Filter Basics Ebook

Fi lter Basic s E b o ok
De tailed Fund a me nt a l F i l t e r In f o r m a t i o n
to Sim p lif y Yo ur Filt er in g De ci s i o n s
2777 Hwy 20 (315) 655-8710 [email protected]

Cazenovia, NY 13035 knowlescapacitors.com
F I LTER BAS I CS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Resistance, Inductance, Capacitance, and Impedance.......................................................2
Designing Basic Filter Circuits...................................................................................................8
Five Filter Specifications to Understand............................................................................... 12
Key Filter Types and Technologies......................................................................................... 16
Lumped Element and Distributed Element Filter Construction....................................... 20
Waveguides and Transmission Lines.................................................................................... 22
Different Approaches to Q Factor.......................................................................................... 25
An In-Depth Look at Bandwidth.............................................................................................. 30
An Introduction to Poles and Zeros....................................................................................... 33
Resonators as Microwave Devices........................................................................................ 36
What Are S-Parameters and What Can They Tell Us About a Filter?............................. 40
knowlescapacitors.com
F I LTER BAS I CS
To he lp c u s t o me r s w i t h fi l ter sel ecti o n , we

g e ne r ally p r o vi d e a l o t o f i n fo rm ati o n o n w h at
ou r f ilt e r s c a n d o. B u t i n th i s n ew Fi l ter Basi cs
e bo ok , w e a r e t a k i n g a step b ack to co ver so m e
bac kg r ou n d i n f o r ma t i on o n h ow fi l ters d o wh at
the y do. Re ga r d l e s s o f th e tech n o l o g y b eh i n d
the f ilt e r, t h e r e a r e s e v eral key co n cepts th at
all f ilt e r s s h a r e t h a t w e wi l l d i ve i n to th ro u g h o u t
this e boo k . B y p r o vi d i n g th i s d etai l ed
f unda m e n t a l f i l t e r i n f o rm ati o n , we h o pe to h el p
y ou sim p l i f y yo u r f u t u re fi l teri n g d eci si o n s.
knowlescapacitors.com 1
F I LTER BAS I CS
Resistance, Inductance, Capacitance, and

Impedance
Every wire and every trace used for conducting signals on a printed circuit board (PCB) has
elements of resistance, capacitance, and inductance. Since these parameters are often
invisible, to truly understand each of these electrical properties, it is sometimes helpful to look
at some more common physical analogies.
Let’s start with resistance. The mechanical analogy we can use for demonstrating resistance is
friction. Figure 1 illustrates resistance, because as the person tries to pull the mass sitting on the
ground, the ground causes friction and impedes this person’s attempt to move the mass.
Figure 1. The friction caused by the ground impedes this person’s

ability to pull the mass along the ground.
Next, let’s look at inductance, which is defined as the property of a wire or trace to resist any
change in electrical current flowing through it and is sometimes referred to as electromagnetic
inertia. If we continue with our example above, just like a mass will resist a change in velocity
due to inertia, inductance will make a circuit resist current changes (Figure 2).
Figure 2. In this illustration, resistance was reduced by placing the mass on the
wheeled platform, but the mass still has inertia when the person tries to move it.
2 knowlescapacitors.com
F I LTER BAS I CS
When it comes to capacitance, or the ability to store an electric charge, a good way to think
about the capacitor is in terms of a spring, which stores energy as it is expanded (Figure 3).
Figure 3. As the person pulls the spring, it stores energy

that is used once the person releases the spring.
To put some of these concepts together, let’s look at a LC circuit, which is also known as a
resonant, tuned, or tank circuit. LC circuits consist of an inductor (L) and a capacitor (C) and are
most commonly used for generating signals at a particular frequency or picking out a signal at
a specific frequency from a more complex signal. LC circuits oscillate with minimal damping,
making resistance as low as possible. This can be illustrated by combining the examples shown
in Figures 2 and 3. As shown in Figure 4, the spring will allow the mass on wheels to bounce
back and forth, or oscillate, after it is pulled in one direction and then released by the person.
Fig ure 4. Once the person moves the mass on wheels and releases it,
the mass will oscillate since it is attached to the spring.
F I LTER BAS I CS
A Brief Overview of Ohm’s Law and Impedance

Now, let’s look at how to predict a signal’s behavior within a circuit as electrical properties
change when different voltages and currents are applied to a circuit. The formula used for this
is known as Ohm’s Law:
Simply put, Ohm’s Law Simply put, Ohm’s Law states that electric current is
proportional to voltage and inversely proportional
states that electric current to resistance since resistance hinders the flow of
is proportional to voltage current in the circuit. Ohm’s Law calculated with
and inversely proportional to this formula works well for resistors in DC circuits,
resistance since resistance but current-voltage relationships in AC circuits
need to be modified to account for impedance,
hinders the flow of current in which is basically like resistance but for AC at a
the circuit. given frequency. This can be done by adjusting the
formula above as follows:
Putting it All Together: Defining Capacitors and Inductors

At a very basic level, a circuit can be made using a capacitor and an inductor. A capacitor
impedes changes in voltage, with impedance decreasing with frequency, by storing energy in
an electric field to preserve voltage (Figure 5).
Figure 5. An illustration of how a capacitor stores energy between its two plates.
F I LTER BAS I CS
The impedance of the capacitor at different frequencies can be calculated using the following
equation:
ω = Angular Frequency, i is the imaginary number since we are using complex numbers here,
and C = Capacitance.
This formula shows that as C increases, Z decreases, or for a given capacitance impedance will
decrease with frequency.
Similarly, inductors impede changes in current, with impedance increasing with frequency, and
store energy in a magnetic field to preserve current across the circuit (Figure 6).
Figure 6. An illustration of how an inductor stores energy in its magnetic field.
The impedance of the inductor at different frequencies can be calculated using the following
equation:
L = Inductance
F I LTER BAS I CS
Furthermore, we can see the different forms of impedance and the relationship to frequency in
Figure 7 below for each of the ideal lumped circuit elements.
Figure 7. Using a form of Ohm’s Law where Impedance = Voltage/Current,

we can calculate how impedance will impact each of these lumped
circuit elements at different frequencies.
L and C Working Together: The LC Tank Circuit

