Frequency Characteristics of AC Circuits

Chapter 17

Introduction
A High-Pass RC Network
A Low-Pass RC Network
A Low-Pass RL Network
A High-Pass RL Network
A Comparison of RC and RL Networks
Bode Diagrams
Combining the Effects of Several Stages
RLC Circuits and Resonance
Filters
Stray Capacitance and Inductance
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OHT 17.1

Introduction

17.1

Earlier we looked at the bandwidth and frequency

response of amplifiers
Having now looked at the AC behaviour of
components we can consider these in more detail
The reactance of both inductors and capacitance is
frequency dependent and we know that
X L L
1
XC
C
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OHT 17.2

 We will start by considering very simple circuits

Consider the potential divider shown here
from our earlier consideration of the circuit

Z2
v

rearranging,o the gain

of the circuit is
i
Z1 Z 2
vo
Z2

Zthe
this is also vcalled
i
1 Z2

transfer function of the circuit

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OHT 17.3

A High-Pass RC Network

17.2

Consider the following circuit

which is shown re-drawn in a more usual form

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OHT 17.4

 Clearly the transfer function is

vo
ZR
R
1

v i Z R ZC R j 1 1 j 1
C
CR

At high frequencies
is large, voltage gain 1
At low frequencies
is small, voltage gain 0
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OHT 17.5

 Since the denominator has

real and imaginary parts, the
magnitude of the voltage gain is
Voltage gain

1
1
1

CR

When 1/CR = 1
Voltage gain

1
1

0.707
1 1
2

This is a halving of power, or a fall in gain of 3 dB

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OHT 17.6

 The half power point is the cut-off frequency of the

circuit
the angular frequency C at which this occurs is given by
1
1
cCR
1 1
c
rad/s
CR

where is the time constant of the CR network. Also

1
fc c
Hz
2 2CR
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OHT 17.7

 Substituting =2f and CR = 1/ 2fC in the earlier

equation gives
vo
1

1
v i 1 j
1 j
CR

1
1
1
(2f )

2fc

1
1 j

fc
f

This is the general form of the gain of the circuit

It is clear that both the magnitude of the gain and the
phase angle vary with frequency
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OHT 17.8

 Consider the behaviour of the circuit at different

frequencies:
When f >> fc
fc/f << 1, the voltage gain 1

When f = fc
vo
1
1
1 (1 j)
(1 j)

0. 5 0 . 5 j
f
v i 1 j c 1 j 1 j (1 j)
2
f

When f << fc

vo
1
1
f

j
v i 1 j fc j fc
fc
f
f

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OHT 17.9

 The behaviour in these three regions can be

illustrated using phasor diagrams

At low frequencies the gain is linearly related to

frequency. It falls at -6dB/octave (-20dB/decade)
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OHT 17.10

 Frequency response of
the high-pass network
the gain response has
two asymptotes that
meet at the cut-off
frequency
figures of this form are
called Bode diagrams

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OHT 17.11

A Low-Pass RC Network

17.3

Transposing the C and R gives

1
vo
ZC
1
C

v i Z R Z C R j 1 1 jCR
C
j

At high frequencies
is large, voltage gain 0
At low frequencies
is small, voltage gain 1
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OHT 17.12

A Low-Pass RC Network

17.3

A similar analysis to before

gives
Voltage gain

1
1 CR 2

Therefore when, when CR = 1

Voltage gain

1
1

0.707
1 1
2

Which is the cut-off frequency

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OHT 17.13

 Therefore
the angular frequency C at which this occurs is given by

cCR 1
1 1
c
rad/s
CR

where is the time constant of the CR network, and as

before

1
fc c
Hz
2 2CR
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OHT 17.14

 Substituting =2f and CR = 1/ 2fC in the earlier

equation gives
vo
1

v i 1 jCR

1
1 j

1
1 j

f
fc

This is similar, but not the same, as the transfer

function for the high-pass network

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OHT 17.15

 Consider the behaviour of this circuit at different

frequencies:
When f << fc
f/fc << 1, the voltage gain 1

When f = fc

vo
1 j1 j 1 j 0.5 0.5 j
1

1 j
v i 1 j f
2
fc

When f >> fc

vo
f
1
1

j c
f
v i 1 j f
f
j
fc
fc

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OHT 17.16

 The behaviour in these three regions can again be

illustrated using phasor diagrams

At high frequencies the gain is linearly related to

frequency. It falls at 6dB/octave (20dB/decade)
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OHT 17.17

 Frequency response of
the low-pass network
the gain response has
two asymptotes that
meet at the cut-off
frequency
you might like to
compare this with
the Bode Diagram
for a high-pass
network
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OHT 17.18

