Kerwin, W.J. “Passive Signal Processing”
The Electrical Engineering Handbook
Ed. Richard C. Dorf
Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 2000
4
Passive Signal Processing
4.1 Introduction
Laplace Transform?Transfer Functions
4.2 Low-Pass Filter Functions
Thomson Functions?Chebyshev Functions
4.3 Low-Pass Filters
Introduction?Butterworth Filters?Thomson Filters ?Chebyshev
Filters
4.4 Filter Design
Scaling Laws and a Design Example?Transformation Rules, Passive
Circuits
4.1 Introduction
This chapter will include detailed design information for passive RLC filters; including Butterworth, Thomson,
and Chebyshev, both singly and doubly terminated. As the filter slope is increased in order to obtain greater
rejection of frequencies beyond cut-off, the complexity and cost are increased and the response to a step input
is worsened. In particular, the overshoot and the settling time are increased. The element values given are for
normalized low pass configurations to 5th order. All higher order doubly-terminated Butterworth filter element
values can be obtained using Takahasi’s equation, and an example is included. In order to use this information
in a practical filter these element values must be scaled. Scaling rules to denormalize in frequency and impedance
are given with examples. Since all data is for low-pass filters the transformation rules to change from low-pass
to high-pass and to band-pass filters are included with examples.
Laplace Transform
We will use the Laplace operator, s = s + j w. Steady-state impedance is thus Ls and 1/Cs, respectively, for an
inductor (L) and a capacitor (C), and admittance is 1/Ls and Cs. In steady state s = 0 and therefore s = j w.
Transfer Functions
We will consider only lumped, linear, constant, bilateral elements, and we will define the transfer function
T(s) as response over excitation.
Ts
Ns
Ds
()
()
()
==
signal output
signal input
William J. Kerwin
University of Arizona
Adapted from Instrumentation and Control: Fundamentals and Applications, edited by Chester L. Nachtigal, pp. 487–497,
copyright 1990, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
The roots of the numerator polynomial
N
(
s
) are the zeros of the system, and the roots of the denominator
D(s) are the poles of the system (the points of infinite response). If we substitute s = jw into T(s) and separate
the result into real and imaginary parts (numerator and denominator) we obtain
(4.1)
Then the magnitude of the function, ÷ T(jw)?, is
(4.2)
and the phase is
(4.3)
Analysis
Although mesh or nodal analysis can always be used, since we will consider only ladder networks we will use
a method commonly called linearity, or working your way through. The method starts at the output and assumes
either 1 volt or 1 ampere as appropriate and uses Ohm’s law and Kirchhoff’s current law only.
Example 4.1. Analysis of the circuit of Fig. 4.1 for V
o
= 1 Volt.
FIGURE 4.1 Singly terminated 3rd order low pass filter (W, H, F).
Tj
AjB
AjB
()w=
+
+
11
22
**Tj
AB
AB
()w=
+
+
?
è
?
?
?
÷
1
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
Tj()w
Tj
B
A
B
A
( ) tan –tan
––
w=
1 1
1
1 2
2
IsV ss s
IVsssIII
VVIsss
Ts
V
V sss
i
o
i
3
3
2 1
3
2
4
3
2
21
1
2
1
2
3
123
11
32
32
1
221
1
221
==+
( )( )
=+
=
( )
=+ =+
=+=+++
==
+++
;
;
()
V
i
V
1
I
1
I
2
I
3
I
3
V
o
1
/
2
4
/
3
3
/
2
1
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
Example 4.2
Determine the magnitude and phase of T(s) in Example 4.1.
The values used for the circuit of Fig. 4.1 were normalized; that is, they are all near unity in ohms, henrys,
and farads. These values simplify computation and, as we will see later, can easily be scaled to any desired set
of actual element values. In addition, this circuit is low-pass because of the shunt capacitors and the series
inductor. By low-pass we mean a circuit that passes the lower frequencies and attenuates higher frequencies.
The cut-off frequency is the point at which the magnitude is 0.707 (–3 dB) of the dc level and is the dividing
line between the passband and the stopband. In the above example we see that the magnitude of V
o
/V
i
at w =
0 (dc) is 1.00 and that at w = 1 rad/s we have
(4.4)
and therefore this circuit has a cut-off frequency of 1 rad/s.
Thus, we see that the normalized element values used here give us a cut-off frequency of 1 rad/s.