As we just discussed, capacitors store energy
in an electric field and impede changes in
voltage while inductors store energy in a
Capacitors store energy in
magnetic field and impede changes in current, an electric field and impede
with the impedance of both components changes in voltage while
changing with frequency. When put together in inductors store energy in a
a circuit, capacitors and inductors have energy
bouncing back and forth, or oscillating, as
magnetic field and impede
shown in the spring/wheel contraption in Figure changes in current, with the
4, to power the circuit. The right combination impedance of both components
of capacitance and impedance determines the changing with frequency.
frequency where the energy oscillates, which is
known as the resonant frequency.
To demonstrate how this occurs, let’s walk through the steps of how an LC circuit functions and
what happens when it is operating at its resonant frequency.
F I LTER BAS I CS
• Step 1: We charge the capacitor by hooking it up to a battery. By doing this, the charge, and
corresponding electric field as shown in Figure 5, stored in the capacitor increases over
time. Energy stored in the capacitor will be ½*CV^2
• Step 2: Once we think we have enough energy stored in the capacitor we can disconnect
the battery. Now we have a charged capacitor.
• Step 3: We hookup the capacitor to another circuit that contains an inductor. Without the
original voltage applied from the battery, the capacitor will discharge energy into the circuit,
creating a current flow. Therefore, the energy originally stored in the capacitor is dumped
into the circuit.
• Step 4: A current flowing in an inductor causes a magnetic field to grow around the inductor
as shown in Figure 6. This stores energy in the inductor, equal to ½*LI^2
• Step 5: Eventually, the capacitor is discharged and current stops flowing. This causes the
magnetic field around the inductor to collapse, dumping the energy back into the circuit. As
we already know, a changing magnetic field around an inductor creates a voltage, and this
voltage causes current to flow into the capacitor again, charging it back up. An example LC
circuit is illustrated in Figure 8.
Since LC circuits have very little loss due to resistance, these circuits are commonly used in
many components for signal processing and communication systems, including filters.
Figure 8. An illustration of a resonant tank circuit hooked up to an AC voltage.

Source.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Designing Basic Filter Circuits

At the most basic level, filters are necessary in RF devices so that unwanted frequencies do not
pass through the circuit and cause interreference. While filtering can become quite complex as
operating frequencies increase, it can be made much less daunting by having an understanding
of how basic filters are built using standard electrical components such as resistors (Rs),
capacitors (Cs), and inductors (Ls).
Before we jump into types of filters though,

let’s start by looking at how a voltage divider
functions. A voltage divider is a passive linear
circuit that produces an output voltage (Vo)
that is a fraction of the input voltage (Vi).
As shown in Figure 9, the voltage divider
changes the Vi down to the Vo based on the
values of the resistors used, which are R1 and
R2 below.
If we start with Ohms Law, which as a

reminder, states that electric current is
proportional to voltage and inversely
Figure 9. An illustration of the very familiar proportional to resistance since resistance
DC circuit, the voltage divider. hinders the flow of current in the circuit, we
can derive the following formula for how a
voltage divider works:
As you can see from the formula above, as R1 grows (or as R2 shrinks) the output voltage will drop.
Swapping Rs and Cs to Turn Our Voltage Divider into a Filter

Now that we know how our simple voltage divider works, let’s look at what happens if we trade
out some Rs for Cs. To understand how this works, think back to the prior section where we
covered the fact that inductors and capacitors will act like resistors for AC signals at a certain
frequency. Also, in this section, we discussed how the impedance of a capacitor will change
with frequency and that capacitance can be calculated as follows:
F I LTER BAS I CS
Figure 10. A diagram of an RC low- Figure 11. Output voltage decreases

pass filter. with increasing frequency in an RC
low-pass filter.
Thus, for a capacitor, impedance decreases with frequency. So, if we swap R2 for a C as shown
in Figure 10, we will have a low-pass RC filter, which is a filter circuit that passes frequency
signals below a certain cutoff frequency and blocks frequency signals higher than that point.
In the RC low-pass filter, the path to ground goes through a capacitor, which means
impedance will decrease with increasing frequency. Therefore, in this circuit, the ratio of the
Vi down to the Vo will depend on the values of R and C and the frequency of the signal. With
high frequencies, impedance is low and energy is sent to ground as Vi is divided down. Low
frequencies see a higher impedance and energy is sent to the output (Figure 11).
Figure 12. A diagram of an Figure 13. Output voltage increases

RC high-pass filter. with increasing frequency when
using a high-pass RC filter.
If we do this the other way around and replace R1 with a C, the path to output goes through
the capacitor and we get the opposite effect as shown in Figure 12. In this configuration, low
frequencies see impedance that is higher than R, so the low-frequency signals go to ground
while the high-frequency signals see an impedance lower than R, which means we get a high-
frequency output (Figure 13).
F I LTER BAS I CS
Swapping Cs and Ls to
Create Your Desired Filter
Before we jump into talking about how
to create different filter configurations by
swapping Cs with Ls, let’s recap what we
covered in the first part of our ebook on
inductors. Inductors have the opposite
response to frequency than capacitors. This
can be calculated as follows:
Figure 14. In the top diagram, a low-pass filter is

converted to a high-pass filter by swapping the C for
an L in the path to ground. In the bottom diagram,
This means that impedance increases with the high-pass filter is converted to a low-pass filter
frequency in an inductor. To create a low-pass by swapping the C for an L in the output line.
filter using an R and L, we can start with an RC
high-pass filter as shown in Figure 4 and swap
the C for an L. We can also take the same
type of approach to design a high-pass filter
if we start with a RC low-pass filter as shown
in Figure 2 and replace the C with an L. Both
examples are illustrated in Figure 14.
As it turns out, RC filters don’t provide the best

performance in terms of roll off, which is the
slope over frequency from passing a signal to
blocking it. To improve this, RF designers can
combine Cs and Ls, balancing their opposite
responses to frequency to build different
low-pass, high-pass, and band pass LC filter
responses as shown in Figure 15.
Figure 15. Different types of LC filters and their
frequency responses.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Given that Rs, Cs, and Ls offer different variations on impedance, we can think
of designing a filter response as manipulating different impedances to achieve a
desired frequency response.
Manipulating Impedance to Achieve a Desired Frequency

Response in Your Filter
Given that Rs, Cs, and Ls offer different variations on impedance, we can think of designing a
filter response as manipulating different impedances to achieve a desired frequency response.
Thinking back to the DC voltage divider we started with at the beginning of this chapter, we
can build on this to create a high pass circuit by adding networks of impedance (Zs) using
various combinations of RCs and LCs as discussed here. Figure 16 below shows a high pass
circuit where Z1 decreases with frequency and Z2 increases with frequency. In general, by
replacing individual Rs, Cs, and Ls with sections of a circuit that have very specific impedance
vs frequency behavior, we can create more complex high-performance filters.
By breaking down the different ways to use the frequency dependencies of Cs and Ls, you can
see how it is possible to get a variety of different filter responses and form simple filters that
can serve as the building blocks for more complex filtering needs.
Figure 16. In this example, L and C are replaced with impedances Z 1 and Z 2 .
F I LTER BAS I CS
Five Filter Specifications to Understand

