Analog Communication

Oscillator
It is the most basic block in a communication system.
It is a circuit capable of converting energy from a dc form to ac.
It is a circuit that is deliberately designed to oscillate.
Some oscillators work at audio frequencies, and others are intended to produce radio signals.
Most generate sine waves, although some are built to emit square waves, sawtooth waves, or other
waveshapes.
All oscillators are amplifiers with positive feedback.
In radio communications,
Oscillators generate the "waves" or signals that are ultimately sent over the air.
For data to be sent, the signal from an oscillator must be modulated.
Oscillators are used in radio and TV receivers for frequency control and for detection and mixing.
Audio-frequency oscillator applications
Music synthesizers
FAX modems,
Doorbells, beepers, sirens and alarms
Electronic toys
Positive feedback
The feedback must be in phase, or positive. Negative feedback (out of phase) simply reduces the
gain.
o The output of a common-emitter or common-source amplifier is out of phase from the
input. If you couple the collector to the base through a capacitor, you won't get
oscillation.
o The output of a common-base or common-gate amplifier is in phase with the input.
But these circuits have limited gain. It's hard to make them oscillate, even with positive
feedback.
o Common-collector and common-drain circuits don't have enough gain to make
oscillators.
Concept of the oscillator
For a circuit to oscillate the gain must be high, the feedback must be positive, and the coupling
from output to input must be good.
The feedback path must be easy for a signal to follow. The phase of a fed-back signal can be
reversed without any trouble, so that common-emitter or common-source amplifiers can be made to
oscillate.
Feedback at a single frequency
The frequency of an oscillator is controlled by means of tuned or resonant circuits.
These are usually inductance-capacitance (LC) or resistance-capacitance (RC) combinations.
The LC scheme is common at RF; the RC method is more often used for audio oscillators.
The tuned circuit makes the feedback path easy for a signal to follow at one frequency, but hard to
follow at all other frequencies (Fig. 25-1).
The result is that the oscillation takes place at a predictable and stable frequency, determined by the
inductance and capacitance or by the resistance and capacitance.
1
Flywheel effect
• The flywheel effect is the continuation of oscillations in an oscillator circuit after the control
stimulus has been removed.
• This is usually caused by interacting inductive and capacitive elements in the oscillator.
• The repetitive exchange of energy between L and C in a tank circuit.

The choice of an oscillator type is based on the following criteria:

• Output frequency required
• Frequency stability required
• Is the frequency to be variable, and if so, over what range?
• Allowable waveform distortion
• Power output required

The criteria for oscillation are formally stated by the Barkhausen Criteria as follows:
• The loop gain (voltage gain, Acl) must equal 1.
• The loop phase shift around the feedback loop must be effectively 0° (or n x 360°, when n =
1,2,3,…)

2
Types of (sinusoidal) Oscillators
LC Oscillator
– Armstrong oscillator
– Hartley oscillator
– Colpitts oscillator
– Clapp oscillator
RC Oscillator
– RC phase-shift oscillator
– Wien bridge oscillator
Crystal Oscillator
Substance producing piezoelectric effects
-Rochelle
-Quartz
-Tourmaline

The Armstrong oscillator

A common-emitter or common-source amplifier can be made to oscillate by coupling the output
back to the input through a transformer that reverses the phase of the fed-back signal.
The phase at a transformer output can be inverted by reversing the secondary terminals.

The frequency of this oscillator is controlled by means of a capacitor across either the primary or
the secondary winding of the transformer.
The inductance of the winding, along with the capacitance, forms a resonant circuit.

The Hartley circuit

A method of obtaining controlled feedback at RF is shown in Fig. 25-3.
At A, an NPN bipolar transistor is used; at B, an N-channel JFET is employed.
The PNP and P-channel circuits are identical, but the power supply is negative instead of positive.

3
 The circuit uses a single coil with a tap on the windings to provide the feedback.
A variable capacitor in parallel with the coil determines the oscillating frequency, and allows for
frequency adjustment.
The Hartley oscillator uses about one-quarter of its amplifier power to produce feedback.
The other three-quarters of the power can be used as output.
Oscillators do not, in general, produce more than a fraction of a watt of power.
If more power is needed, the signal can be boosted by one or more stages of amplification.
It's important to use only the minimum amount of feedback necessary to get oscillation.
The amount of feedback is controlled by the position of the coil tap.

