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Second Order Filters

electronics

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Noel Jennings
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94 views9 pages

Second Order Filters

electronics

Uploaded by

Noel Jennings
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Second Order Filters which are also referred to as VCVS filters,

because the op-amp is used as a Voltage Controlled Voltage


Source amplifier, are another important type of active filter
design because along with the active first order RC filters we
looked at previously, higher order filter circuits can be designed
using them.
In this analogue filters section tutorials we have looked at both
passive and active filter designs and have seen that first order
filters can be easily converted into second order filters simply by
using an additional RC network within the input or feedback path.
Then we can define second order filters as simply being: “two 1st-
order filters cascaded together with amplification”.
Most designs of second order filters are generally named after
their inventor with the most common filter types
being: Butterworth, Chebyshev, Bessel and Sallen-Key. All these
types of filter designs are available as either: low pass filter, high
pass filter, band pass filter and band stop (notch) filter
configurations, and being second order filters, all have a 40-dB-
per-decade roll-off.

The Sallen-Key filter design is one of the most widely known and
popular 2nd order filter designs, requiring only a single
operational amplifier for the gain control and four passive RC
components to accomplish the tuning.
Most active filters consist of only op-amps, resistors, and
capacitors with the cut-off point being achieved by the use of
feedback eliminating the need for inductors as used in passive
1st-order filter circuits.
Second order (two-pole) active filters whether low pass or high
pass, are important in Electronics because we can use them to
design much higher order filters with very steep roll-off’s and by
cascading together first and second order filters, analogue filters
with an nth order value, either odd or even can be constructed up
to any value, within reason.

Second Order Low Pass Filter


Second order low pass filters are easy to design and are used
extensively in many applications. The basic configuration for a
Sallen-Key second order (two-pole) low pass filter is given as:

Second Order Low Pass Filter

This second order low pass filter circuit has two RC networks, R1 –
C1 and R2 – C2 which give the filter its frequency response
properties. The filter design is based around a non-inverting op-
amp configuration so the filters gain, A will always be greater
than 1. Also the op-amp has a high input impedance which means
that it can be easily cascaded with other active filter circuits to
give more complex filter designs.
The normalised frequency response of the second order low pass
filter is fixed by the RC network and is generally identical to that
of the first order type. The main difference between a 1st and 2nd
order low pass filter is that the stop band roll-off will be twice the
1st order filters at 40dB/decade (12dB/octave) as the operating
frequency increases above the cut-off frequency ƒc, point as
shown.
The frequency response bode plot above, is basically the same as
that for a 1st-order filter. The difference this time is the steepness
of the roll-off which is -40dB/decade in the stop band. However,
second order filters can exhibit a variety of responses depending
upon the circuits voltage magnification factor, Q at the the cut-off
frequency point.
In active second order filters, the damping factor, ζ (zeta), which
is the inverse of Q is normally used. Both Q and ζ are
independently determined by the gain of the amplifier, A so
as Q decreases the damping factor increases. In simple terms, a
low pass filter will always be low pass in its nature but can exhibit
a resonant peak in the vicinity of the cut-off frequency, that is the
gain can increases rapidly due to resonance effects of the
amplifiers gain.
Then Q, the quality factor, represents the “peakiness” of this
resonance peak, that is its height and narrowness around the cut-
off frequency point, ƒC. But a filters gain also determines the
amount of its feedback and therefore has a significant effect on
the frequency response of the filter.
Generally to maintain stability, an active filters gain must not be
more than 3 and is best expressed as:
Then we can see that the filters gain, A for a non-inverting
amplifier configuration must lie somewhere between 1 and 3 (the
damping factor, ζ between zero an 2). Therefore, higher values
of Q, or lower values of ζ gives a greater peak to the response
and a faster initial roll-off rate as shown.

The amplitude response of the second order low pass filter varies
for different values of damping factor, ζ. When ζ = 1.0 or more (2
is the maximum) the filter becomes what is called “overdamped”
with the frequency response showing a long flat curve.
When ζ = 0, the filters output peaks sharply at the cut-off point
resembling a sharp point at which the filter is said to be
“underdamped”.
Then somewhere in between, ζ = 0 and ζ = 2.0, there must be a
point where the frequency response is of the correct value, and
there is. This is when the filter is “critically damped” and occurs
when ζ = 0.7071.
One final note, when the amount of feedback reaches 4 or more,
the filter begins to oscillate by itself at the cut-off frequency point
due to the resonance effects, changing the filter into an oscillator.
This effect is called self oscillation. Then for a low pass second
order filter, both Q and ζ play a critical role.
We can see from the normalised frequency response curves
above for a 1st order filter (red line) that the pass band gain stays
flat and level (called maximally flat) until the frequency response
reaches the cut-off frequency point when: ƒ = ƒr and the gain of
the filter reduces past its corner frequency at 1/√2, or 0.7071 of
its maximum value. This point is generally referred to as the
filters -3dB point and for a first order low pass filter the damping
factor will be equal to one, ( ζ = 1 ).

However, this -3dB cut-off point will be at a different frequency


position for second order filters because of the steeper
-40dB/decade roll-off rate (blue line). In other words, the corner
frequency, ƒr changes position as the order of the filter increases.
Then to bring the second order filters -3dB point back to the same
position as the 1st order filter’s, we need to add a small amount
of gain to the filter.
So for a Butterworth second order low pass filter design the
amount of gain would be: 1.586, for a Bessel second order filter
design: 1.268, and for a Chebyshev low pass design: 1.234.

Second Order Filters Example No1


A Second Order Low Pass Filter is to be design around a non-
inverting op-amp with equal resistor and capacitor values in its
cut-off frequency determining circuit. If the filters characteristics
are given as: Q = 5, and ƒc = 159Hz, design a suitable low pass
filter and draw its frequency response.
Characteristics given: R1 = R2, C1 = C2, Q = 5 and ƒc = 159Hz
From the circuit above we know that for equal resistances and
capacitances, the cut-off frequency point, ƒc is given as:
We can see that the peakiness of the frequency response curve is
quite sharp at the cut-off frequency due to the high quality factor
value, Q = 5. At this point the gain of the filter is given
as: Q × A = 14, or about +23dB, a big difference from the
calculated value of 2.8, (+8.9dB).
But many books, like the one on the right, tell us that the gain of
the filter at the normalised cut-off frequency point, etc, etc,
should be at the -3dB point. By lowering the value
of Q significantly down to a value of 0.7071, results in a gain
of, A = 1.586 and a frequency response which is maximally flat in
the passband having an attenuation of -3dB at the cut-off point
the same as for a second order butterworth filter response.
So far we have seen that second order filters can have their
cut-off frequency point set at any desired value but can be varied
away from this desired value by the damping factor, ζ. Active
filter designs enable the order of the filter to range up to any
value, within reason, by cascading together filter sections.

In practice when designing nth-order low pass filters it is desirable


to set the cut-off frequency for the first-order section (if the order
of the filter is odd), and set the damping factor and corresponding
gain for each of the second order sections so that the correct
overall response is obtained. To make the design of low pass
filters easier to achieve, values of ζ, Q and A are available in
tabulated form for active filters as we will see in the Butterworth
Filter tutorial. Let’s look at another example.

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