To select the ideal filter for your application, you first need to understand how to define your
filtering requirements as these requirements will ultimately determine the specifications of your
filter. While there are many possible filter specifications, we will focus on the following five key
specifications that we feel are crucial to understand:
1) Center frequency
2) Bandwidth
3) Insertion loss
4) Out-of-band rejection
5) Selectivity
In Figure 17, you can see each of these five metrics called out on a plot for a typical bandpass
filter response.
Figure 17. An example of a typical bandpass filter response with the five key
filter specifications we are examining called out.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Let’s dive into each of these specifications in more detail.
Center Frequency
Center frequency is defined as the geometric or arithmetic mean of the upper and lower cutoff
frequencies or 3dB points of the bandpass filter. The center frequency in the example in Figure
18 is identified as f0.
Figure 18. In this example, f L is the lower cutoff of this bandpass filter while f H
is the upper cutoff, therefore, f 0 is the center frequency.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the width of the passband of the bandpass filter and is expressed as the
frequency difference between the lower and upper 3 dB points. When it comes to bandwidth,
we can also look at the relative or fractional bandwidth of the filter, which is the ratio of a
filter’s bandwidth to its center frequency. As shown in Figure 19, different filter technologies are
capable of different fractional bandwidths.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Figur e 1 9. T his g r a phic shows fractional b an d wid th s acros s fre qu e n cie s for a
variet y of filter ty pes.is the u ppe r cutoff, th e re fore, f 0 is th e ce nte r fre que n cy.
As you can see in Figure 19, it is possible to have a fractional bandwidth that is greater than 100
percent. For example, if your filter has a 2 – 18GHz range, the center frequency is 10GHz and
the bandwidth is 16GHz, which would make the fractional bandwidth 160 percent.
Insertion Loss
Insertion loss is the ratio of a signal level in a test configuration without a filter present (|V1|) to
that when the filter is present (|V2|) and is calculated as shown in the equation below.
It is important to note that you should consider insertion loss as a specification on both the Tx
side since power is a system cost driver, as well as on the Rx side because loss impacts the
overall noise figure of the receiver.
Out-of-Band Rejection
A passband filter cannot allow interference from signals outside the bandwidth of interest. Therefore,
your filter needs to have the ability to reject (attenuate) out-of-band emissions. These out-of-band
emissions are far away from the band of interest (refer back to Figure 17) but can still interfere
with the signals within the passband through effects such as aliasing. More specifically, in their
recommendation document on “Unwanted Emissions in the Out-of-Band Domain,” the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) defines out-of-band emissions as “Emission on a frequency or
frequencies immediately outside the necessary bandwidth which results from the modulation process,
but excluding spurious emissions.”
F I LTER BAS I CS
Selectivity
Selectivity is a measurement of a filter’s ability to pass or reject specific frequencies closer to the
band of interest. Selectivity is also sometimes described by talking about the size of the transition
band necessary to get from the pass band to a certain rejection level, and often the size of the
transition band is expressed as a percentage of the center frequency. Thus, a filter’s selectivity can
tell us how much of the total bandwidth needs to be dedicated to transition bands.
A filter’s selectivity can tell us how much of the total bandwidth needs to
be dedicated to transition bands.
If a filter has high selectivity, smaller transition bands are needed, which means smaller guard
bands are necessary and less bandwidth is wasted implementing these features. Therefore,
high selectivity is crucial in environments where adjacent channels are close together as
high selectivity enables RF system designers to most efficiently use the available bandwidth.
Additionally, selectivity is a critical specification for determining a filter’s suitability for a given
application because a system’s transmission and reception characteristics are given in terms of
both insertion loss in the pass band as well as clearly prescribed attenuation requirements in
the stop band.
Putting it All Together: A Real-World Filter Example

While we started this post with a hypothetical example of based on typical bandpass response
with, Figure 20 shows these five specifications called out on an S21 plot for one of our 9.5GHz
surface-mount bandpass catalog filters, B095MB1S.
Figure 20. These five key specifications identified

on an S21 plot of one of our popular filters.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Key Filter Types and Technologies

Now that we have discussed filter specifications, to choose the right filter for your application,
you need to have a solid understanding of how to evaluate filter types and identify the
specific filter technology that will best suit your application.
Filter Types
To start, there are four filter response types that can be used to define the frequencies that
will be removed or allowed by the filter.
Low Pass
Low pass filters allow frequencies below a given frequency to pass (be transmitted or
received) while rejecting frequencies above the given frequency (Figure 21).
High Pass
High pass filters function in the opposite manner of a low pass filter. High pass filters let frequencies
above a given frequency pass through the filter while rejecting frequencies below the given
frequency (Figure 22).
Fig ure 2 1. An illu str a tion of a how a low Figu re 22. An illu stration of a how a high pass
pas s f i l ter w o rk s. filter works.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Figure 2 4. A n illustration of a how a

Figure 23. An illustration of a how a band pass
filter works. band stop filter work s.
Band Pass
Band pass filters pass frequencies between two frequencies (set upper and a lower limits) while
rejecting all other frequencies (Figure 23).
Band Stop
Band stop filters, which are also known as band reject or notch filters, function in the opposite
manner of a band pass filter. Band stop filters prevent all frequencies between two frequencies
from passing while allowing all others to pass (Figure 24).
Figu re 25. A map of filter technology performance across the frequency spectrum.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Filter Technologies
Beyond determining the filter type you will need, you also need to identify the specific filter
technology that best suits your application. Let’s review the common filtering technologies shown
in Figure 25, including the frequencies and bandwidths each technology is best suited for.
Lumped Element
Thinking back to the beginning of this ebook, lumped element filters are passive filters that
consist of the appropriate series of Ls, Cs, and Rs for your application. Building a lumped
element filter using a discrete LCR approach provides a low-cost way to implement a filter, but
the attainable Q factor is limited. Discrete lumped element filters are usually used in the 30 MHz
to 300 MHz range but can be built for applications up to 40 GHz. However, discrete lumped
element filters are hard to implement at mmWave frequencies because of the dimensional
limitations imposed by the frequency since the filter elements must be much smaller than
the wavelength of the transmission lines. Discrete LCR designs are also performance and
repeatability limited by the tolerances of the discrete components.
Acoustic
Acoustic filters have two variations – surface
acoustic wave (SAW) and bulk acoustic wave Since acoustic filters cover a
(BAW). Acoustic filters are unique because these range of frequencies up to 6 GHz
filters convert the AC electrical signal they are and offer a good performance/
meant to process into acoustic waves. Filtering is
cost tradeoff, this has made these
done on the acoustic waves by allowing certain
waves at the right frequency to travel through the filters the dominant off-chip filter
device. Then, the acoustic signal is converted approach in mobile devices today.
back into an AC electrical signal for transmission.
This technology is ingenious because the signal is filtered at a much lower speed, which means
smaller wavelengths, and this translates into the ability to be able to design very small filters.
We will revisit the benefits of changing the speed of the wave travelling in a filter, especially for
much higher frequencies like those at mmWave, when we touch on the transmission line-based
microstrip later in the post. Additionally, since acoustic filters cover a range of frequencies up to
6 GHz and offer a good performance/cost tradeoff, this has made these filters the dominant off-
chip filter approach in mobile devices today.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Ceramic Filters Based on Coaxial Ceramic Resonators