The Colpitts circuit

Another way to provide RF feedback is to tap the capacitance instead of the inductance in the tuned
circuit.
The amount of feedback is controlled by the ratio of capacitances.
The coil, rather than the capacitors, is variable in this circuit.
A permeability-tuned coil can be used, but ferromagnetic cores impair the frequency stability of an
RF oscillator.
A roller inductor might be employed, but these are bulky and expensive.
An inductor with several switch-selectable taps can be used, but this wouldn't allow for continuous
frequency adjustment.
The tradeoff is that the Colpitts circuit offers exceptional stability and reliability when properly
designed.
To prevent the output signal from being short-circuited to ground, an RF choke (RFC) is connected
in series with the emitter or source lead in the Colpitts circuit.
The choke lets dc pass while blocking ac (just the opposite of a blocking capacitor).
Typical values for RF chokes range from about 100 uH at high frequencies, like 15 MHz, to 10mH
at low frequencies, such as 150 kHz.

4
The Clapp circuit
A variation of the Colpitts oscillator makes use of series resonance, instead of parallel resonance, in
the tuned circuit.
Otherwise, the circuit is basically the same as the parallel-tuned Colpitts oscillator.
The Clapp oscillator offers excellent stability at RF.
Its frequency won’t change much when high-quality components are used.
The Clapp oscillator is a reliable circuit; it isnt hard to get it to oscillate.
Another advantage of the Clapp circuit is that it allows the use of a variable capacitor for frequency
control, while still accomplishing feedback through a capacitive voltage divider.

Wien-Bridge Oscillator
It is one type of sinusoidal feedback oscillator.
Its fundamental part is a lead-lag circuit.
The operation of this lead-lag circuit is as follows:
– At lower frequencies, the lead circuit dominates due to the high reactance of C2.
– As the high frequency increases, XC2 decreases, thus allowing the output voltage to
increase.
– At some specified frequency, the response of the lag circuit takes over, and decreasing
value of XC1 causes the output voltage to decrease.

5
The Phase-shift Oscillator

It is a type of sinusoidal feedback oscillator.

Each of the three RC circuits in the loop can provide a maximum phase shift approaching 90°.
Oscillation occurs at the frequency where the total the total phase shift through the three RC
circuits is 180°. The inversion of the of the op-amp itself provides the additional 180° to meet the
requirement for oscillation of a 360° (0°) phase shift around the feedback loop.

Stability
Stability has two meanings:
o constancy of frequency
o reliability of performance
Constancy of frequency
Among the best are polystyrene capacitors.
Silver-mica capacitors also work well when polystyrene units cant be found.
Inductors are most temperature-stable when they have air cores.
They should be wound, when possible, from stiff wire with strips of plastic to keep the windings in
place.
Some air-core coils are wound on hollow cylindrical cores, made of ceramic or phenolic material.
Ferromagnetic solenoidal or toroidal cores aren't very good for VFO coils, because these materials
change their permeability as the temperature varies.
This changes the inductance, in turn affecting the oscillator frequency.
Engineers spend much time and effort in finding components that will minimize drift (unwanted
changes in frequency over time) in VFOs.
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Reliability of performance
Oscillators are designed to work into a certain range of load impedances.
It's important that the load impedance not be too low. (You need never be concerned that it might be
too high. In general, the higher the load impedance, the better.)
If the load impedance is too low, the load will try to draw power from an oscillator. Then, even a
well-designed oscillator might be unstable.
Oscillators aren’t meant to produce powerful signals. High power can be obtained using amplification
after the oscillator.
Crystal-controlled oscillators
Quartz crystals can be used in place of tuned LC circuits in RF oscillators, if it isn’t necessary to
change the frequency often.
Crystal oscillators offer excellent frequency stability— far superior to that of LC-tuned VFOs.
There are several ways that crystals can be connected in bipolar or FET circuits to get oscillation.
o One common circuit is the Pierce oscillator.

Piezoelectric Effect
• When quartz crystal is subjected to mechanical pressure (by applying voltage) the crystal will
vibrate at stable frequency.