4.2 Low-Pass Filter Functions
1
The most common function in signal processing is the Butterworth. It is a function that has only poles (i.e.,
no finite zeros) and has the flattest magnitude possible in the passband. This function is also called maximally
flat magnitude (MFM). The derivation of this function is illustrated by taking a general all-pole function of
third-order with a dc gain of 1 as follows:
(4.5)
The squared magnitude is
(4.6)
1
Adapted from Handbook of Measurement Science, edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982, John Wiley and Sons
Limited. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and Sons Limited.
Ts
sss
Ts
Ts
sj
()
=
+++
()
=
-
( )
+-
( )
=
+
()
=-
-
-
=-
-
-
=
-- -
1
221
1
12 2
1
1
0
2
12
2
12
32
2
2
3
2
6
11
3
2
1
3
2
w
www
w
ww
w
ww
w
tan tan tan
**Tj
rads
()
()
.
w
w
w
=
+
=
=
1
1
1
0707
6
Ts
as bs cs
()=
+++
1
1
32
**Tj
bca
()
(– )(– )
w
www
2
22 32
1
1
=
+
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
or
(4.7)
MFM requires that the coefficients of the numerator and the denominator match term by term (or be in the
same ratio) except for the highest power.
Therefore
(4.8)
We will also impose a normalized cut-off (–3 dB) at w = 1 rad/s; that is,
(4.9)
Thus, we find a = 1, then b = 2, c = 2 are solutions to the flat magnitude conditions of Eq. 4.8 and our third-
order Butterworth function is
(4.10)
Table 4.1 gives the Butterworth denominator polynomials up to n = 5.
In general, for all Butterworth functions the normalized magnitude is
(4.11)
Note that this is down 3 dB at w = 1 rad/s for all n.
This may, of course, be multiplied by any constant less than one for circuits whose dc gain is deliberately
set to be less than one.
Example 4.3. A low-pass Butterworth filter is required whose
cut-off frequency (–3 dB) is 3 kHz and in which the response must
be down 40 dB at 12 kHz. Normalizing to a cut-off frequency of
1 rad/s, the –40-dB frequency is
thus
therefore n = 3.32. Since n must be an integer, a fourth-order filter is required for this specification.
**Tj
abaccb
()
(–) (–)
w
www
2
26 2 4 2 2
1
21
=
+++
cb bac
22
20 20–;–==
**Tj
a
()
()
.w
w=
=
+
=
1
2
1
1
0707
Ts
sss
()=
+++
1
221
32
**Tj
n
()
()
w
w
=
+
1
1
2
TABLE 4.1Butterworth Polynomials
Source: Handbook of Measurement Science,
edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982, John
Wiley and Sons Limited. Reproduced by permis-
sion of John Wiley and Sons Limited.
s
ss
sss
ssss
sssssa
+
++
+++
++++
+++++
1
21
221
26131 34142 26131 1
32361 52361 52361 32361
2
32
4
5432
...
....
12
3
4
kHz
kHz
rad/s=
– log40 20
1
4
1
2
=
+
n
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
There is an extremely important difference between the singly terminated (dc gain = 1) and the doubly
terminated filters (dc gain = 0.5). As was shown by John Orchard, the sensitivity in the passband (ideally at
maximum output) to all L, C components in an L, C filter with equal terminations is zero. This is true regardless
of the circuit.
This, of course, means component tolerances and temperature coefficients are of much less importance in
the equally terminated case. For this type of Butterworth low-pass filter (normalized to equal 1-W terminations),
Takahasi has shown that the normalized element values are exactly given by
(4.12)
for any order n, where k is the L or C element from 1 to n.
Example 4.4.Design a normalized (w
–3dB
=1 rad/s) doubly terminated (i.e., source and load = 1 W) Butter-
worth low-pass filter of order 6; that is, n = 6.
The element values from Eq. (4.12) are
The values repeat for C
4
, L
5
, C
6
so that
C
4
= L
3
, L
5
= C
2
, C
6
= L
1
Thomson Functions
The Thomson function is one in which the time delay of
the network is made maximally flat. This implies a linear
phase characteristic since the steady-state time delay is
the negative of the derivative of the phase. This function
has excellent time domain characteristics and is used
wherever excellent step response is required. These func-
tions have very little overshoot to a step input and have
far superior settling times compared to the Butterworth
functions. The slope near cut-off is more gradual than
the Butterworth. Table 4.2 gives the Thomson denomi-
nator polynomials. The numerator is a constant equal to
the dc gain of the circuit multiplied by the denominator
constant. The cut-off frequencies are not all 1 rad/s. They
are given in Table 4.2.
Chebyshev Functions
A second function defined in terms of magnitude, the Chebyshev, has an equal ripple character within the
passband. The ripple is determined by e.
LC
k
n
, sin
(–)
=
?
è
?
?
?