Ceramic filters cover a range of ~100 MHz to ~8 GHz. These filters offer similar performance
to discrete lumped element LC designs but can be implemented in small-form-factor surface
mount packages. Performance and package thickness can be a limiting factor of this filter type
compared to developing ceramic filters with SAW/BAW technology.
Cavity
Cavity filters are commonly used in the 40 MHz to 960 MHz frequency range and can offer high
selectivity under high power. Cavity filters can achieve good performance but are physically large
and usually only seen in infrastructure applications, such as for additional filtering at a cell site.
Transmission Line-Based Microstrip

At a high level, a microstrip filter is a type of
distributed element planar transmission line The evolution of high-k materials,
that is simple to implement in printed circuit such as Knowles Precision Devices’
boards (PCBs). Composed of a strip conductor, PG, CF, and CG, is making it
dielectric substrate, and ground plate,
microstrip is used in the microwave range with
possible for RF engineers to
a typical maximum frequency of 110 GHz. The develop low-loss microstrip
biggest concern with this filter type is the loss transmission-line filters.
experienced compared with other transmission-
line and waveguide filtering approaches. However, the evolution of high-k materials, such as
Knowles Precision Devices’ PG, CF, and CG, is making it possible for RF engineers to develop
low-loss microstrip transmission-line filters.
Waveguide
Waveguide filters are constructed using waveguide technology, which is a structure that guides
waves with minimal loss. In general, the main advantages of a waveguide filter include high
Q factor, which occurs by using air as a dielectric, high power capacity, and near-zero loss. A
primary disadvantage of waveguide filters is the relative size of these structures compared to
filters that use a transmission line and can take advantage of transverse electromagnetic (TEM)
modes.
Now that you have a high-level understanding of filter types and technologies, in this next
section, we will dive into more details on how lumped element and distributed element filtering
approaches work as well as when it is best to use each approach.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Lumped Element and Distributed Element Filter

Construction
We already covered how to make filters out of individual Rs, Ls, and Cs. Building on this, we
also provided the basics of a lumped element filter construction in the last section, and we gave
an overview of several different filter technologies that rely on what is known as a distributed
element construction approach. Now in this section, we will expand on these two filter
construction approaches and discuss their pros and cons to show when each approach should
be used based on your application needs.
Lumped Element Filter Construction

As previously mentioned, lumped element filters are passive filters that consist of the
appropriate Ls, Cs, and Rs to meet the application’s needs. An example of a generic lumped
element structure is shown in Figure 26.
Figure 26. An example of a generic lumped element L-C structure.
Building a lumped element filter using a discrete LCR approach is advantageous for many
applications in the 30 and 300 MHz range as this construction method provides a low-cost
way to implement a filter. Additionally, lumped element filters are generally easy to design and
tune and require minimum tooling costs if the filter is physically smaller than the operating
wavelength, allowing for a high degree of customization. This filter construction method is not a
good fit for high-power or high-frequency applications though.
At higher operational frequencies, it is hard to achieve narrow bandwidths with lumped element
filter construction and parasitics become unpredictable. For example, parasitic capacitance
is magnified and will lead to self-resonance, and other parasitic effects from mounting
components in the transmission lines can cause the filter to detune at higher frequencies. At
the opposite end of the spectrum, L-C filters can also be challenging to design for very low
frequencies in the kHz range as well.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Distributed Element Filter Construction

Unlike a lumped element filter, in
a distributed element filter design,
the elements of the circuit are not
localized in discrete Ls, Cs, and Rs.
As a result, distributed element filters
can be designed to tighter tolerances,
which makes this approach a better
fit for higher frequency applications.
For distributed element filter designs,
transmission lines and waveguides
are the primary methods used for
transferring electromagnetic waves
around the circuit. Simply put, a
transmission line is a two-conductor
structure, and a waveguide is a single
conductor with a hollow metal tube that
provides distributed inductance with
the empty space between providing
distributed capacitance. Figure 27 Figure 27. Examples of different transmiss ion
line and waveguide filter designs used
shows examples of how waveguide and
for distributed-element filters.
transmission lines can be implemented.
The main advantage of a waveguide filter is the high Q factor possible when air is used as
a dielectric, which offers high power capacity and near-zero loss. A primary disadvantage
of waveguide filters is the relative size of these structures compared to filters that use a
transmission line. However, work is being done today to reduce the size of waveguide filters
including using ceramic dielectric resonators with a high dielectric constant inside an air-filled
waveguide. Using ceramic instead of air reduces the wavelength of the radiation propagating
through the material, which consumes less space, but comes at the price of higher losses.
Microstrip and stripline are two common methods

Distributed element filters used for developing transmission-line-based
can be designed to tighter distributed element filters. Microstrip is a type of
tolerances, which makes planar transmission line that is simple to implement
this approach a better fit for in printed circuit boards (PCBs). Composed of a strip
higher frequency applications. conductor, dielectric substrate, and ground plate,
microstrip is used in the microwave range with a
typical maximum frequency of 110 GHz. The main
concern with using a microstrip approach is that loss compared with other transmission-line and
waveguide approaches is high. But high-k materials are evolving that can be used to develop
low-loss microstrip transmission-line filters.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Compared to using a microstrip approach, when using a stripline construction, coupled-line

structures do not need compensation for unequal phase velocities and there is less radiation.
However, Q, manufacturability, and tolerance all decrease when using a stripline versus a
microstrip approach. Therefore, stripline is not a great option for building filters for applications
that require higher Q and tighter tolerances.
In this next section, we will get into more details on how electromagnetic waves move around
inside waveguides and transmission lines and the different modes these approaches can support.
Waveguides and Transmission Lines

At a high level, the main difference between waveguides and transmission lines is the number
of conductors involved and the types of electromagnetic modes supported. Let’s explore how
each of these three types of electromagnetic modes work and how they are supported, or not
supported, by waveguides and transmission lines.
Figure 28. The E and H fields Figure 29. The E and H fields for
for TM mode moving in a TE mode moving in a rectangular
rectangul ar waveguide. waveguide.
Three Types of Electromagnetic Modes

