CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS

UEEA2253
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (HONS) ELECTRONIC AND
COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

LECTURER: PROF.LU KEE SIANG

No.
1.
2.
3.
4.

STUDENT NAME
PUVANESWARAN A/L MUTHU KUMAR
LIM SHENG LOKE
SARVAESHWARAN A/L PERBAKARAN
YAP JIUNN CHYUAN

ID Number
08UEB00878
08UEB01232
08UEB00741
08UEB01316

Year / Sem.
1/2
1/2
1/2
1/2

No.
1.

Content
Question

Page
2

Lowpass Filter Design and Simulation

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Intoduction
Theory
Calculation
Circuit Design
Simulation Result

3
10
14
17
18

LED Battery Free Torch

7.
8.
9.
10.

Operation Principle
Circuit Design
Product Survey
Conclusion

19
20
23
26
27

Reference

Question
Assignment
(1)

Introduction
This assignment is in response to open-ended question and outcome based
education. It accounts for 15% of the total marks. The students are divided into
groups of 4 each, within their own course. The two projects presented below are
to be completed within 10 weeks.

(2)

Projects
(a)
Lowpass Filter Design and Simulation
Design an anti-aliasing filter, which is a lowpass filter. The specification is
given as follows:
Passband:
Passband ripple:
Stopband:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(b)

You may consider passive LC filter or Active RC filter, using

Chebyshev function or Elliptic function.
Your Report should include the circuit design, calculation,
simulation results, literature survey and References.
Hardware is encouraged, but not compulsory.

LED Battery Free Torch

It is well known that torch light comes in handy at a time of electricity
outage. However, from experience, the torch light may fail to work due to
battery low. There are torch light that can operate without battery in the
market. Design an LED battery free torch that could operate by shaking.
(i)
(ii)

(3)

3 kHz
0.5 dB
>60 dB for >5 kHz.

Your Report should clearly show the operation principles, circuit

design, literature/product survey and References.
Hardware is encouraged, but not compulsory.

Project Outcome
Upon completion of the project, the student should have achieved the following
outcome:
(a)
(b)
(c)

Ability to conduct R&D.

Work as a team to achieve a common goal.
Learn proper time management.
2

(d)
(e)
(4)

Develop communication and software skills in report writing.

Conduct literature survey to mine information in the Library and the
Internet, a life-long education.

Report due dates and Assessment

(a)
Each group shall jointly submit a Report on the two projects. Assessment
guideline is as follows:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(b)

Report Presentation and proper English (15%)

Scientific Reasoning, Engineering design and promising product
(60%)
Evidence of Team Work (10%)
Literature survey and References (15%)

Due date for submission: 12 noon Friday 15 August 2008 (Week 12)

Note: Outstanding students may be requested to give an Oral Presentation.

Introduction

LOW PASS FILTER

A low-pass filter is a filter that passes low-frequency signals but attenuates (reduces the
amplitude of) signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. The actual
amount of attenuation for each frequency varies from filter to filter. It is sometimes called
a high-cut filter, or treble cut filter when used in audio applications.
The concept of a low-pass filter exists in many different forms, including electronic
circuits (like a hiss filter used in audio), digital algorithms for smoothing sets of data,
acoustic barriers, blurring of images, and so on. Low-pass filters play the same role in
signal processing that moving averages do in some other fields, such as finance; both
tools provide a smoother form of a signal which removes the short-term oscillations,
leaving only the long-term trend.

Inductive low-pass-filter

The inductor's impedance increases with increasing frequency. This high impedance in
series tends to block high-frequency signals from getting to the load. This can be
demonstrated with a SPICE analysis: (Figure below)

The response of an inductive low-pass filter falls off with increasing frequency.

Capacitive low-pass filter.

The capacitor's impedance decreases with increasing frequency. This low impedance in
parallel with the load resistance tends to short out high-frequency signals, dropping most
of the voltage across series resistor R1. (Figure below)

The response of a capacitive low-pass filter falls off with increasing frequency.