÷
2
21
2
p
L
C
L
1
2
3
2
21
12
05176
2
41
12
14141
2
61
12
19319
==
==
==
sin
(–)
.
sin
(–)
.
sin
(–)
.
p
p
p
H
F
H
TABLE 4.2Thomson Polynomials
w
–3dB
(rad/s)
s + 1 1.0000
s
2
+ 3s + 3 1.3617
s
3
+6s
2
+ 15s +15 1.7557
s
4
+ 10s
3
+ 45s
2
+ 105s + 105 2.1139
s
5
+ 15s
4
+105s
3
+ 420s
2
+ 945s + 945 2.4274
Source: Handbook of Measurement Science, edited by Peter
Sydenham, copyright 1982, John Wiley and Sons Limited.
Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and Sons Limited.
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
(4.13)
where A = decibels of ripple; then for a given order n, we define v.
(4.14)
Table 4.3 gives denominator polynomials for the Chebyshev functions. In all cases, the cut-off frequency
(defined as the end of the ripple) is 1 rad/s. The –3-dB frequency for the Chebyshev function is
(4.15)
The magnitude in the stopband (w > 1 rad/s) for the normalized filter is
(4.16)
for the singly terminated filter. For equal terminations the above magnitude is multiplied by one-half [1/4 in
Eq. (4.16)].
Example 4.5.What order of singly terminated Chebyshev filter having 0.25-dB ripple (A) is required if the
magnitude must be –60 dB at 15 kHz and the cut-off frequency (–0.25 dB) is to be 3 kHz? The normalized
frequency for a magnitude of –60 dB is
Thus, for a ripple of A = 0.25 dB, we have from Eq. (4.13)
and solving Eq. (4.16) for n with w = 5 rad/s and *T(jw)* = –60 dB, we obtain n = 3.93. Therefore we must use
n = 4 to meet these specifications.
TABLE 4.3Chebyshev Polynomials
Source: Handbook of Measurement Science, edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982,
John Wiley and Sons Limited. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and Sons Limited.
s
ss
sss
ss s
ss s
+
+++
++++
+++′+++
++ ++
()
()()
[]
()
[]
()
()( )
sinh
sinh sinh
sinh sinh sinh
. sinh sinh . . sinh sinh .
sinh . sinh sinh .
n
nn
nnn
nn nn
nnn
22
22
2222
22
212
34
075637 085355 184776 014645
061803 090451
[ ]
()
[]
′+ + + . sinh sinh .ss
22
161803 034549nn
e= (–)
/
10 1
10A
v
n
=
?
è
?
?
?
÷
11
1
sinh
–
e
w
–
cosh
cosh(/)
3
1
1
dB
=
é
?
ê
ê
ù
?
ú
ú
-
e
n
**Tj
n
()
cosh(cosh )
–
w
w
2
22 1
1
1
=
+e
15
3
5
kHz
kHz
rad/s=
e =(–).
/
10 1 02434
10A
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
1
4.3 Low-Pass Filters
Introduction
Normalized element values are given here for both singly and doubly terminated filters. The source and load
resistors are normalized to 1 W. Scaling rules will be given in Section 4.4 that will allow these values to be
modified to any specified impedance value and to any cut-off frequency desired. In addition, we will cover the
transformation of these low-pass filters to high-pass or bandpass filters.
Butterworth Filters
For n = 2, 3, 4, or 5, Fig. 4.2 gives the element values for the singly terminated filters and Fig. 4.3 gives the
element values for the doubly terminated filters. All cut-off frequencies (–3 dB) are 1 rad/s.
1
Adapted from Handbook of Measurement Science, edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982, John Wiley and Sons
Limited. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and Sons Limited.
FIGURE 4.2Singly terminated Butterworth filter element values (in W, H, F). (Source: Handbook of Measurement Science,
edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982, John Wiley and Sons Limited. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and
Sons Limited.)
FIGURE 4.3Doubly terminated Butterworth filter element values (in W, H, F). (Source: Handbook of Measurement Science,
edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982, John Wiley and Sons Limited. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and
Sons Limited.)
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
Thomson Filters
Singly and doubly terminated Thomson filters of order n = 2, 3, 4, 5 are shown in Figs. 4.4 and 4.5. All time
delays are 1 s. The cut-off frequencies are given in Table 4.2.
Chebyshev Filters
The amount of ripple can be specified as desired, so that only a selective sample can be given here. We will use
0.1 dB, 0.25 dB, and 0.5 dB. All cut-off frequencies (end of ripple for the Chebyshev function) are at 1 rad/s.
