ELECTRIC

CIRCUITS
EIGHTH EDITION

JAMES W. NILSSON
&
SUSAN A. RIEDEL
CHAPTER 15
ACTIVE FILTER
CIRCUITS
2008 Pearson Education
CONTENTS

15.1 First-Order Low-Pass and High-Pass Filters

15.2 Scaling

15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and Bandreject Filters

15.4 High Order Op Amp Filters

15.5 Narrowband Bandpass and Bandreject Filters
2008 Pearson Education
15.1 First-Order Low-Pass
and High-Pass Filters
Active filters consist of op amps, resistors,
and capacitors.

They can be configured as low-pass, high-
pass, bandpass, and bandreject filters.

2008 Pearson Education
15.1 First-Order Low-Pass
and High-Pass Filters

They overcome many of the
disadvantages associated with passive
filters.
2008 Pearson Education
A first-order low-pass filter
2008 Pearson Education
15.1 First-Order Low-Pass
and High-Pass Filters
A general op amp circuit
2008 Pearson Education
15.1 First-Order Low-Pass
and High-Pass Filters
A first-order high-pass filter
2008 Pearson Education
15.1 First-Order Low-Pass
and High-Pass Filters
A prototype low-pass filter has component
values of R
1
= R
2
= 1 and C = 1F, and it
produces a unity passband gain and a cutoff
frequency of 1 rad/s.
2008 Pearson Education
15.1 First-Order Low-Pass
and High-Pass Filters
The prototype high-pass filter has same
component values and also produces a
unity passband gain and a cut-off frequency
of 1 rad/s.
2008 Pearson Education
15.1 First-Order Low-Pass
and High-Pass Filters
15.2 Scaling
Magnitude scaling can be used to alter
component values without changing the
frequency response of a circuit.
2008 Pearson Education
15.2 Scaling
For a magnitude scale factor of k
m
, the scaled
(primed) values of resistance, capacitance, and
inductance are

2008 Pearson Education
m
m
m
k
C
C
L k L
R k R

'
'
'
Frequency scaling can be used to shift the
frequency response of a circuit to another
frequency region without changing the
overall shape of the frequency response.

2008 Pearson Education
15.2 Scaling
15.2 Scaling
For a frequency scale factor of k
f
,
the scaled (primed) values of
resistance, capacitance, and
inductance are
2008 Pearson Education
f
f
k
C
C
k
L
L
R R

'
'
'
15.2 Scaling
Components can be scaled
in both magnitude and
frequency, with the scaled
(primed) component values
given by

2008 Pearson Education
f m
f
m
m
k k
C
C
L
k
k
L
R k R

'
'
'
The design of active low-pass and high-
pass filters can begin with a prototype filter
circuit.

Scaling can then be applied to shift the
frequency response to the desired cutoff
frequency, using component values that
are commercially available.
2008 Pearson Education
15.2 Scaling
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and
Bandreject Filters
Constructing the Bode magnitude
plot of a bandpass filter
2008 Pearson Education
A cascaded op amp bandpass filter
(a) The block diagram
(b) The circuit
2008 Pearson Education
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and
Bandreject Filters
An active broadband bandpass filter can
be constructed using a cascade of a low-
pass filter with the bandpass filters upper
cutoff frequency, a high-pass filter with the
bandpass filters lower cutoff frequency,
and (optionally) an inverting amplifier gain
stage to achieve nonunity gain in the
passband.


2008 Pearson Education
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and
Bandreject Filters

Bandpass filters implemented in this fashion
must be broadband filters (
c2

c1
), so
that the elements of the cascade can be
specified independently of one another.

2008 Pearson Education
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and
Bandreject Filters
Example: Designing a Broadband Bandpass Op
Amp Filter.

Design a bandpass filter for a graphic equalizer to
provide an amplification of 2 within the band of
frequencies between 100 and 10,000 Hz. Use
0.2F capacitors.

2008 Pearson Education
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and
Bandreject Filters
Constructing the Bode magnitude
plot of a bandreject filter
2008 Pearson Education
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and Bandreject
Filters
An active broadband bandreject filter can be
constructed using a parallel combination of a
low-pass filter with the bandreject filters lower
cutoff frequency and a high-pass filter with the
bandreject filters upper cutoff frequency.
2008 Pearson Education
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and Bandreject
Filters

The outputs are then fed into a summing
amplifier, which can produce nonunity gain
in the passband.
2008 Pearson Education
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and Bandreject
Filters
Bandreject filters implemented in this way
must be broadband filters (
c2

c1
), so
that the low-pass and high-pass filter
circuits can be designed independently of
one another.
A parallel op amp
bandreject filter
(a) The block diagram
(b) The circuit
2008 Pearson Education
15.3 Op Amp Bandpass and Bandreject
Filters
15.4 Higher Order Op Amp Filters
The bode magnitude plot of a cascade
of identical prototype first-order filters
2008 Pearson Education
Higher order active filters have multiple
poles in their transfer functions, resulting
in a sharper transition from the passband
to the stopband and thus a more nearly
ideal frequency response.
2008 Pearson Education
15.4 Higher Order Op Amp Filters
A cascade of identical unity-gain low-pass filters.
(a) The block diagram
(b) The circuit
2008 Pearson Education
15.4 Higher Order Op Amp Filters
The transfer function of an nthorder
Butterworth low-pass filter with a cutoff
frequency of 1 rad/s can be determined
from the equation:
2008 Pearson Education
15.4 Higher Order Op Amp Filters
n n
s
s H s H
2
) 1 ( 1
1
) ( ) (


By
Finding the roots of the denominator
polynomial.
Assigning the left-half plane roots to H(s).
Writing the denominator of H(s) as a
product of first- and second- order factors.
2008 Pearson Education
15.4 Higher Order Op Amp Filters
Defining the transition region for a low-pass filter
2008 Pearson Education
15.4 Higher Order Op Amp Filters
15.5 Narrowband Bandpass
and Bandreject Filters
An active high-Q bandpass filter
2008 Pearson Education
A high-Q active bandreject filter
2008 Pearson Education
15.5 Narrowband Bandpass
and Bandreject Filters
If a high-Q, or narrowband, bandpass, or
bandreject filter is needed, the cascade or
parallel combination will not work. Instead,
the circuits shown previously are used with
the appropriate design equations.


2008 Pearson Education
15.5 Narrowband Bandpass and
Bandreject Filters
THE END
2008 Pearson Education