Linear Integrated Circuits

and Applications

L-5.2
ACTIVE FILTERS
Resources

Text Books:
1. Ramakant A. Gayakwad, ‘Op-Amps and Linear Integrated Circuits’, Pearson Education, 2000.
2. Sergio Franco, ‘Design with Operational Amplifiers and Analog Integrated Circuits’, McGraw-Hill,
2002.

SLIDES OF THIS COURSE ARE BASED ON THESE BOOKS AND SOME OF THE FIGURES
ARE TAKEN FROM THESE BOOK.
 ACTIVE FILTERS

An electric filter is often a frequency-selective circuit that passes a specified band of

frequencies and blocks or attenuates signals of frequencies outside this band.

Analog filters are designed to process analog signals, while digital filters process analog
signals using digital techniques. Depending on the type of elements used in their
construction, filters may be classified as passive or active. Elements used in passive filters
are resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Active filters, on the other hand, employ transistors
or op-amps in addition to the resistors and capacitors.
Active Filters
Figure shows the frequency response characteristics of the five types of filters.

Low pass High pass Phase Shift between

input and output
voltages of an all-pass
filter

Band pass Band Reject

Active Filters
The band-reject filter performs exactly opposite to the band-pass; that is, it has a band stop between two
cut off frequencies and and two passbands: and . The band-reject is also called a band-stop or band-
elimination filter. The frequency responses of band-pass and band-reject filters are shown in Figures,
respectively. In these figures, is called the center frequency since it is approximately at the center of the
passband or stopband.

Band pass Band Reject

Active Filters
Figure shows the phase shift between input and output voltages of an all-pass filter. This filter passes all
frequencies equally well; that is, output and input voltages are equal in amplitude for all frequencies, with
the phase shift between the two a function of frequency. The highest frequency up to which the input and
output amplitudes remain equal is dependent on the unity gain-band-width of the op-amp. At this
frequency, however, the phase shift between the input and output is maximum.

Phase Shift between input and output voltages of an all-pass filter

 WIDE BAND PASS FILTER

A wide band-pass filter can be formed by simply cascading high-pass and low-pass sections and is
generally the choice for simplicity of design and performance. To obtain a +20 dB/decade band-pass, first-
order high-pass and first-order low-pass sections are cascaded; for a ±40-dB/decade band-pass filter,
second-order high-pass and second-order low-pass sections are connected in series, and so on. In other
words, the order of the band-pass filter depends on the order of the high-pass and low-pass filter sections.
Wide band pass filter

Figure shows the 20-dB/decade wide band-pass filter, which is composed of first-order high-pass and first-
order low-pass filters. To realize a band-pass response, however, must be larger than

dB/decade wide band pass filter Frequency response

Wide band pass filter

The voltage gain magnitude of the band-pass filter is equal to the product of the voltage gain magnitudes of
the high-pass and low-pass filters.

| |
𝑣0
𝑣 𝑖𝑛
=
√
𝐴 𝐹𝑇 ( 𝑓 / 𝑓 𝐿 )

[ 1+ ( 𝑓 / 𝑓 𝐿 )
2
] [ 1+ ( 𝑓 / 𝑓 𝐻 )
2
]

where = total passband gain

= frequency of the input signal (Hz)
= low cutoff frequency (Hz)
= high cutoff frequency (Hz)
 NARROW BAND PASS FILTER

The narrow band-pass filter using multiple feedback is shown in Figure. As shown in this figure, the filter
uses only one op-amp. Compared to all the filters discussed so far, this filter is unique in the following
respects:
1. It has two feedback paths, hence the name multiple-feedback filter.
2. The op-amp is used in the inverting mode.
Narrow band pass filter

Generally, the narrow band-pass filter is designed for specific values of center frequency and or and
bandwidth. The circuit components are determined from the following relationships. To simplify the design
calculations, choose .