Since the maximum power transfer condition precludes the existence of an equally terminated even-order filter,
only odd orders are given for the doubly terminated case. Figure 4.6 gives the singly terminated Chebyshev
filters for n = 2, 3, 4, and 5 and Fig. 4.7 gives the doubly terminated Chebyshev filters for n = 3 and n = 5.
4.4 Filter Design
We now consider the steps necessary to convert normalized filters into actual filters by scaling both in frequency
and in impedance. In addition, we will cover the transformation laws that convert low-pass filters to high-pass
filters and low-pass to bandpass filters.
Scaling Laws and a Design Example
Since all data previously given are for normalized filters, it is necessary to use the scaling rules to design a low-
pass filter for a specific signal processing application.
FIGURE 4.4Singly terminated Thomson filter element values (in W, H, F). (Source: Handbook of Measurement Science,
edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982, John Wiley and Sons Limited. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and
Sons Limited.)
FIGURE 4.5Doubly terminated Thomson filter element values (in W, H, F). (Source: Handbook of Measurement Science,
edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982, John Wiley and Sons Limited. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and
Sons Limited.)
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
Rule 1. All impedances may be multiplied by any constant without affecting the transfer voltage ratio.
Rule 2. To modify the cut-off frequency, divide all inductors and capacitors by the ratio of the desired frequency
to the normalized frequency.
Example 4.6. Design a low-pass filter of MFMtype (Butterworth) to operate from a 600-W source into a
600-W load, with a cut-off frequency of 500 Hz. The filter must be at least 36 dB below the dc level at 2 kHz,
that is, –42 dB (dc level is –6 dB).
Since 2 kHz is four times 500 Hz, it corresponds to w = 4 rad/s in the normalized filter. Thus at w = 4 rad/s
we have
FIGURE 4.6 Singly terminated Chebyshev filter element values (in W, H, F): (a) 0.1-dB ripple; (b) 0.25-dB ripple;
(c) 0.50-dB ripple. (Source: Handbook of Measurement Science, edited by Peter Sydenham, copyright 1982, John Wiley and
Sons Limited. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and Sons Limited.)
-
+
é
?
ê
ê
ù
?
ú
ú
42
1
41
2
dB = 20 log
1
2 n
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
therefore, n = 2.99, so n = 3 must be chosen. The 1/2 is present because this is a doubly terminated (equal
values) filter so that the dc gain is 1/2.
Thus a third-order, doubly terminated Butterworth filter is required. From Fig. 4.3 we obtain the normalized
network shown in Fig. 4.8(a).
The impedance scaling factor is 600/1 = 600 and the frequency scaling factor is 2p500/1 = 2p500: that is,
the ratio of the desired radian cut-off frequency to the normalized cut-off frequency (1 rad/s). Note that the
impedance scaling factor increases the size of the resistors and inductors, but reduces the size of the capacitors.
The result is shown in Fig. 4.8(b).
Transformation Rules, Passive Circuits
All information given so far applies only to low-pass filters, yet we frequently need high-pass or bandpass filters
in signal processing.
FIGURE 4.7Doubly terminated Chebyshev filter element values (in W, H, F).
FIGURE 4.8 Third-order Butterworth low-pass filter: (a) normalized (in W, H, F); (b) scaled (in W, H, mF).
Ripple (dB) C
1
LC
2
0.10 1.0316 1.1474 1.0316
0.25 1.3034 1.1463 1.3034
0.50 1.5963 1.0967 1.5963
Ripple (dB) C
1
L
1
C
2
L
2
C
3
0.10 1.1468 1.3712 1.9750 1.3712 1.1468
0.25 1.3824 1.3264 2.2091 1.3264 1.3824
0.50 1.7058 1.2296 2.5408 1.2296 1.7058
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
Low-Pass to High-Pass Transformation
To transform a low-pass filter to high-pass, we first scale it to
a cut-off frequency of 1 rad/s if it is not already at 1 rad/s. This
allows a simple frequency rotation about 1 rad/s of s ? 1/s.
All L’s become C’s, all C’s become L’s, and all values reciprocate.
The cut-off frequency does not change.
Example 4.7.Design a third-order, high-pass Butterworth
filter to operate from a 600-W source to a 600-W load with a
cut-off frequency of 500 Hz.
Starting with the normalized third-order low-pass filter of
Fig. 4.3 for which w
–3
= 1 rad/s, we reciprocate all elements
and all values to obtain the filter shown in Fig. 4.9(a) for which
w
–3
= 1 rad/s.
Now we apply the scaling rules to raise all impedances to
600 W and the radian cut-off frequency to 2p500 rad/s as
shown in Fig. 4.9(b).