When we say “modes,” what we are referencing is the different solutions to the electromagnetic
field equations for the particular structure we are referring to. These three modes include
transverse magnetic (TM), transverse electric (TE), and transverse electro-magnetic (TEM).
A TM mode solution involves the electric (E) field having components in the z-direction, which is
along the direction of propagation, so that the magnetic (H) field is transverse, or at right angles
to the z-direction (Figure 28).
On the other hand, TE mode has E field components at right angles to the z-direction as shown
in Figure 29.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Figures 30a (Left) and 30b (Right). These diagrams show examples of how the
E and H field move in TEM mode.
TEM mode has E field and H field components at right angles to the Z direction. Figure 30a
shows an example of an electromagnetic wave propagating through space in TEM mode while
Figure 30b shows how TEM mode works in a cross-section of a coax cable.
The Different Modes Supported by Transmission Lines and

Waveguides
When we look at transmission lines and waveguides in terms of the electromagnetic modes
supported, we can make clear distinctions between the two. A waveguide is a hollow tube
made of a single conducting surface, which means it cannot support TEM mode. We usually
see waveguides designed as a metal tube, but in recent years, the development of substrate-
integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is changing this. An SIW is basically a rectangular
waveguide in which the single conductor walls are formed by plated surfaces and vias. In this
format, the wave uses TE mode to propagate in high dielectric-constant materials. A depiction
of an SIW is shown in Figure 31.
Figure 31. A representation of an SIW.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Since a transmission line is a two-conductor structure, it can carry electromagnetic waves using
TEM mode. A common example of a transmission line, although it is sort of going out of style
now, is the coax cable shown in Figure 3b, which carries DOCSIS signals to cable TV boxes.
Additional transmission line examples, the modes one would usually see, and their traditional
performance characteristics compared to what you would see with a waveguide are all outlined
in Table 1.
To summarize, the biggest thing to remember when it comes to waveguides versus transmission
lines is that a waveguide = one conductor (usually a tube) and a transmission line = more than
one conductor, such as the structure seen in a coax cable.
Table 1. With all other qualities of the application being equal, this Table provides an overview of
how waveguides and different transmission line methods compare.
The biggest thing to remember when it comes to waveguides versus

transmission lines is that a waveguide = one conductor (usually a tube)
and a transmission line = more than one conductor, such as the structure
seen in a coax cable.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Different Approaches to Q Factor

As an RF engineer, you likely frequently hear the term “quality factor”, or Q factor, used as
shorthand figure of merit (FOM) for RF filters. In short, Q factor is expressed as the ratio of
stored versus lost energy per oscillation cycle.
Q factor generally describes specifications such as the steepness of

skirts, or the selectivity, and how low the insertion loss is.
More specifically, Q factor generally describes specifications such as the steepness of skirts,
or the selectivity, and how low the insertion loss is. Overall losses through a resonator increase
as Q factor drops and will increase more rapidly with frequency for lower values of resonator
Q. However, truly understanding how Q factor is determined is a bit more intricate. Let’s start
by looking back to the example bandpass filter specification we showed earlier in this ebook
(Figure 32).
Figure 32. An example of a typical bandpass filter response.
F I LTER BAS I CS
In this example, the X axis shows the operating frequency of the bandpass filter while the
Y axis shows the power allowed through the filter in decibels. We can mark the following
characteristics of this filter on this graph:
• Center frequency – The geometric or arithmetic mean of the upper and lower cutoff
frequencies or 3dB points of the bandpass filter.
• Bandwidth – Usually taken from the 3dB points on either side of the center frequency.
• Insertion loss – Drawn here as the loss at the center frequency. In general, when someone
says high Q in reference to insertion loss, this usually means low insertion loss.
• Selectivity – This is a measurement of a filter’s ability to pass or reject specific
frequencies closer to the band of interest. This is what people usually mean when they
talk about ‘steep skirts’ or a ‘sharp response.’ Generally, high Q means high selectivity.
Understanding the Different Components of Q Factor

There are three types of Q – loaded (QL), unloaded Q (Qu), and external Q (Qe) that make up Q
factor. QL is measured by looking at a plot of a filter’s performance. The standard definition of QL
is as a FOM for bandwidth calculated with the following equation:
QL is driven by what goes on inside the filter, which is the Qu, and the way that the device is
coupled to the external world, which is the Qe:
In general, QL is a convenient way to talk about a filter’s performance as plotted. But when it
comes to what makes a filter work the way it does, it’s best to look at the QU of the resonators
the filter is built up from. Now let’s look more specifically at three different ways to define Q
factor using the different types of Q.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Three Ways to Define Q Factor

As mentioned, there are actually a few different ways to define Q factor, depending on the
context of the discussion. This includes the following:
• Bandpass Q Factor – This talks about the width of a filter. Sometimes this is QL ,as
discussed above, but with wide filters it is tricky to use Bandpass Q Factor
• Component Q Factor – Addresses individual inductor or capacitor Q
• Pole Q Factor – Tells us about the performance of different parts of a filter response,
and is more abstract and based on Pole Zero Plots
While component and bandpass Q are the two most common types of Q factor referenced, let’s
further explore the context of all three to better understand what someone may mean when
they say a filter or component has “high Q.”
Bandpass Q Factor
When connecting components to create a resonant circuit, we need to look at QL, which for
bandpass filters is referring to selectivity as shown in Figure 33.
Figure 33. A graph showing bandpass filter Q Factor.
F I LTER BAS I CS
If the resonant circuit has Bandpass properties, we can define QL with the following formula:
It is important to note that this approach works for narrowband filters. However, when f1 and f2 are
widely separated, which usually means two octaves or more between f1 and f2, this results in a
wideband with the filter often constructed by combining a high pass filter for f1 and a low pass filter
for f2. In this situation it might make sense to think about the pole quality factor instead, which we
will discuss later, or to look at the performance of the high pass and low pass sections and look at
their QL.
Component Q Factor
As mentioned, component Q factor looks at just the component, such as the inductor or
capacitor, in isolation from the rest of the circuit. Components have Qu related to the component
values and loss. Since inductance and capacitance provide an opposition to AC that is
measured in terms of reactance, let’s look at Q in terms of how the component behaves under
reactance.
For a reactance with no loss
For an Inductive reactance, Q increases with frequency and decreases with loss as shown in
the formula below.
For capacitive reactance, Q decreases with frequency and with loss as shown in the formula below.
More specifically, the Q of an individual reactive component depends on the frequency at which
it is evaluated, which is typically the resonant frequency of the circuit that it is used in. The
formula for Q depends on whether we imagine the R to be in series with or in parallel with the
reactance. The following formulas can be used to calculate Qu:
Inductive Reactance: R in series with X:
Capacitive Reactance: R in parallel with X:
F I LTER BAS I CS
Pole Q Factor
For more complex systems such as wider filters, we can look at the Pole Q factor, which
tells us about the performance of different parts of the filter response. A filter has a
transfer function H(s) which tells us what an output signal will look like for a given input
signal.
Filter Transfer Functions are expressed in terms of the complex variable ‘s’ because
some problems are much easier so solve in the Laplace domain than they are in
the time domain. The output signal Y(s) can be converted back into real numbers,
and we can see how a filter’s performance is determined by the structure of the
transfer function H(s). We can find the values for s for when the transfer function H(s)
either gets large because the denominator heads to zero, or gets small because the
numerator heads to zero.
When N(s) heads to zero we call these values of s ‘zeros’ because the transfer
function tends to get smaller. When D(s) heads to zero we call these values of s
“poles” because the transfer function tends to get larger. In the Pole Zero Plot in
Figure 34, you can see that the poles are marked with an X.
Figure 34. A Pole Zero Plot that shows Pole Q factor.
F I LTER BAS I CS
In this plot there are two poles that are complex conjugate pairs. The length of the arrow from
the origin to the X is the frequency ωp. The distance along the real axis can be written in terms
of the Q factor:
Poles and zeros come from analyzing the system as a whole. Poles close to the y axis enhance
amplitude response, making that part of the filter “sharp,” which is one of the ways Q factor
drives selectivity. Additionally, based on this plot, high Q for a pole means low sigma. Since
earlier we said this real component has to do with damping, which in turn is related to energy
loss of a resonator, this makes sense.
An In-Depth Look at Bandwidth