The crystal frequency can be varied somewhat (by about 0.1 percent) by means of an inductor or
capacitor in parallel with the crystal. But the frequency is determined mainly by the thickness of
the crystal, and by the angle at which it is cut from the quartz rock.
Crystals change in frequency as the temperature changes. But they are far more stable than LC
circuits, most of the time.
Some crystal oscillators are housed in temperature-controlled chambers called ovens.
The accuracy can be within a few Hertz at working frequencies of several megahertz.
The voltage-controlled oscillator
The frequency of a VFO can be adjusted via a varactor diode in the tuned LC circuit.
Recall that a varactor, also called a varicap, is a semiconductor diode that works as a variable
capacitor when it is reverse-biased.
The capacitance depends on the reverse-bias voltage. The greater this voltage, the lower the value
of the capacitance.
The Hartley and Clapp oscillator circuits lend themselves well to varactor-diode frequency control.
The varactor is placed in series or parallel with the tuning capacitor, and is isolated for dc by blocking
capacitors.
The resulting oscillator is called a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO).

7
 Connection of a varactor in a tuned LC circuit
The PLL frequency synthesizer
One type of oscillator that combines the flexibility of a VFO with the stability of a crystal oscillator
is known as a PLL frequency synthesizer: This scheme is extensively used in modem digital radio
transmitters and receivers.
The output of a VCO is passed through a programmable divider, a digital circuit that divides the
VCO frequency by any of hundreds or even thousands of numerical values chosen by the operator.
The output frequency of the programmable divider is locked, by means of a phase comparator, to the
signal from a crystal-controlled reference oscillator.

The key to the stability of the PLL frequency synthesizer lies in the fact that the reference oscillator
is crystal-controlled.
When you hear that a radio receiver, transmitter, or transceiver is "synthesized," it usually means that
the frequency is determined by a PLL frequency synthesizer.
Diode oscillators
At ultra-high and microwave frequencies, certain types of diodes can be used as oscillators.
These diodes, called Gunn, IMPATT, and tunnel diodes.
Gunn diodes
A Gunn diode can produce up to 1 W of RF power output, but more commonly it works at levels of
about 0.1W. Gunn diodes are usually made from gallium arsenide.
A Gunn diode oscillates because of the Gunn effect, named after J. Gunn of International Business
Machines (IBM) who observed it in the sixties.
A Gunn diode doesn't work anything like a rectifier, detector, or mixer; instead, the oscillation takes
place as a result of a quirk called negative resistance.
Gunn-diode oscillators are often tuned using varactor diodes.
A Gunn-diode oscillator, connected directly to a microwave horn antenna, is known as a Gunnplexer.
These devices are popular with amateur-radio experimenters at frequencies of 10 GHz and above.

8
IMPATT diodes
The acronym IMPATT comes from the words Impact Avalanche Transit Time.
This, like negative resistance, is a phenomenon the details of which are rather esoteric.
An IMPATT diode is a microwave oscillating device like a Gunn diode, except that it uses
silicon rather than gallium arsenide.
An IMPATT diode can be used as an amplifier for a microwave transmitter that employs a Gunn-
diode oscillator.
As an oscillator, an IMPATT diode produces about the same amount of output power, at comparable
frequencies, as the Gunn diode.
Tunnel diodes
Another type of diode that will oscillate at microwave frequencies is the tunnel diode, also known
as the Esaki diode.
It produces only a very small amount of power, but it can be used as a local oscillator in a microwave
radio receiver.
Tunnel diodes work well as amplifiers in microwave receivers, because they generate very little
unwanted noise.
This is especially true of gallium arsenide devices.
Audio oscillators
Audio oscillators find uses in doorbells, ambulance sirens, electronic games, and those
little toys that play simple musical tunes. All AF oscillators work in the same way,
consisting of amplifiers with positive feedback.
A simple audio oscillator
One form of AF oscillator that is popular for general-purpose use is the twin-T oscillator
The frequency is determined by the values of the resistors R and capacitors C.
The output is a near-perfect sine wave.
The small amount of distortion helps to alleviate the irritation produced by an absolutely pure
sinusoid.
This circuit uses two NPN bipolar transistors. Two JFETs could also be used, biased for class-A
amplifier operation.

9
The multivibrator
Another audio-oscillator circuit uses two identical common-emitter or common-source amplifier
circuits, hooked up so that the signal goes around and around between them.
Each "stage" amplifies the signal in class-A, and reverses the phase by 180 degrees.
Thus, the signal goes through a 360-degree shift each time it gets back to any particular point.
A 360-degree shift results in positive feedback, being effectively equivalent to no phase shift.
The frequency is set by means of an LC circuit.
The coil uses a ferromagnetic core, because stability is not of great concern and because such a core
is necessary to obtain the large inductance needed for resonance at audio frequencies.
The value of L is typically from 10 mH to as much as 1H.
The capacitance is chosen according to the formula for resonant circuits, to obtain an audio tone at
the frequency desired.