The inductive low-pass filter is the pinnacle of simplicity, with only one component
comprising the filter. The capacitive version of this filter is not that much more complex,
with only a resistor and capacitor needed for operation. However, despite their increased
complexity, capacitive filter designs are generally preferred over inductive because
capacitors tend to be purer reactive components than inductors and therefore are more
predictable in their behavior. By pure I mean that capacitors exhibit little resistive
effects than inductors, making them almost 100% reactive. Inductors, on the other hand,
typically exhibit significant dissipative (resistor-like) effects, both in the long lengths of
wire used to make them, and in the magnetic losses of the core material. Capacitors also
tend to participate less in coupling effects with other components (generate and/or
receive interference from other components via mutual electric or magnetic fields) than
inductors, and are less expensive.
However, the inductive low-pass filter is often preferred in AC-DC power supplies to
filter out the AC ripple waveform created when AC is converted (rectified) into DC,
passing only the pure DC component. The primary reason for this is the requirement of
low filter resistance for the output of such a power supply. A capacitive low-pass filter
requires an extra resistance in series with the source, whereas the inductive low-pass filter
does not. In the design of a high-current circuit like a DC power supply where additional
series resistance is undesirable, the inductive low-pass filter is the better design choice.
On the other hand, if low weight and compact size are higher priorities than low internal
supply resistance in a power supply design, the capacitive low-pass filter might make
more sense.
All low-pass filters are rated at a certain cutoff frequency. That is, the frequency above
which the output voltage falls below 70.7% of the input voltage. This cutoff percentage
6

of 70.7 is not really arbitrary, all though it may seem so at first glance. In a simple
capacitive/resistive low-pass filter, it is the frequency at which capacitive reactance in
ohms equals resistance in ohms. In a simple capacitive low-pass filter (one resistor, one
capacitor), the cutoff frequency is given as:

Inserting the values of R and C from the last SPICE simulation into this formula, we
arrive at a cutoff frequency of 45.473 Hz. However, when we look at the plot generated
by the SPICE simulation, we see the load voltage well below 70.7% of the source voltage
(1 volt) even at a frequency as low as 30 Hz, below the calculated cutoff point. What's
wrong? The problem here is that the load resistance of 1 k affects the frequency
response of the filter, skewing it down from what the formula told us it would be.
Without that load resistance in place, SPICE produces a Bode plot whose numbers make
more sense: (Figure below)

For the capacitive low-pass filter with R = 500 and C = 7 F, the Output should be
70.7% at 45.473 Hz.

fcutoff = 1/(2RC) = 1/(2(500 )(7 F)) = 45.473 Hz

When dealing with filter circuits, it is always important to note that the response of the
filter depends on the filter's component values and the impedance of the load. If a cutoff
frequency equation fails to give consideration to load impedance, it assumes no load and
will fail to give accurate results for a real-life filter conducting power to a load.
7

One frequent application of the capacitive low-pass filter principle is in the design of
circuits having components or sections sensitive to electrical noise. As mentioned at the
beginning of the last chapter, sometimes AC signals can couple from one circuit to
another via capacitance (Cstray) and/or mutual inductance (Mstray) between the two sets of
conductors. A prime example of this is unwanted AC signals (noise) becoming
impressed on DC power lines supplying sensitive circuits: (Figure below)

Noise is coupled by stray capacitance and mutual inductance into clean DC power.

The oscilloscope-meter on the left shows the clean power from the DC voltage source.
After coupling with the AC noise source via stray mutual inductance and stray
capacitance, though, the voltage as measured at the load terminals is now a mix of AC
and DC, the AC being unwanted. Normally, one would expect Eload to be precisely
identical to Esource, because the uninterrupted conductors connecting them should make the
two sets of points electrically common. However, power conductor impedance allows the
two voltages to differ, which means the noise magnitude can vary at different points in
the DC system.
If we wish to prevent such noise from reaching the DC load, all we need to do is
connect a low-pass filter near the load to block any coupled signals. In its simplest form,
this is nothing more than a capacitor connected directly across the power terminals of the
load, the capacitor behaving as a very low impedance to any AC noise, and shorting it
out. Such a capacitor is called a decoupling capacitor: (Figure below)

Decoupling capacitor, applied to load, filters noise from DC power supply.

A cursory glance at a crowded printed-circuit board (PCB) will typically reveal

decoupling capacitors scattered throughout, usually located as close as possible to the
sensitive DC loads. Capacitor size is usually 0.1 F or more, a minimum amount of
capacitance needed to produce a low enough impedance to short out any noise. Greater
capacitance will do a better job at filtering noise, but size and economics limit decoupling
capacitors to meager values.

Analogue low pass filter

Typical magnitude response |Ha(j)| of an analog lowpass filter may be given as
indicated below.