A Low-Pass RL Network

17.4

Low-pass networks can also

be produced using RL circuits
these behave similarly to the
corresponding CR circuit
the voltage gain is
vo
ZR
R
1

v i Z R Z L R j L 1 j L
R

the cut-off frequency is

c

R 1
rad/s
L

fc

c
R

Hz
2 2L

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OHT 17.19

A High-Pass RL Network

17.5

High-pass networks can also

be produced using RL circuits
these behave similarly to the
corresponding CR circuit
the voltage gain is
vo
ZL
j L
1
1

R
v i Z R Z L R j L 1 R
1 j
j L
L

the cut-off frequency is

c

R 1
rad/s
L

fc

c
R

Hz
2 2L

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OHT 17.20

A Comparison of RC and RL Networks

17.6

Circuits using RC and RL

techniques have similar
characteristics
for a more detailed
comparison, see
Figure 17.10 in the
course text

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OHT 17.21

Bode Diagrams

17.7

Straight-line approximations

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OHT 17.22

 Creating more detailed Bode diagrams

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OHT 17.23

Combining the Effects of Several Stages

17.8

The effects of several stages add in bode diagrams

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OHT 17.24

 Multiple high- and low-pass

elements may also be combined
this is illustrated in Figure 17.14
in the course text

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OHT 17.25

RLC Circuits and Resonance

17.9

Series RLC circuits

the impedance is given by
Z R j L

1
1
R j(L
)
j C
C

if the magnitude of the reactance

of the inductor and capacitor are
equal, the imaginary part is zero,
and the impedance is simply R
this occurs when
1
L
C

1

LC
2

1
LC

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OHT 17.26

 This situation is referred to as resonance

the frequency at which is occurs is the
resonant frequency
o

1
LC

fo

1
2 LC

in the series resonant

circuit, the impedance is
at a minimum at resonance
the current is at a maximum
at resonance
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OHT 17.27

 The resonant effect can be quantified by the

quality factor, Q
this is the ratio of the energy dissipated to the energy
stored in each cycle
it can be shown that
Quality factor Q

and
Q

X L XC

R
R

1 L

R C

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OHT 17.28

 The series RLC circuit is an acceptor circuit

the narrowness of bandwidth is determined by the Q
Quality factor Q

Resonant frequency fo

Bandwidth
B

combining this equation with the earlier one gives

B

R
Hz
2L

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OHT 17.29

 Parallel RLC circuits

as before
o

1
LC

fo

1
2 LC

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OHT 17.30

 The parallel arrangement is a rejector circuit

in the parallel resonant
circuit, the impedance is
at a maximum at resonance
the current is at a minimum
at resonance
in this circuit
C
QR
L

1
Hz
2RC

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OHT 17.31

Filters

17.10

RC Filters
The RC networks considered earlier are first-order
or single-pole filters
these have a maximum roll-off of 6 dB/octave
they also produce a maximum of 90 phase shift

Combining multiple stages can produce filters with a

greater ultimate roll-off rates (12 dB, 18 dB, etc.) but
such filters have a very soft knee

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OHT 17.32

 An ideal filter would have

constant gain and zero phase
shift for frequencies within its
pass band, and zero gain for
frequencies outside this range
(its stop band)
Real filters do not have these
idealised characteristics

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OHT 17.33

 LC Filters
Simple LC filters can
be produced using
series or parallel tuned
circuits
these produce narrowband filters with a
centre frequency fo
fo

1
2 LC

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OHT 17.34

 Active filters
combining an op-amp
with suitable resistors
and capacitors can
produce a range of filter
characteristics
these are termed active
filters

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OHT 17.35

 Common forms include:

Butterworth
optimised for a flat response

Chebyshev
optimised for a sharp knee

Bessel
optimised for its phase response

see Section 17.10.3 of the course

text for more information on these
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OHT 17.36

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OHT 17.37

Stray Capacitance and Inductance

17.11

All circuits have stray capacitance

and stray inductance
these unintended elements can
dramatically affect circuit operation
for example:
(a) Cs adds an unintended low-pass filter
(b) Ls adds an unintended low-pass filter
(c) Cs produces an unintended resonant
circuit and can produce instability

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OHT 17.38

Key Points
The reactance of capacitors and inductors is dependent on
frequency
Single RC or RL networks can produce an arrangement
with a single upper or lower cut-off frequency.
In each case the angular cut-off frequency o is given by
the reciprocal of the time constant
For an RC circuit = CR, for an RL circuit = L/R
Resonance occurs when the reactance of the capacitive
element cancels that of the inductive element
Simple RC or RL networks represent single-pole filters
Active filters produce high performance without inductors
Stray capacitance and inductance are found in all circuits
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OHT 17.39