IC oscillators
The operational amplifier (op amp) is one type of IC that is especially useful as an oscillator.
Op-amp oscillators are most commonly employed as audio oscillators.
Questions:
1. Negative feedback in an amplifier: 4. In an oscillator circuit, the feedback should be:
a. Causes oscillation. a. As great as possible.
b. Increases sensitivity. b. Kept to a minimum.
c. Reduces the gain. c. Just enough to sustain oscillation.
d. Is used in an Armstrong oscillator. d. Done through a transformer whose wires can
2. Oscillation requires: be switched easily.
a. A common-drain or common-collector 5. A tapped coil is used in a(n):
circuit. a. Hartley oscillator.
b. A stage with gain. b. Colpitts oscillator.
c. A tapped coil. c. Armstrong oscillator.
d. Negative feedback. d. Clapp oscillator.
3. A Colpitts oscillator can be recognized by. 6. An RF choke:
a. A split capacitance in the tuned circuit. a. Passes RF but not dc.
b. A tapped coil in the tuned circuit. b. Passes both RF and dc.
c. A transformer for the feedback. c. Passes dc but not RF.
d. A common-base or common-gate d. Blocks both dc and RF.
arrangement.

10
7. Ferromagnetic coil cores are not generally 14. A frequency synthesizer has:
good for use in RF oscillators because: a. High power output.
a. The inductances are too large. b. High drift rate.
b. It's hard to vary the inductance of such a coil. c. Exceptional stability.
c. Such coils are too bulky. d. Adjustable waveshape.
d. Air-core coils have better thermal stability. 15. A ferromagnetic-core coil is preferred for use
8. An oscillator might fail to start for any of the in the tuned circuit of an RF oscillator:
following reasons except: a. That must have the best possible stability.
a. Low-power-supply voltage. b. That must have high power output.
b. Low stage gain. c. That must work at microwave frequencies.
c. In-phase feedback. d. No! Air-core coils work better in RF
d. Very low output impedance. oscillators.
9. An advantage of a crystal-controlled oscillator 16. If the load impedance for an oscillator is too
over a VFO is: high:
a. Single-frequency operation. a. The frequency might drift.
b. Ease of frequency adjustment. b. The power output might be reduced.
c. High output power. c. The oscillator might fail to start.
d. Low drift. d. It's not a cause for worry; it can't be too
10. The frequency at which a crystal oscillator high.
functions is determined mainly by: 17. The bipolar transistors or JFETs in a
a. The values of the inductor and capacitor. multivibrator are usually connected in:
b. The thickness of the crystal. a. Class B.
c. The amount of capacitance across the b. A common-emitter or common-source
crystal. arrangement.
d. The power-supply voltage. c. Class C.
11. The different sounds of musical instruments d. A common-collector or common-drain
are primarily the result of: arrangement.
a. Differences in the waveshape. 18. The arrangement in the block diagram of Fig.
b. Differences in frequency. 25-11 represents:
c. Differences in amplitude. a. A waveform analyzer.
d. Differences in phase. b. An audio oscillator.
12. A radio-frequency oscillator usually: c. An RF oscillator.
a. Has an irregular waveshape. d. A sine-wave generator.
b. Has most or all of its energy at a single
frequency.
c. Produces a sound that depends on its
waveform.
d. Uses RC tuning.
13. A varactor diode:
a. Is mechanically flexible.
b. Has high power output.
c. Can produce different waveforms.
d. Is good for use in frequency synthesizers.
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19. Acoustic feedback in a public-address 25. An oscillator differs from an amplifier
system: because
a. Is useful for generating RF sine waves. a. It has more gain
b. Is useful for waveform analysis. b. It requires no input signal
c. Can be used to increase the amplifier gain. c. It requires no dc supply
d. Serves no useful purpose. d. It always has the same output
20. An IMPATT diode: 26. Wien-bridge oscillators are based on
a. Makes a good audio oscillator. a. Positive feedback
b. Can be used for waveform analysis. b. Negative feedback
c. Is used as a microwave oscillator. c. The piezoelectric effect
d. Allows for frequency adjustment of a VCO. d. High gain
21. A beat-frequency oscillator is useful for: 27. One condition for oscillation is