𝑄
𝑅1 =
2 𝜋 𝑓 𝑐C 𝐴𝐹

𝑄
𝑅 2= 2
2 𝜋 𝑓 𝑐 C (2 𝑄 − 𝐴 ¿ ¿ 𝐹 )¿

𝑄
𝑅 3=
𝜋 𝑓𝑐𝐶

where is the gain at , given by

𝑅3
𝐴𝐹 =
2 𝑅1
Narrow band pass filter
2
The gain , however, must satisfy the condition 𝐴 𝐹 <2 𝑄

Another advantage of the multiple feedback filter of is that its center frequency can be changed to a new
frequency without changing the gain or bandwidth. This is accomplished simply by changing to so that

( )
2
𝑓𝑐
𝑅 ′ 2=𝑅 2
𝑓 ′𝑐
 BAND REJECT FILTER

The band-reject filter is also called a band-stop or band-elimination filter. In this filter, frequencies are
attenuated in the stopband while they are passed outside this band, as shown in Figure. As with band-pass
filters, the band-reject filters can also be classified as
(1) wide band-reject
(2) narrow band-reject.
The narrow band-reject filter is commonly called the notch filter.
Because of its higher Q(>10), the bandwidth of the narrow band-reject
filter is much smaller than that of the wide band-reject filter. Band Reject filter
Wide Band-Reject Filter
Figure shows a wide band-reject filter using a low-pass filter, a high-pass filter, and a summing amplifier. To

realize a band-reject response, the low cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter must be larger than the high

cutoff frequency of the low-pass filter. In addition, the passband gain of both the high-pass and low-pass

sections must be equal. The frequency response of the wide band-reject filter is shown in Figure.

Wide band reject filter Frequency Response

Narrow Band-Reject Filter

The narrow band-reject filter, often called the notch filter, is commonly used for the rejection of a single
frequency such as the 50-Hz power line frequency hum. The most commonly used notch filter is the twin-T
network shown in Figure. This is a passive filter composed of two T-shaped networks. One T network is
made up of two resistors and a capacitor, while the other uses two capacitors and a resistor. The notch-out
frequency is the frequency at which maximum attenuation occurs; it is given by

1
𝑓 𝑁=
2 𝜋 𝑅𝐶

Twin T notch filter

Narrow Band-Reject Filter
Unfortunately, the passive twin-T network has a relatively low figure of merit . The of the network can be
increased significantly if it is used with the voltage follower as shown in Figure. The frequency response of
the active notch filter is shown in Figure. The most common use of notch filters is in communications and
biomedical instruments for eliminating undesired frequencies. To design an active notch filter for a specific
notch-out frequency choose the value of C 1 µF and then calculate the required value of R from above
Equation. For the best response, the circuit components should be very close to their indicated values.

Active notch filter Frequency response of the active notch filter

 ALL PASS FILTER

As the name suggests, an all-pass filter passes all frequency

components of the input signal without attenuation, while
providing predictable phase shifts for different frequencies of the
input signal. When signals are transmitted over transmission lines,
such as telephone wires, they undergo change in phase. To
compensate for these phase changes, all-pass filters are required.
The all-pass filters are also called delay equalizers or phase
All pass filter
correctors. Figure shows an all-pass filter wherein = .
All pass Filter
The output voltage of the filter can be obtained by
using the superposition theorem:

(2)

But = 1/ and = 1/2 . Therefore, substituting for and

simplifying, we get

𝑣 0 =𝑣 𝑖𝑛 ( −1+
2
𝑗 2 𝜋 𝑓𝑅𝐶+1 )
𝑣0
or
= (
1− 𝑗 2 𝜋 𝑓𝑅𝐶
𝑣 𝑖𝑛 1+ 𝑗 2 𝜋 𝑓𝑅𝐶 )
where is the frequency of the input signal in hertz.
Phase shift between input and output voltages
All pass Filter
Above equation indicates that the amplitude of is unity; that is, = throughout the useful frequency range,
and the phase shift between and is a function of input frequency f. The phase angle is given by

∅ =− 2 tan −1 ( 2 𝜋 𝑓𝑅𝐶
1 )
where is in degrees, in hertz, in ohms, and in farads. This equation is used to find the phase angle if , R,
and C are known. Figure shows a phase shift of 90° between the input and output . That is, lags by 90°.
For fixed values of R and C, the phase angle changes from 0 to 180 as the frequency f varied from 0 to . If
the positions of R and C are interchanged, the phase shift between input and output becomes positive. That
is, output , leads input .