In the Key Filter Specifications section earlier in this ebook, we provided a brief overview of five key
filter specifications to understand, one of which was bandwidth. In this section, we will look more
closely at what bandwidth is and why we need to consider bandwidth when selecting a filter.
Bandwidth is defined as the width of the passband of the bandpass filter

and expressed as the frequency difference between the lower and upper
3 dB points. Bandwidth will dictate the data rate, or how quickly we can
send information through a channel such as an optical fiber or a section
of the radio spectrum.
First, let’s look at why bandwidth is important. In general, bandwidth is defined as the width of
the passband of the bandpass filter and expressed as the frequency difference between the
lower and upper 3 dB points. Bandwidth will dictate the data rate, or how quickly we can send
information through a channel such as an optical fiber or a section of the radio spectrum.
A Historical Review of How to Calculate Bandwidth

To better understand bandwidth, let’s look back at some of the historical work that laid the
foundation for how to consider this specification. In the 1920s, when Harry Nyquist was working
on the telegraph at AT&T’s Department of Development and Research, the notion of the Nyquist
Rate emerged from his work. In short, this is the theoretical minimum system bandwidth needed
to detect Rs symbols per second is Rs/2 hertz.
F I LTER BAS I CS
A way to look at this more simply is to think about how signals behave in time when they are
band limited. A signal such as a series of pulses that is band limited in the frequency domain
gets distorted and smeared out in time. To stop these smeared-out pulses from overlapping
and becoming indistinguishable at a detector, there needs to be enough bandwidth to contain
all, or at least the majority, of the frequency components that make up that signal pulse. It turns
out, the amount of bandwidth we need gives us the Nyquist Rate, which says that for things to
make sense at the other end of a transmission, we can send pulses as fast as twice the channel
bandwidth, but no faster.
Similarly, to understand why bandwidth follows when we need to increase data rate, let’s look
at the Shannon-Hartley theorem that was developed in 1948 by Claude Shannon and Ralph
Hartley, both researchers at Bell Labs. This theorem tells us that the maximum amount of error-
free digital data that can be transmitted over a channel of a given bandwidth in the presence of
noise, which is calculated using the following equation:
Where:
C = Channel capacity in bits/second
M = Number of channels (e.g. the MIMO order)
B = Bandwidth in hertz
S = Transmit power, in watts
N = Noise on channel, in watts
S/N = Signal-to-noise ratio
To increase channel capacity (data rates) we can increase bandwidth, the number of channels,
or transmit power (S) or decrease the noise on the channel (N). Since this post is focused on
bandwidth, we won’t get into too much detail about this, but it is worth noting that you can reduce
N and increase channel capacity with filtering. For example, by including a filter with very low
insertion loss, you could improve the overall noise figure, or you could address any aliasing effects
that would bring out of band noise in the band of interest using a really good filter.
F I LTER BAS I CS
How Does an Application’s Bandwidth Requirements Impact

Filter Selection?
Bandwidth requirements vary widely by application as shown in Figure 35.
Figure 35. The relationship between bandwidth and frequency for a variety of common microwave systems
adapted From: Demmin, Booz Allen Hamilton 68th IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference.
Since different applications require different data rates to successfully transmit signals without
introducing noise, different types of filters are necessary as bandwidth and frequency increase.
In short, the type of filter you need depends on where you are on the frequency versus
bandwidth plot. More specifically, if you look back to the Key Filter Specifications section
again, we also noted that we can look at the relative, or fractional, bandwidth of the filter. This
is the ratio of a filter’s bandwidth to its center frequency. As shown in Figure 36, different filter
technologies are capable of different fractional bandwidths.
Since different applications require different data rates to

successfully transmit signals without introducing noise, different
types of filters are necessary as bandwidth and frequency increase.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Figure 3 6 . Fraction al b an dwidths acro s s frequ en cies fo r a variety o f fil ter typ es .
An Introduction to Poles and Zeros

Earlier in our Filter Basics ebook we discussed the different ways you can look at Q factor,
one of which is to consider the Pole Q factor (often used with more complex systems). We also
explained in that post that filters have a transfer function H(s) which tells us what an output
signal will look like for a given input signal. Note that filter transfer functions are expressed in
terms of the complex variable ‘s.’
Poles and zeros are properties of the transfer

function, and in general, solutions that make
the function tend to zero are called zeros, and
the roots that make the function tend towards
its maximum function are called poles. Let’s
look at how this works using a simple RC first
order lowpass filter (Figure 37).
Figure 37. A diagram of an RC first