a. Generating FM. a. A phase shift around the feedback loop 180°
b. Detecting FM. b. A gain around the feedback loop of one-
c. Generating CW. third
d. Detecting CW. c. A phase shift around the feedback loop is 0°
e. Any of the above. d. A gain around the feedback loop of less than
22. A Colpitts circuit is a form of: 1
a. Amplifier. 28. A second condition for oscillation is
b. Detector. a. No gain around the feedback loop
c. Modulator. b. A gain of 1 around the feedback loop
d. Oscillator. c. The attenuation of the feedback circuit must
e. E. Rectifier. be one-third
23. The oscillating frequency of a quartz crystal d. The feedback circuit must be capacitive
can be varied slightly by: 29. In a certain oscillator, Av = 50. The
a. Changing the bias on the transistor. attenuation of the feedback circuit must be
b. Changing the voltage across the varactor. a. 1
c. Reversing the power supply polarity. b. 0.01
d. Placing a small variable capacitor across the c. 10
crystal. d. 0.02
e. No. The frequency of a crystal cannot be 30. For an oscillator to properly start, the gain
changed at all. around the feedback loop must initially be
24. A piano sounds different than a saxophone, a. 1
even if the notes are at the same frequency, b. Less than 1
because of a difference in: c. Greater than 1
a. Bias. d. Equal to B
b. Waveform. 31. In a Wien-bridge oscillator, if the resistances
c. Voltage. in the positive feedback circuit are decreased,
d. Current. the frequency
e. The way you imagine it. a. Decreases
b. Increases
c. Remains the same
d. None of the above
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32. The Wien-bridge oscillator’s positive 39. Non-sinusoidal oscillators produce:
feedback circuit is a. Sine waves only
a. An RL circuit b. Triangle waves only
b. An LC circuit c. Square
c. A voltage divider d. Either b or c
d. A lead-lag circuit 40. The most stable type of oscillator is:
33. A phase-shift oscillator has a. The Clapp oscillator
a. Three RC circuits b. The Hartley oscillator
b. Three LC circuits c. The Crystal oscillator
c. A T-type circuit d. The Colpitts oscillator
d. A π-type circuit 41. When Q decreases in a Colpitts oscillator, the
34. Colpitts, Clapp, and Hartley are names that frequency of oscillation:
refer to a. Decreases
a. Types of RC Oscillators b. Remains the same
b. Inventors of the transistor c. Increases
c. Types of LC oscillators d. Becomes erratic
d. Types of filters 42. Which types of LC oscillator uses a tickler
35. An oscillator whose frequency is changed by coil in the feedback path?
a variable dc voltage is known as a. Colpitts
a. A crystal oscillator b. Hartley
b. A VCO c. Armstrong
c. An Armstrong oscillator d. Clapp
d. A piezoelectric device 43. Which of the following LC oscillators is least
36. The main feature of a crystal oscillator is affected by the transistor and stray
a. Economy capacitances?
b. Reliability a. Twin-T oscillator
c. Stability b. Hartley oscillator
d. High frequency c. Colpitts oscillator
37. The operation of a relaxation oscillator is d. Clapp Oscillator
based on
a. Charging and discharging of a capacitor
b. A highly selective resonant circuit
c. A very stable supply voltage
d. Low power consumption
38. A very stable oscillator is needed to operate
on a single frequency, a good choice might
be:
a. A Hartley
b. A Colpitts
c. A Crystal
d. A Clapp

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RESONANCE AND FILTER

RESONANCE
- the case of equal opposite reactance

Resonance ( or Tuned ) Circuit

- used in designing filters

Resonance Circuit
- circuit used to obtain resonance by changing frequency

Tuned Circuit
- circuit used to obtain resonance (at different frequency) by varying L or C.

Resonance Condition
1. The voltage is in phase with the current
Imag ZT  = Imag  YT  = 0
where:
ZT = Total impedance, 
YT = Total admittance

2. Series resonance
 ZT  = minimum
 YT  = maximum
Parallel (or anti ) resonance
 ZT  = maximum
 YT  = minimum

Series Resonance
1
• 𝑓𝑟 =
2𝜋√𝐿𝐶
• I maximum at fr with Ɵ of 0°
• Z minimum at fr
𝑋𝐿 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡
• 𝑄= 𝑜𝑟 𝑄 =
𝑟𝑠 𝑉𝑖𝑛
• Q rise in voltage = Q x Vgen
𝑓𝑟
• 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ ∆𝑓 = 𝑄
• Circuit capacitive below fr but inductive above fr
• Needs low-resistance source for low rs, high Q, and sharp tuning
• Source is inside LC circuit

