Modern Filter Design

RF Circuits

Ph.D. John Jairo Pantoja A. Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Bogotá D.C.
March 2018

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Contents
1. Low-pass Prototype
2. Filter types
a) Butterworth
b) Chebyshev
c) Bessel
3. Frequency and Impedance Scaling
4. Low-pass Filter
5. High-pass Filter
6. Band-pass Filter
7. Effects of Element’s Q

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 0. Filter responses

3
Hank Zumbahlen, 2005.
 0. Filter responses

4 Sedra, 2007.
 0. Filter responses

5
 1. Low-pass Prototype
• Prototype: Normalized Low-pass Filter

Cutoff frequency: 1 rad/s (0.159 Hz)

Source resistance: 1 Ohm

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 1. Low-pass Prototype
• Prototype: Normalized Low-pass Filter

Cutoff frequency: 1 rad/s (0.159 Hz)

Source resistance: 1 Ohm

1 Ohm
Normalized
LPF X Ohm
𝜔𝑐 = 1

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 1. Low-pass Prototype
Design strategy

1. Determine the desired characteristics (Ripple, rejection)

2. Select the type of response that satisfies the
requirements
3. Determine the filter order
4. Identify the prototype filter
5. Scale in frequency
6. Scale source and load resistances

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 2. Filter Types

a) Butterworth
b) Chebyshev
c) Bessel

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 2. Filter Types
a) Butterworth
• Flat response (No ripple)
• Medium Q
• Medium initial attenuation

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 2. Filter Types
a) Butterworth
• Transfer function

Sedra, 2007.
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 2. Filter Types
a) Butterworth
• Characteristic Attenuation

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 2. Filter Types
a) Butterworth
• Characteristic Attenuation

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 2. Filter Types
a) Butterworth
• Element values
(Normalized)

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 2. Filter Types Butterworth

a) Butterworth
• Element values
(Normalized)

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 2. Filter Types

Butterworth

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 2. Filter Types
b) Chebyshev
• Equiripple
• High Q (monotonically decreasing transmission)
• Higher initial attenuation

Sedra, 2007.
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 2. Filter Types
b) Chebyshev
• Transfer function

Sedra, 2007.
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 2. Filter Types
b) Chebyshev
• Characteristic Attenuation

Sedra, 2007.
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 2. Filter Types

• Characteristic Attenuation

Ripple = 0.01 dB Ripple = 0.1 dB

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 2. Filter Types
b) Chebyshev
• Element values
Ripple = 0.01 dB

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 2. Filter Types
a) Butterworth b) Chebyshev
• Element values • Element values
(Normalized) Ripple = 0.1 dB

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 2. Filter Types
c) Bessel
• Flat group delay
(Linear phase)
• Poor initial attenuation
• Low distortion in
wideband signals

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 2. Filter Types
c) Bessel
• Transfer function

𝐵𝑁 (0)
𝑇 𝑠 =
𝐵𝑁 (𝑠)

𝐵𝑁 (𝑠): Reverse Bessel polynomial of order N

Example of filter of
third order:

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 2. Filter Types
c) Bessel
• Characteristic Attenuation

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 2. Filter Types
c) Bessel

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 3. Frequency and Impedance Scaling
a) Transformation of the cutoff frequency
b) Source and load impedance required

Cn: Prototype element value Ln: Prototype element value

R: Final load resistance value

Fc: Final cutoff frequency

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 4. Low-pass Filter
Exercise.
Design a low-pass filter with the following characteristics:

• 𝑓𝑐 = 100 MHz
• Attenuation higher than 60 dB at 250 MHz
• Ripple < 0.5 dB
• 𝑅𝑠 = 50 Ω
• 𝑅𝐿 = 150 Ω

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 5. High-pass filter
Design strategy

1. Determine the desired characteristics (Ripple, rejection)

using the figures for the low-pass prototype but changing
the axis f/fc by fc/f.
2. Replace each filter element with an element of the
opposite type and with a reciprocal value.
𝐶𝐻𝑃𝐹 = 1/𝐿𝐿𝑃𝐹
𝐿𝐻𝑃𝐹 = 1/𝐶𝐿𝑃𝐹
3. Maintain the source and load values.

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 5. High-pass filter
Design strategy

1. Determine the desired characteristics (Ripple, rejection)

using the figures for the low-pass prototype but changing
the axis f/fc by fc/f.

30 fc/f
 5. High-pass filter
Design strategy

2. Replace each filter element with an element of the

opposite type and with a reciprocal value.
𝐶𝐻𝑃𝐹 = 1/𝐿𝐿𝑃𝐹
𝐿𝐻𝑃𝐹 = 1/𝐶𝐿𝑃𝐹 C1 → L1
0.847=1/1.81

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 6. Band-pass filter
Design strategy

1. Determine the desired characteristics (Ripple, rejection)

using the figures for the low-pass prototype but changing
the axis using
𝑓 𝐵𝑊
= ,
𝑓𝑐 𝐵𝑊𝑐

𝐵𝑊𝑐 is the 3 dB bandwidth of the bandpass filter and

𝐵𝑊 is the bandwidth at an specific attenuation value.

2. Transform the low-pass circuit to a bandpass circuit.

???
Using resonance
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 6. Band-pass filter
Design strategy

1. Determine the desired characteristics (Ripple, rejection)

using the figures for the low-pass prototype but changing
the axis using
𝑓 𝐵𝑊
= ,
𝑓𝑐 𝐵𝑊𝑐

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 6. Band-pass filter
Design strategy

2. Transform the low-pass circuit to a bandpass circuit.

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 6. Band-pass filter
Design strategy

3. Impedance scaling

Parallel-resonant pairs Series-resonant pairs

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 7. Effects of Element’s Q
Effects of a low Q of the elements in a filter:

• Increase of insertion loss

• Rounded response in the vicinity of fc
• Reduction of ripple
• Lower stop-band attenuation

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 7. Effects of Element’s Q
Recommended minimum element Q

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References

Reference tables and figures are taken from the textbook.

Tables and figures for higher order filters can be also found
in:
• Christopher Bowick. RF Circuit Design: Newnes; 2nd
edition, 2007.

Some figures and equations are taken from:

• A. Sedra and K. Smith. Microelectronic Circuits: Part II. 6th
Edition. Oxford, 2010.

• Hank Zumbahlen. Basic Linear Design. Analog Devices,

Incorporated, 2005.

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