferfunction magnitude

1
− 𝜔&
H j𝜔 = LC
&
1 𝜔R
− 𝜔& +
LC L

The center frequency

1
𝜔+ =
LC
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

The cutoff frequencies

&
R R 1
ω01 =− + +
2L 2L LC

&
R R 1
ω0& = + +
2L 2L LC
The bandwidth
𝛽 = R/L
The center frequency

L
Q=
R& C
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

Example 07:

Using the series RLC circuit, compute the

component values that yield a band-stop filter
with a bandwidth of 250 Hz and a center
frequency of 750 Hz.

Use a 100 nF capacitor. Compute values for R, L,

ω!" , ω!# , and Q.
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits

TRANSFER FUNCTION FOR BAND-PASS FILTER

βs
H s = "
s + βs + ω"%

or
Kβs
H s = "
s + βs + ω"%
where the values for K and b depend on whether the series
resistance of the voltage source is zero or nonzero
EE051IU Principles of EE1 Passive Filter Circuits