14
Parallel Resonance
1
• 𝑓𝑟 = 2𝜋√𝐿𝐶
• I minimum at fr with Ɵ of 0°
• Z maxmum at fr
𝑋𝐿 𝑍𝑚𝑎𝑥
• 𝑄= 𝑜𝑟 𝑄 =
𝑟𝑠 𝑋𝐿
• Q rise in impedance = Q x XL
𝑓𝑟
• 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ ∆𝑓 = 𝑄
• Circuit inductive below fr but capacitive above fr
• Needs high-resistance source for High RP, high Q, and sharp tuning
• Source is outside LC circuit

Analysis of Parallel Resonant Circuits

• Parallel resonance is more complex than series resonance because the reactive branch currents are
not exactly equal when XL equals XC.
• The reason is that the coil has its series resistance rs in the X L branch, while the capacitor has only
XC in its branch.
• High-Q Circuit
– Consider rS to be negligible
• Low-Q Circuit (Q<10)
– The inductive branch must be analyzed as a complex impedance with XL and rSin series
– The inductive branch have more impedance and less current

Transformer Coupling
• Remember that a transformer produces induced secondary voltage just for variations in primary.
• With pulsating direct current in the primary, the secondary has output voltage only for the ac
variations, therefore. The steady dc component in the primary has no effect in the secondary.
• Transformer coupling blocks the dc component. With fluctuating direct current in the primary, only
the ac component produces induced voltage in the secondary.

15
FILTERS
Filtering
Process of changing the relative magnitudes of different signals which are of different frequencies.
Filter
An electronic circuit that possesses the ability to discriminate unwanted frequencies and allow the
passage of desired frequencies.

Passband
Band of frequencies that a filter allows to pass through.
Stopband
Band of frequencies that the filter attenuates.

Cut Off Frequency

-Boundary frequency between passband and stopband
-Frequency wherein the power is half of maximum power.
-Frequency wherein the voltage is 1/√2 of maximum voltage.
Other Names for Cut-Off Frequency
* Break Frequency
* Corner Frequency
* - 3 dB Frequency
Insertion Loss
Loss in signal strength that the frequency in the passband experiences in passing through the filter.
Roll-off Rate
Rate of transition from passband to stopband or vice versa.

Decade
Change in frequency by a factor of ___.
Octave
Change in frequency by a factor of ___.

TYPES OF FILTERS
1. Passive Filters
Employs only the R, L, and C.
2. Actives Filters
Employs transistors or op-amp plus R,L and C
Note: Active devices provide voltage gain
Passive devices provide frequency selectivity.

Categories Of Filters
Low-pass
High-pass
Band-pass
Band-stop
16
GAIN VS FREQUENCY RESPONSE
1. Low pass filter
A type of filter that allows the passage of frequencies below the cut-off frequency while rejecting
higher frequency.

One pole filter:

1
fc =
2RC
17
2. High-pass filter:
A type of filter that passes frequencies above a cut-off frequency while rejecting lower frequencies.

One-pole filter:

1
fc =
2RC

18
SALLEN-KEY FILTER
- It is one of the most common configurations for a second order or two pole -filter.
- It is also known as a voltage-controlled voltage source filter (VCVS).

Sallen-Key Low Pass Filter

1
fc =
2 Ra C a Rb C b
Sallen-Key High Pass Filter

1
fc =
2 Ra C a Rb C b
3. Band-Pass Filter
A type of filter that passes a range of frequencies lying between a certain lower and higher
frequencies.
1 1
f c1 = and f c 2 =
2 Ra C a Rb C b 2 Rc C c Rd C d
BW = f c 2 − f c1 and fo = f c1 f c 2 (center frequency)
Quality factor(Q)- ratio of BP filter center frequency to BW.
fo
Q=
BW
This also indicates a good selectivity of the band pass filter.
BPF:
-narrow band @ Q>10
-wide band @ Q<10
2-stage/4-pole fiter:
19
 4. Band-stop filter
A.k.a., band notch, band reject, null or band elimination filter.
A type of filter that blocks or rejects a range of frequencies lying between a certain lower and
higher frequency and pass all others.
• You can think of band-stop filter response as exactly opposite to that of a band-pass filter.