Low-Pass to Bandpass Transformation
To transform a low-pass filter to a bandpass filter we must first scale the low-pass filter so that the cut-off
frequency is equal to the bandwidth of the normalized bandpass filter. The normalized center frequency of the
bandpass filter is w
0
= 1 rad/s. Then we apply the transformation s ? s + 1/s. For an inductor
For a capacitor
The first step is then to determine the Q of the bandpass filter where
(f
0
is the center frequency in Hz and B is the 3-dB bandwidth in Hz). Now we scale the low-pass filter to a
cut-off frequency of 1/Q rad/s, then series tune every inductor, L, with a capacitor of value 1/L and parallel
tune every capacitor, C, with an inductor of value 1/C.
Example 4.8.Design a bandpass filter centered at 100 kHz having a 3-dB bandwidth of 10 kHz starting with
a third-order Butterworth low-pass filter. The source and load resistors are each to be 600 W.
The Q required is
Scaling the normalized third-order low-pass filter of Fig. 4.10(a) to w
–3dB
= 1/Q = 0.1 rad/s, we obtain the filter
of Fig. 4.10(b).
FIGURE 4.9Third-order Butterworth high-pass
filter: (a) normalized (in W, H, F); (b) scaled (in
W, H, mF).
ZLs ZLs
s
==+
?
è
?
?
?
÷
transforms to
1
YCs YCs
s
==+
?
è
?
?
?
÷
transforms to
1
Q
f
BB
r
==
00
w
Q
Q
===
100
10
10
1
01
kHz
kHz
, or .
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
Now converting to bandpass with w
0
= 1 rad/s, we obtain the normalized bandpass filter of Fig. 4.11(a).
Next, scaling to an impedance of 600 W and to a center frequency of f
0
= 100 kHz (w
0
= 2p100 k rad/s), we
obtain the filter of Fig. 4.11(b).
Defining Terms
Bandpass filter:A filter whose passband extends from a finite lower cut-off frequency to a finite upper cut-
off frequency.
Equal ripple:A frequency response function whose magnitude has equal maxima and equal minima in the
passband.
Frequency scaling:The process of modifying a filter to change from a normalized set of element values to
other usually more practical values by dividing all L, C elements by a constant equal to the ratio of the
scaled (cut-off) frequency desired to the normalized cut-off frequency.
High-pass filter:A filter whose band extends from some finite cut-off frequency to infinity.
Impedance scaling:Modifying a filter circuit to change from a normalized set of element values to other
usually more practical element values by multiplying all impedances by a constant equal to the ratio of
the desired (scaled) impedance to the normalized impedance.
Low-pass filter:A filter whose passband extends from dc to some finite cut-off frequency.
FIGURE 4.10Third-order Butterworth low-pass filter: (a) normalized (in W, H, F); (b) scaled in (in W, H, F).
FIGURE 4.11Sixth-order Butterworth bandpass filter (Q = 10): (a) normalized, w
0
= 1 rad/s (in W, H, F); (b) scaled.
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC
Maximally flat magnitude (MFM) filter: A filter having a magnitude that is as flat as possible versus frequency
while maintaining a monotonic characteristic.
Passband: A frequency region of signal transmission usually within 3 dB of the maximum transmission.
Stopband: The frequency response region in which the signal is attenuated, usually by more than 3 dB from
the maximum transmission.
Transfer function: The Laplace transform of the response (output voltage) divided by the Laplace transform
of the excitation (input voltage).
Transformation: The modification of a low-pass filter to convert it to an equivalent high-pass or bandpass
filter.
Related Topics
6.1 Definitions and Properties ? 10.3 The Ideal Linear-Phase Low-Pass Filter ? 10.6 Butterworth Filters ?
10.7 Chebyshev Filters
References
A. Budak, Passive and Active Network Analysis and Synthesis, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974.
C. Nachtigal, Ed., Instrumentation and Control: Fundamentals and Applications, New York: John Wiley, 1990.
H.-J. Orchard, “Inductorless filters,” Electron. Lett., vol. 2, pp. 224–225, 1966.
P. Sydenham, Ed., Handbook of Measurement Science, Chichester, U.K.: John Wiley, 1982.
W. E. Thomson, “Maximally flat delay networks,” IRE Transactions, vol. CT-6, p. 235, 1959.
L. Weinberg, Network Analysis and Synthesis, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962.
L. Weinberg and P. Slepian, “Takahasi’s results on Tchebycheff and Butterworth ladder networks,” IRE Trans-
actions, Professional Group on Circuit Theory, vol. CT-7, no. 2, pp. 88–101, 1960.
? 2000 by CRC Press LLC