Chapter 4 Balancing and Filtering

Electromagnetic Compatibility
Engineering
by Henry W. Ott
 Balancing
 A balanced circuit is a two-conductor circuit in which both signal
conductors, and all circuits connected to them, have the same
nonzero impedance with respect to a reference (usually ground)
and all other conductors.
 The purpose of balancing is to make the noise pickup equal in both
conductors.
 Balancing is an often overlooked --- although in many cases cost-
effective --- noise reduction technique.
 For a balanced circuit to be most effective in reducing common-
mode noise, not only must the terminations be balanced, but also
the interconnection (cable) must be balanced.
 An excellent example of the effectiveness of a balanced system in
reducing noise is the telephone system.

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 Balancing


If I N 1  I N 2 and
RL1  RL 2 VL  I N 1 RL1  I N 2 RL 2  I s ( RL1  RL 2 )

VL  I s ( RL1  RL 2 )
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 Balancing


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 Balancing

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 Balancing
 A balanced circuit using a twisted pair will protect against both
magnetic and electric fields, even without a shield over the
conductors.
 Common-Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR)

V  Typically, 40 to 80 dB of CMRR is
CMRR = 20log  cm  dB reasonable to expect from a well-
 Vdm  designed circuit.
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 Balancing
V 
1. Alternative definition of CMRR: CMRR = 20log  c  dB
 Vdm 

2. In many practical applications, the load is balanced but the source is

not.

If RL  ( Rs  Rs )
 ( RL  Rs  Rs )( RL  Rs )   RL 
CMRR = 20log    20log  
 R L Rs  
 s
R
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 Balancing
3. The detrimental effect of source unbalance on the noise performance
can be reduced by :
a. Reducing the common-mode voltage
b. Reducing the source unbalance Rs
c. Increasing the common-mode load impedance RL
4. The CMRR caused by an unbalanced load resistance:

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 Balancing
 ( RL  Rs  RL )( RL  Rs )   RL  RL  RL 
CMRR = 20log    20log   
 Rs RL   Rs   RL 
If RL  Rs
A low source impedance with a high load impedance will provide the
largest CMRR.
A large load resistance will maximize the CMRR for the case of both
source unbalance and load unbalance.

 Cable Balance
1. In many cases, the circuit unbalances are greater than the cable
unbalances. However, when large amounts of common-mode rejection
are required, greater than 100 dB, or very long cables are used, the
cable imperfections must be considered.
2. The resistive unbalance of most cables is negligible.

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 Balancing
3. Capacitive unbalance is typically in the 3% to 5% range. At high
frequency, the capacitive unbalance may have to be considered.
4. Inductive unbalances are virtually nonexistent for braid shield cables if
properly terminated.
5. Foil shielded cables with drain wires should not be used in sensitive
circuits that require large amounts of common-mode noise suppression.
6. The effects of balancing and shielding are additive.
7. Normally, the higher the frequency, the harder it is to maintain good
balance, because stray capacitance has more effect on circuit balance
at high frequency.
 System Balance
1. Knowing the CMRR provided by the individual components that make
up a system does not necessarily allow predictions of the overall
system CMRR when the components are combined.

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 Balancing
2. One way to guarantee good system balance is to specify the CMRR for
each component higher than the desired system CMRR.
3. One way to estimate the overall CMRR of the system is to assume it is
equal to the CMRR of the worst component.

An example of this
method is the
balanced differential
voltage probe in Fig.
18-8.

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 Balancing
4. Input Cable Shield Termination
When using high common-mode input impedance amplifier circuits, such as
instrumentation amplifiers, the input cable shield is often connected only to
the source ground, not to the load ground.
This approach will often increase the emissions from the product if high-
frequency or digital circuits are also present.

Example 4-1
600- unbalanced source, a shielded cable that has a capacitance of 30 pF/ft,
the cable is 100 ft. long, the cable’s shield is grounded at the amplifier end.

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 Filtering
 Filters can be differential mode or common mode.
 Common-Mode Filters
1. Common-mode filters are usually used to suppress noise on cables
while allowing the intended differential-mode signal to pass
undisturbed.

2. Why are common-mode filters more difficult to design than

differential-mode filters?

a. We usually do not know the source impedance.

b. We usually do not know the load impedance.

c. The filter must not distort the intended signal on the cable.

3. The source impedance is usually the PCB ground impedance, and the
load is the impedance of a cable acting as an antenna.

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 Filtering
4. The differential-mode pass band of the common-mode filter must be
such that it satisfies the following:

a. For narrow-band signals, the highest frequency present;

1
b. In the case of wide band digital signals, the frequency of the
 tr
signal.

5. Common-mode filters should be located as close to where the cable

enters or leaves the enclosure as possible.

Common-mode
choke

20
 Filtering
6. Common-mode filters are usually low-pass filters:

(1). Single-element filters:

a. A single series element

b. A single shunt element

(2). Multi-element filters

a. An L-filter (one series and one shunt element)

b. A T-filter (two series elements and one shunt element)

c. A -filter (two shunt elements and one series element)

7. The advantage of single-element filters is that they only require one

component.

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 Filtering
8. The advantage of multi-element filters is that they will often be
effective where single element filters are not and they often can
provide more attenuation than a single-element filter.

9. The shunt element: a capacitor

10. The series element: a resistor, an inductor, or a ferrite.

11. Filter attenuation occurs as a result of impedance mismatches. An L-

filter with its high-impedance element (series element) facing the low
source impedance, and its low impedance element (a shunt capacitor)
facing the high load impedance should be most effective.

12. For a series impedance filter element to be effective, it must have an

impedance larger than the sum of the source and load impedances.
For a shunt filter element to be effective, it must have an impedance
less than the parallel combination of the source and load impedances.

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 Filtering
13. Three cases:

(1) Both Z S and Z L are low, then a series element will be effective.

(2) Both Z S and Z L are high, then a shunt capacitor will be effective.

(3)One of the impedances is low and the other is high, then a multi-
element filter must be used.

14. With respect to multi-stage filters, the more stages a filter has, the
less its attenuation is dependent on the terminating impedances.

15. Common-mode filers need to be applied to all conductors leaving or

entering the equipment enclosure, which include the circuit ground
conductors.

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 Filtering
 Parasitic Effects in Filters

1. The designer must make sure that this transformation from a low-pass
to high-pass filter does not occur in the frequency range of interest.

2. The frequency at which this transformation occurs is a function of the

layout of the filter.
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 Filtering

3. In many cases, at high frequency, the control of the parasitics is more

important to the filter’s performance than the value of the intended
elements.

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