Filter response characteristic

1. Butterworth- provides a very flat amplitude response in the pass band and a roll rate of 20
dB/decade/pole .
2. Chebyshev- characterized by ripples in the passband and it provides a roll-off rate greater than 20
dB/decade/pole.
3. Bessel - a type of response having a linear phase characteristic it provides a roll-off rate less than
20 dB/decade/pole.
Av

Bessel

Butterworth

Chevyshev

The Damping factor (DF)

20
 The damping factor of an active filter circuit determines which response characteristic the filter exhibits.
The damping factor is determined by the negative feedback circuit and is defined by the following
equation:

Amplifier

Frequency-
R selective
DF = 2 − 1
R2
RC circuit
Note: Pole
- It is a circuit with one resistor and capacitor pair.
- It determines the roll-off rate of the filter.
Design of Filter Circuit
• The number of poles determines the roll-off rate of the filter.
• A butterworth response produces 20dB/decade/pole ( - 20dB/decade/pole for LPF)
For a first-order filter has a roll-off rate of -20dB/decade
For a second-order filter has a roll-off rate of -40dB/decade
For a third-order filter has a roll-off rate of -60dB/decade
and so on…

Value for the Butterworth response

1st stage 2nd stage 3rd stage
Order Roll-
off Poles DF R1/R2 Poles DF R1/R2 Poles DF R1/R2
Rate
1 20 1 Optional
2 40 2 1.414 0.586
3 60 2 1.000 1.000 1 1.00 1
4 80 2 1.848 0.152 2 0.765 1.235
5 100 2 1.000 1.000 2 1.618 0.382 1 0.618 1.382
6 120 2 1.932 0.068 2 1.414 0.586 2 0.518 1.482

Note:
• The roll-off rate is expressed in dB/decade
• If the filter is low pass the roll-off rate is negative value
• 20dB / decade is also equal to 6dB / octave