Which:
p -

passband edge frequency

s - stopband edge frequency

p - peak ripple value in the passband

s - peak ripple value in the stopband

Peak pass band ripple

p 20 log 10 (1 p ) db

and
Minimum stop band attenuation
10

 s 20 log10 ( s )

Db

2 additional parameter are defined

i) Transition ratio

k p
s

for low pass filter < 1

ii) Discrimination parameter
usually <<1

k1

A2 1

11

In our Circuit and Systems Assignment , we need to construct a low pass filter which
have a pass band of 3khz and ripple factor of 0.5db and stop band of 5khz at 60db.
Therefore
From

p
s

k = 0.6

for pass band ripple of 0.5 db the ripple factor ,

10 log

1
0.5
1 2

= 0.3493

If stop band is 60db for 5khz

1
60
A2
So, A = 1000
10 log

12

To find discrimination parameter k1 from the formula:-

k1

k1

A2 1
(0.3493)
(1000 2 1)

= 0.011
If at s is equal to 1 then
A

( j s )

1
1
1 2 T N2 ( s / p ) A 2

Solving the above equation we get

A2 1
)

cosh 1 ( k )

cosh 1 (

N = cosh -1 0.011

cosh -1 1
0 .6

= 7.876
8

13

Normalized Chebyshev filter design equation Dishal formula

1

i) S n sinh( sinh 1 )
n

ii) q

2 sin
Sn

2n

sin 2 2i S n
4 sin(2i 1) sin(2i 1)
2

iii)

Ki

When n is 8,
1
1
S n sinh( sinh 1
)
8
0.3493

= 0.2236

16

= 0.1963
q

2 sin 11.25
0.2236

= 1.7450

We use equation 3 to obtain the value of k1 to k7 to construct a table to determine the

value of the component in the circuirt above.

K1

sin 2 [2(1)(11.25)] 0.2236 2

0.6731
4 sin{[ 2(1) 1](11.25)} sin{[ 2(1) 1](11.25)}

K2

sin 2 [2( 2)(11.25)] 0.2236 2

0.5456
4 sin{[ 2(2) 1](11.25)} sin{[ 2(2) 1](11.25)}

14

K3

sin 2 [ 2(3)(11 .25)] 0.2236 2

0.5263
4 sin{[ 2(3) 1](11.25)} sin{[ 2(3) 1](11.25)}

K4

sin 2 [ 2( 4)(11.25)] 0.2236 2

0.5224
4 sin{[ 2( 4) 1](11.25)} sin{[ 2(4) 1](11.25)}

K5

sin 2 [ 2(5)(11 .25)] 0.2236 2

0.5263
4 sin{[ 2(5) 1](11.25)} sin{[ 2(5) 1](11 .25)}

K6

sin 2 [ 2(6)(11.25)] 0.2236 2

0.5456
4 sin{[ 2(6) 1](11.25)} sin{[ 2(6) 1](11.25)}

K7

sin 2 [2(7)(11.25)] 0.2236 2

0.6731
4 sin{[ 2(7) 1](11.25)} sin{[ 2(7) 1](11 .25)}

The value is shown below

n Sn

q
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5
K6
K7
8 0.2236 0.1963 1.7450 0.6731 0.5456 0.5263 0.5224 0.5263 0.5456 0.6731
Table 1:

15

C1 =q=1.7451F
L2

C3

L4

C5

K1 C 1
1
2

K2 L2
1
2

K3 C 3
1
2

K4 L4

K5 C 5

C7

RL

L6

L8

1
2

K6 L6
1
2

K7 C7

1
1.2648 H
(0.6731) 2 (1.7451)

1
2.656 F
(0.5456) 2 (1.2648)

1
1.3593H
(0.5263) 2 (2.656)

1
2.6957 F
(0.5224) 2 (1.3593)

1
1.3393H
(0.5263) 2 (2.6957)

1
2.508 F
(0.5456) 2 (1.3393)

1
0.8801H
(0.6731) 2 (2.508)

L8
0.8801

0.5043
q
1.7451

16

Filter Design
Internal Design:

R1

L2

L4

L6

L8

1ohm

1.2648H

1.3593H

1.3393H

0.8801H

V1

C1

C3

C5

C7

RL

1V 1000Hz 0Deg

1.7451F

2.656F

2.6957F

2.508F

0.5043ohm

Figure : Circuit Design

Progress/simulation result
17

18

Question B
Shakelight
Operational Princple :
The shake light is incredibly handy for emergency or when you dont need the full
power of a normal torch. There are no batteries to run down and the beam remains
powerful enough to read by after more then 1 hour. The shakelight is completely
waterproof, very strong and floats beam up. Shakelight is ideal for camping and can
be kept in the car or boat for emergencies.
Features:1) Light Duration: 60 seconds of shaking provides approximately 1 hour of light.
2) Light Output: Initial high_brightness bluish-white LED light of 10,000Lux.
3) Light Beam : Circular diameter of 4.6ft (or 1.4m) at 5 to 10 m distance and
visible for 1 mile.
4) Energy Mechanism: Renewable and environmental magnetic charging system.
5) Capacitor: EDI-T L-cap.
6) Magnetic Circuitry: Latest 2-coil system.
7) Switch: Non-contact luminescent glowing switch.
8) Safety : Intrinsically safe
9) Mechanical Structure : High impact polycarbonate
10) Environment: Corrosion-proof, shock-proof, explosion-proof, water-proof.
11) Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) : Compatible with CE and CCC standards.
12) Submersion: Operates to 410ft or 125m water depth.
13) Shock: Survives a 6.6ft or 2m drop.
14) Temperature: Functions between -40 degree C and +55 degree C.
15) Lifetime: Operates for 6 to 10 years.
16) Warranty: Backed by a 6 year warranty.
17) Floatability: Completely floatable.
18) Unit Dimensions: 9.1 or 5 cm (Head) by 6.0 or 15 cm (Body) by 1.5 or 3.9 cm
(Diameter).
19) Unit Weight: 9.1ounces (260 grams).
20) Patent #: 03250506.X.
21) Quality Assured.

Circuit Design :

19

Here are the parts of the shaketorch light:

As you can see, there is some interesting parts:

B Plastic Lens
C Rubber (stops the magnet when it is shaked)
D Magnet imitation
E Two Lithium Batteries.
F Circuit board with only a white LED.
I Copper coil connected nowhere.

20

I found the magnet is really powerful. The tools immediately stick to the magnet.

I found that this flashlight have an interesting design. It doesn't have any resistor
neiter a switch. Instead a switch it have a reed switch. The diodes used are silicon
diodes and the capacitor, as I thought, is 1F 5.5V.

The reason why there is a reed switch instead a regular switch is because this
flashlight is water proof.

Shake Eternal LED Torches dont use batteries- they use kinetic energy. When we
shake the Eternal LED torch, a magnet passes through a coil inside the torch, and
the energy is converted to light. Best of all, some Eternal LED Torch models
actually store power! So, if we only use the torch for a minute, we wont have to
shake it the next time we use it. Simply switch it on. And because most Eternal
LED Torches dont use bulbs, theyre tougher and we never have to replace a bulb
again! Eternal LED Torches use a bright white LED, rated for 100,000 hours of
operation.

21

The Lifetime of the shakelight is almost Forever! Eternal LED Torches are not
only batteryless, theyre also made of extremely tough and durable polycarbonate.
Theyre fully sealed and waterproof, and they even float on water. Most Eternal
LED Torches use a bright white LED instead of a bulb. The LED is rated for
100,000 hours of operation.

Types of shakelight :

22

Maxi Shake torch

At almost 30cm (1 ft) Long The Maxi Shake Torch is the largest and most powerful of
our shake torches and is suitable for heavy duty use.

Large Shake Torch

The Large Shake Torch is the same diameter as the Maxi Shake Torch but Shorter.

23

Midi Shake Torch

The Midi Shake Torch is a good all rounder suitable for home, car or work.

Small Shake Torch

The Small Shake Torch is a useful size and is suitable for home or car.

24

Mini Shake Torch

The Mini Shake Torch is small enough to be carried in a pocket or bag for emergency
use.

Caution!!! : All models of shake torch contain a powerful magnet and should be kept at a
safe distance from magnetic media like tapes, floppy disks and anything that could be
affected by a strong magnetic field.

25

Conclusion
From this assignment, our group had learnt about how to make the low pass filter by
using the capacitor and inductor. We had made an 8 order low pass filter. We use the
Chebyshev function to make this passive LC filter. Besides that, we also learnt how to
use the Multisim program to show the frequency response of Chebyshev filter. We want
to thank Prof. Lu Kee Siang for everything that he had done for us during the assignment.
We also work as a team to achieve a common goal which was to accomplish the
assignment. Indirectly we also develop our communication and software skills not only in
writing report but also in using MultiSim. We try so hard to conduct literature survey and
look information in the library and internet. It was a sweet experiences throughout the all
process.We did also learn how to manage time properly. Once again we would like to
thanks Prof.Lu Kee Siang for giving us this opportunity.

26

Reference:
Eternal Torch - led shake torches - battery-less led torches UK.mht
2.) Shakelight-Battery-Free 2 Coil Shake Torch.mht
1.)

3.) www.josepino.com
4.) Low Pass Filter.uk.mht
5.) Wikipedia- low pass filter-circuit design.

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