order low-pass filter.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Poles and zeros are properties of the transfer function, and in general,
solutions that make the function tend to zero are called zeros, and the roots
that make the function tend towards its maximum function are called poles.
The transfer function for this filter written in terms of the complex frequency s, is as follows:
Thus, when s (frequency) = 0, the transfer function is 1 and we say the filter has a DC gain of 1. At s
= -1/RC the transfer function will tend to infinity, so we say we have a single ‘pole’ at frequency
s = -1/RC.
Now, knowing there is a ‘pole’ at s = -1/RC really does not help us understand how the filter
performs versus frequency ω, not yet anyway. To determine this, we are going to look at a more
general transfer function for a first order filter:
Then to understand the frequency response we replace s with jω (where j is the imaginary
number “i”).
When jω = -a the transfer function tends to infinity, and we say we have a pole.
Next, if we plot the pole at -a in the complex plane of the ‘pole zero’ plot and mark it with an
X, you get the graph shown in Figure 38. To see how the transfer function behaves at different
values for frequency w we can move the frequency value up and down the imaginary (vertical)
axis for different values of jω:
F I LTER BAS I CS
Figure 38. A plot of the pole at in the complex plane of the ‘pole zero’ plot.
Our transfer function will perform in the following manner – as the distance from the pole at to
the frequency we are interested in grows, the signal will decrease since we are dividing by the
size of that green vector (a + jω).
Some additional general notes about this transfer function:
• At jω = 0 – We are as close to the pole as we can get if we stay on the imaginary axis
and our transfer function Y will be at a maximum
• At jω = ∞ – We are as far away from the pole as we can get, and our transfer function Y
will be at a minimum
• At jω = a – Our amplitude will be down by a ratio of √2 compared to its maximum, so in

dB this is -3dB and we can say that a is our cutoff frequency
Therefore, in this simple case, our pole at -a gave us a cutoff frequency at a.
Similarly, our RC filter above with a pole at gives us a cutoff frequency of . This makes
sense and we probably already know this is the cutoff frequency of an RC filter, but getting there via a
roundabout route through a pole zero plot can help us understand how poles impact filter behavior.
Using Pole and Zero Information to Enhance Your Filter Designs

Through this single pole example, we can make the following general observation about poles:
• The closer you are to the frequency ω puts you on the complex plane relative to a pole,
and the filter’s transfer function will increase
• The further you are away from a pole and the filter’s transfer function will decrease
• Zeros have the opposite effect – the closer your frequency puts you to a pole, the filter
transfer function will decrease and vice-versa.
F I LTER BAS I CS
As an RF designer, if you have an in-depth understanding of how poles and zeros work, you can take
advantage of this information in your filter designs and improve your filter’s response. For example,
you can place zeros near frequencies you want to reject and poles near frequencies you want to pass.
Resonators as Microwave Devices

Resonators are essential building blocks for
bandpass filters as these components are
designed to store frequency-dependent electric Resonators are essential
and magnetic energy. A simple resonator, such building blocks for bandpass
as an LC resonator, can store the frequency- filters as these components
dependent electric energy in the C and magnetic are designed to store
energy in the L. Resonant frequency of a frequency-dependent electric
resonator occurs when the energy stored in the
and magnetic energy.
electric field is equal to the energy stored in the
magnetic field. In this section, we’re going to look
more closely at two different types of resonators
used in filters – coaxial ceramic and dielectric.
Coaxial Ceramic Resonators

If you’ve ever had cable television service, then
you have used a ceramic coaxial transmission
line. The transmission line is constructed using
a ceramic rectangular prism with a coaxial hole
running through the center. More specifically,
the ceramic coaxial resonator is a transmission
line resonator that operates in transverse
electromagnetic (TEM) mode. TEM mode has
both E- and H-field components at right angles to
the z-direction and no signals in the direction of
propagation as shown in Figure 39.
Each coaxial resonator transmission line is cut to

a specific length based on the wavelength of the
frequency of interest. To make the lines shorter,
ceramics with specific dielectric constants are
used to shrink the wavelength to the frequency
of interest. The dielectric used, length of the line,
and metallization will dictate the performance at
the frequency of interest. Coaxial resonators can Figure 39. How electrical and magnetic energy
be supplied as λ/4 resonators with one end fully travel in a coaxial transmission line.
metallized (i.e., shorted) and the other end open,
fully metallized on both ends, or as λ/2 resonators
with both ends open as shown in Figure 40.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Figure 40. How a signal will be impacted depending on the type of ceramic coaxial resonator added.
At Knowles Precision Devices, we design high Q ceramic resonators made with Class I
dielectrics to operate in UHF, VHF, L, S, and C bands and in microwave frequency ranges,
covering a total frequency range of 300 MHz to 5 GHz. A sampling of our ceramic coaxial
resonators is shown in Figure 41.
Figure 41. A variety of our tabbed and no-tab ceramic coaxial resonators.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Some of the other key features of our range of ceramic coaxial resonators that are built at our
facilities in the US include the following:
• Standard frequency tolerances ranging from 0.1 percent to 1.0 precent, but custom
tolerances are available
• Resonator profiles ranging from 2mm to 18mm with custom profiles available (Figure 42)
• Excellent temperature stability
• A thick film silver coating for excellent Q and solderability
• Superior silver adhesion with pull strengths greater than 20 lbs
Figure 42. The range of sizes we make for our catalog coaxial resonators.
For surface mount devices (SMDs) tabs, tables, or slotted no-tab configurations are available,
with our tabless version eliminating solder reflow issues and tab misalignments. Our resonators
are pre-tuned to your specified frequency with a choice of tolerances and screened to ensure
customer specifications are met. However, the self-resonant frequency (SRF) can be tuned by
removing the silver metallization at either the open end or the shortened of the resonator to
either increase or decrease the SRF.
For filtering applications specifically, our coaxial resonators made with modern, high-
performance ceramic dielectric materials are an excellent option for bandpass, band stop,
narrowband, delay, and EMI filters.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Dielectric Resonators
Dielectric resonators are a kind of ceramic cavity resonator that work by confining frequencies inside
the resonator material as a result of an abrupt change in permittivity at the surface, causing RF waves to
bounce back and forth between the sides. The Knowles Precision Devices DLI brand includes a family
of patented high-Q ceramic cavity resonators that offer an ideal solution for high-performance, low-cost
microwave or mmWave oscillators with frequencies ranging from <1GHz to >67GHz (Figure 43).
Figure 43. How various resonator types per form over different frequencies.
As shown in this graph, these resonators can reach much higher frequencies than alternative
technologies. These resonators are also fully shielded and designed on our temperature stable,
high dielectric constant ceramics. Some of the key specifications that can be built into our
range of DLI brand ceramic dielectric resonators include the following:
• High Q, (up to 2000) over the 2GHz to 40+GHz range, offering 200 to 500 percent
better Q over comparable technologies
• Low loss, very low phase noise oscillators
• Coupling capacitors can be integrated and tailored to the desired tuning range of the
oscillator inside the package
• Fully shielded – no large expensive housings or tuning screws
• Frequency stability to < 3ppm/°C
• Ready for automated assembly
• Do not exhibit aging characteristics
• Q leverage improves with increasing frequencies
• Do not out-gas due to density of the material
• High reliability thin film gold metallization is employed and frequency tolerances as low
as 0.1% are attainable.
Our dielectric resonator designs can be customized for either solder-surface mount or chip and
wire applications as well.
F I LTER BAS I CS
What Are S-Parameters and What Can They Tell