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Questions:
1. For a series or parallel LC circuit, resonance 8. A series LC circuit has a Q of 100 at
occurs when resonance. When 5mW is applied at the
a. XL is 10 times XC or more resonant frequency, the voltage across C
b. XC is 10 times XL or more equals
c. XL = XC a. 5 mW
d. The phase angle of the circuit is 90° b. 20 mW
2. When either L or C is increased, the resonant c. 100 mV
frequency of the LC circuit d. 500 mW
a. Increases 9. An LC circuit resonant at 1MHz has a Q of
b. Decreases 100. The bandwidth between half-power
c. Remains the same points equals
d. Is determined by the shunt resistance a. 10KHz between 995 and 1005 KHz
3. The resonant frequency of an LC circuit is b. 10KHz between 1000 and 1010 KHz
1000 KHz. If L is doubled but C is reduced to c. 5KHz between 995 and 1000 KHz
one-eighth of its original value, the resonant d. 200 KHz between 900 and 1100 KHz
frequency then is 10. In a low-Q parallel resonant circuit, when XL
a. 250KHz = XC
b. 500KHz a. IL equal IC
c. 1000KHz b. IL is less than IC
d. 2000KHz c. IL is more than IC
4. A coil has a 1000 ohms XL and 5 ohms internal d. The phase angle is 0°
resistance. Its Q equals 11. With input frequencies from direct current up
a. 0.005 to 15KHz, a high-pass filter allows the most
b. 5 output voltage to be developed across the load
c. 200 resistance for which of the following
d. 1000 frequencies
5. In a parallel LC circuit, at resonant frequency, a. Direct Current
the b. 15 Hz
a. Line current is maximum c. 150 Hz
b. Inductive branch current is minimum d. 15,000 Hz
c. Total impedance is minimum 12. With input frequencies from direct current up
d. Total impedance is maximum to 15KHz, a low-pass filter allows the most
6. At resonance, the phase angle is equals output voltage to be developed across the load
a. 0° resistance for which of the following
b. 90° frequencies
c. 180° a. Direct Current
d. 270° b. 15 Hz
7. In series LC circuit, at the resonant freq., the c. 150 Hz
a. Current is minimum d. 15,000 Hz
b. Voltage across C is minimum
c. Impedance is maximum
d. Current is maximum
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13. An RCCC coupling circuit is a high-pass filter 18. A 455KHz wavetrap is a resonant LC circuit
for pulsating dc voltage because: tuned to 455KHz and connected as a
a. CC has high reactance for high frequencies a. Bandstop filter for frequencies at and near
b. CC blocks dc voltage 455KHz
c. CC has low reactance for low frequencies b. Bandpass filter for frequencies at and near
d. RC has minimum opposition for low 455KHz
frequencies c. Bandstop filter for frequencies from direct
14. A transformer with an isolated secondary current up to 455KHz
winding is a high-pass filter for pulsating d. Bandpass filter for frequencies from 455KHz
direct primary current because: up to 300MHz
a. The steady primary current has no magnetic 19. A power-line filter for rejecting RF
field interference has
b. The ac component of the primary current has a. RF coupling capacitors in series with the
the strongest field power line
c. Only variations in primary current can induce b. RF chokes in shunt across the power line
secondary voltage c. 60Hz chokes in series with the power line
d. The secondary voltage is maximum for d. RF bypass capacitors in shunt across the
steady direct current in the primary power line
15. Which of the following is low-pass filter? 20. The term pole in the filter terminology refers
a. L type with series C and shunt L to
b. Π type with series C and shunt L a. A high-gain op-amp
c. T type with series C and shunt L b. One complete active filter
d. L type with series L and shunt C c. A single RC circuit
16. A bypass capacitor Cb across Rb provides low- d. The feedback circuit
pass filtering because: 21. A single resistor and a single capacitor can be
a. Current in the Cb branch is maximum for low connected to form a filter with a roll-off rate
frequencies of
b. Voltage across Cb is minimum for high a. -20dB/decade
frequencies b. -40dB/decade
c. Voltage across Cb is minimum for low c. -6dB/octave
frequencies d. Answer a and c
d. Voltage across Rb is minimum for low 22. A band-pass response has
frequencies a. Two critical frequencies
17. Which of the following-type filters is the best b. One critical frequency
bandstop filter? c. A flat curve in the passband
a. Series resonant LC circuit in series with the d. A wide bandwidth
load and parallel resonant LC circuit in shunt 23. The lowest frequency passed by a low-pass
b. Parallel resonant LC circuit in series with the filter is
load and series resonant LC circuit in shunt a. 1Hz
c. Series resonant LC circuits in series and in b. 0Hz
parallel with the load c. 10Hz
d. Parallel resonant LC circuits in series and in d. Dependent on the critical frequency
parallel with the load
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24. The quality factor (Q) of a band-pass filter d. None of the above
depends on 31. When filters are cascaded, the roll-off rate
a. The critical frequencies a. Increases
b. Only the bandwidth b. Decreases
c. The center frequency and bandwidth c. Does not change
d. Only the center frequency d. None of the above
25. The damping factor of an active filter 32. A state-variable filter consists of
determines a. One op-amp with multiple-feedback paths
a. The voltage gain b. A summing amplifier and two integrator
b. The critical frequency c. A summing amplifier and two differentiators
c. The response characteristic d. The butterworth stages
d. The roll-off rate 33. When the gain of a filter is minimum at its
26. The maximally flat frequency response is center frequency, it is
known as a. A band- pass filter
a. Chebyshev b. A band-stop filter
b. Butterworth c. A notch filter
c. Bessel d. Answer b and c
d. Colpitts 34. A low-pass filter with a roll-off rate of 60
27. The damping factor of a filter is set by dB/decade is needed. The best combination to
a. The negative feedback circuit use is:
b. The positive feedback circuit a. A 2-pole filter followed by another 2-pole
c. The frequency-selective circuit b. Two single-pole filters in series
d. The gain of the op-amp c. A 2-pole filter followed by a 1-pole
28. The number of poles in a filter affect the d. None of these
a. Voltage gain 35. A high-pass filter has R = 47 Ω and C=
b. Bandwidth 0.002µF. the cut-off frequency is:
c. Center frequencies a. 1.694KHz
d. Roll-off rate b. 10.6 KHz
29. Sallen-Key filters are c. 3.39 Hz
a. Single-pole filters d. None of these
b. Second-order filters 36. A high-pass 2-pole filter has a cut-off freq. of
c. Butterworth filters 1.23KHz. The BW of this filter is:
d. Band-pass filters a. 2.46 KHz
30. When a low-pass and a high-pass filter are b. 1.23 KHz
cascaded to get a band-pass filter, the critical c. 644 Hz
frequency of the low-pass filter must be d. None of these
a. Equal to the critical frequency of the high- 37. A low-pass 2-pole filter has a cut-off freq. of
pass filter 1.23KHz. The BW of this filter is:
b. Less than the critical frequency of the high- a. 2.46 KHz
pass filter b. 1.23 KHz
c. Greater than the critical frequency of the c. 644 Hz
high-pass filter d. Not enough information given

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