Us About a Filter?
In general, we like to think of scattering parameters, commonly known as S-parameters, as the
Swiss Army knife of RF data since this data can tell you quite a bit about the performance of a
filter. This is because an S-parameter file refers to the scattering matrix of a microwave network,
which is a mathematical construct that quantifies how RF energy propagates through a linear
multi-port network.
For a two-port network, the S-parameter matrix consists of four S-parameters – S11, S12, S21, and
S22 –that define the relationships between the two ports in the RF system. More specifically,
these four S-parameters define the following elements in the bidirectional network:
• S11 – The reflection coefficient (Γ) at the input, related to return loss
• S12 – A transmission coefficient that defines reverse gain
• S21 – Also a transmission coefficient that measures forward gain – in the case that the
measurement ports have the same impedance, this is a measure of insertion loss
• S22 – Also a reflection coefficient, defines output port reflection
We like to think of scattering parameters, commonly known as

S-parameters, as the Swiss Army knife of RF data since this data can tell
you quite a bit about the performance of a filter.
Figure 44. A representation of an S-parameter matrix of a two-por t RF device

where a represents an input and b represents an output.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Using the S-parameters for a filter, you can calculate values for insertion loss, return loss,
and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), which is a measure of the filter’s match to a given
impedance, with the following equations:
Insertion Loss Return Loss VSWR
A Real-World Example of Plotting a Filter’s S-Parameters

Let’s now look at an example of how to measure a filter’s performance using the S-parameter
file for one of our catalog filters, the B095MB1S, which is a 9.5 GHz surface mount bandpass
filter. For the analysis in this example, we will use a free open-source tool, scikit-rf, which is
based on the Python programming language, to plot the S-parameters.
To access the S-parameter file for this filter (or any of our filters), just search for the filter on
our website. Once you have the file, store it on your computer in a location where it is easy
to access from within your Jupyter setup (which is a tool that makes it easier to write Python
code interactively in a local web browser). We recommend renaming the file with a name that is
easy to recognize. For our example, we put the file in a folder called ‘xband2’ and named the
file ‘B095MB1S.s2p.’ Since Jupyter can see this folder, we can make a Network and review the
Network properties. Below is the Python code we input in Jupyter to call this S-parameter file
and create this example Network as well as the results.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Note that in this example, the testNtwk is a Network object representing a two-port Network.
The summary information in the results tells us the frequency range of this data set, the
number of data points, and the impedance of the Network. The Network class also comes
with convenient built-in methods for plotting and manipulating data. In this example, we can
quickly plot the log-magnitude in decibels for the filter’s frequency range for four standard
S-parameters by calling the plot_s_db method, or we can plot each s-parameter individually
(Figures 45 and 46).
10
Magnitude (dB)
20
30
B095MB1S, S11
40 B095MB1S, S12
B095MB1S, S21
B095MB1S, S22
50
8500 9000 9500 10000 10500 11000 11500
Frequency (MHz)
Figure 45. All Four S-parameters in one plot.
F I LTER BAS I CS
Figure 46. Each S Parameter plotted individually.
Now t hat yo u h a ve a b etter u n d erstan d i n g o f

how f ilt e r s w o r k , w e w o u l d l o ve to h ear fro m
y ou t o le a r n mo r e a b o u t yo u r appl i cati o n n eed s
an d how w e c a n h e l p y o u wi th fi l ter sel ecti o n for
y ou r ne x t a p p l i c a t i o n .
CONTACT US
If you need help selecting from our portfolio please contact us and we can
guide you through the selection process.
2777 Hwy 20 (315) 655-8710 [email protected]

Cazenovia, NY 13035 knowlescapacitors.com

Filter Basics Ebook

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Copyright:

Available Formats

Filter Basics Ebook

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Filter Basics Ebook

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fi lter Basic s E b o ok

2777 Hwy 20 (315) 655-8710 [email protected]

Designing Basic Filter Circuits...................................................................................................8

Five Filter Specifications to Understand............................................................................... 12

Key Filter Types and Technologies......................................................................................... 16

Lumped Element and Distributed Element Filter Construction....................................... 20

Waveguides and Transmission Lines.................................................................................... 22

Different Approaches to Q Factor.......................................................................................... 25

An In-Depth Look at Bandwidth.............................................................................................. 30

An Introduction to Poles and Zeros....................................................................................... 33

Resonators as Microwave Devices........................................................................................ 36

To he lp c u s t o me r s w i t h fi l ter sel ecti o n , we

Resistance, Inductance, Capacitance, and

Figure 1. The friction caused by the ground impedes this person’s

Figure 3. As the person pulls the spring, it stores energy

A Brief Overview of Ohm’s Law and Impedance

Putting it All Together: Defining Capacitors and Inductors

Figure 6. An illustration of how an inductor stores energy in its magnetic field.

Figure 7. Using a form of Ohm’s Law where Impedance = Voltage/Current,

L and C Working Together: The LC Tank Circuit

Figure 8. An illustration of a resonant tank circuit hooked up to an AC voltage.

Designing Basic Filter Circuits

Before we jump into types of filters though,

If we start with Ohms Law, which as a

Swapping Rs and Cs to Turn Our Voltage Divider into a Filter

Figure 10. A diagram of an RC low- Figure 11. Output voltage decreases

Figure 12. A diagram of an Figure 13. Output voltage increases

Figure 14. In the top diagram, a low-pass filter is

As it turns out, RC filters don’t provide the best

Manipulating Impedance to Achieve a Desired Frequency

Five Filter Specifications to Understand

Let’s dive into each of these specifications in more detail.

Putting it All Together: A Real-World Filter Example

Figure 20. These five key specifications identified

Key Filter Types and Technologies

Figure 2 4. A n illustration of a how a

Ceramic Filters Based on Coaxial Ceramic Resonators

Transmission Line-Based Microstrip

Lumped Element and Distributed Element Filter

Lumped Element Filter Construction

Figure 26. An example of a generic lumped element L-C structure.

Distributed Element Filter Construction

Microstrip and stripline are two common methods

Compared to using a microstrip approach, when using a stripline construction, coupled-line

Waveguides and Transmission Lines

Three Types of Electromagnetic Modes

The Different Modes Supported by Transmission Lines and

Figure 31. A representation of an SIW.

The biggest thing to remember when it comes to waveguides versus

Different Approaches to Q Factor

Q factor generally describes specifications such as the steepness of

Figure 32. An example of a typical bandpass filter response.

Understanding the Different Components of Q Factor

Three Ways to Define Q Factor

• Component Q Factor – Addresses individual inductor or capacitor Q

Figure 33. A graph showing bandpass filter Q Factor.

For a reactance with no loss

Inductive Reactance: R in series with X: