RC Low Pass Filter

Sayed Taher Zewari

ECE 334- 201

Lab No. 1

01/31/01
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RC Low Pass Filter

I. Introduction
The purpose of this lab is to investigate the characteristics and behavior of an RC low pass filter circuit.
Using this experiment the practical value of cutoff frequency will be compared with the calculated value
of the cutoff frequency.

II. Background Information

An electrical filter, as its name suggests, has the ability to filter out certain electrical signals while
allowing others to pass through virtually unaltered. Filters are named according to what signals they
allow to pass through. There are low-pass filters that allow low- frequency signals through, high-pass
filters that allow high- frequency signals through, and band-pass filters that allow signals falling into a
certain frequency range through. Moreover, filters are also divided into active and passive filters. Active
filters contain amplifying devices to increase signal strength while passive do not contain amplifying
devices to strengthen the signal. Therefore, in passive filters the output level is always less than the input.
A Low Pass Filter is a combination of capacitance; inductance or resistance intended to produce high
attenuation above a specified frequency and little or no attenuation below that frequency The frequency
at which the transition occurs is called the cutoff frequency. At the cutoff frequency, the attenuation is 3
dB with respect to the minimum attenuation. Below the cutoff frequency, the attenuation is less than 3
dB. Above the cutoff, the attenuation is more than 3 dB.
The simplest lowpass filters consist of a series inductor or capacitor. More sophisticated lowpass filters
have a combination of series inductors and parallel capacitors. In this we have experimented with the
simplest type; a passive, two component (RC), low-pass filter.

III. Materials Used

The following materials were used in this lab: resistors of 10 kΩ, 100 kΩ resistance, function generator,
capacitor of value 0.01 µF, oscilloscope, and the bread board on the Heathkit Trainer.

IV. Procedure
1. The following circuit was set up.

R1

10k
V

V1
1Vac
0Vdc
C1
0.01uF

0
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2. First of all the theoretical value of the cutoff frequency calculated
3. The voltage ratio of Vo/Vi is calculated.
4. Connect the signal generator to the input side of the filter and using a
BNC connector and also connect it to ground.
5. Connect the output from the filter to channel 2 of the oscilloscope.
6. Turn the signal generator on and rotate the dial to a low frequency. Make sure that the 1 KHz button
is pressed on the signal generator and the wave form of sinusoid is selected.
7. First make gain vs. frequency measurements; then make the phase-shift vs. frequency measurements.
8. Starting at 1 kHz and a voltage of say 1.0 volt peak to peak, measure the input (Vin ) amplitude and
the output (Vout ) amplitude.
9. Repeat this procedure, increasing the frequency in appropriate increments until you are well past the
cutoff frequency and the output signal has become highly attenuated. Note: you may wish to take
more measurements around the cutoff frequency so that you can generate a smooth curve.
10. Each time that you measure the input and output, you can measure the phase shift between the
signals: Display both channels of the oscilloscope simultaneously and measure the phase shifts of the
two signals from peak to peak.

V. Results
PART – I Practical values for R=10 KΩ, C=0.01µF
Frequency Vin (V) Vout (V) Vout/Vin Gain Distance Time Delay Phase
(Hz) Peak-Peak ∆t
1005 1.6 1.6 1 0 0 0 0
2000 1.6 1.6 1 0 0.5 0.00001 0.125664
5020 1.6 1.55 0.96875 -0.27576569 0.5 0.00001 0.315416
10160 1.6 1.5 0.9375 -0.560574472 1 0.004 255.3487
20700 1.6 1.05 0.65625 -3.658613672 2 0.000008 1.040495
30200 1.6 0.65 0.40625 -7.82413252 1.5 0.000006 1.138513
40600 1.6 0.55 0.34375 -9.275145863 1 0.000004 1.020389
50100 1.6 0.55 0.34375 -9.275145863 1 0.000004 1.25915
100000 1.6 0.24 0.15 -16.47817482 2 0.00002 12.56637
201000 1.6 0.12 0.075 -22.49877473 3 0.0000012 1.515504
302000 1.6 0.1 0.0625 -24.08239965 2 0.0000008 1.518018
402000 1.6 0.066 0.04125 -27.69152094 2 0.0000008 2.020672
500000 1.6 0.06 0.0375 -28.51937465 1.3 0.00000052 1.633628
601000 1.6 0.044 0.0275 -31.21334612 1.2 0.00000048 1.812573
701000 1.6 0.04 0.025 -32.04119983 1 0.0000004 1.761805
802000 1.6 0.028 0.0175 -35.13923903 1 0.0000004 2.015646
900000 1.6 0.026 0.01625 -35.78293269 3 0.0000003 1.69646
1000000 1.6 0.024 0.015 -36.47817482 2 0.0000002 1.256637
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PART – I Theoretical values for R=10KΩ, C=0.01µF
Frequency (Hz) Vout/Vin Gain Phase
1005 0.022299 -33.03429225 -0.56323
2000 0.015809 -36.02191201 -0.89864
5020 0.00998 -40.01738917 -1.2638
10160 0.007015 -43.07944649 -1.4154
20700 0.004915 -46.16952956 -1.4941
30200 0.004069 -47.8102462 -1.5181
40600 0.003509 -49.09633264 -1.5316
50100 0.003159 -50.00900748 -1.539
100000 0.002236 -53.01056402 -1.5549
201000 0.001577 -56.04336613 -1.5629
302000 0.001287 -57.80842906 -1.5655
402000 0.001115 -59.05450265 -1.5668
500000 0.001 -60 -1.5676
601000 0.000912 -60.80010323 -1.5681
701000 0.000845 -61.46286582 -1.5685
802000 0.00079 -62.04745817 -1.5688
900000 0.000745 -62.55687455 -1.569
1000000 0.000707 -63.01161172 -1.5692

PART – II Practical values for R=100 KΩ, C=0.01µF

Frequency (Hz) Vin Vout (V) Vout/Vin Gain Distance Time Delay Phase
(V) Peak-Peak ∆t
1003 1.6 0.24 0.15 -16.47817482 2 0.0002 0.630203486
2000 1.6 0.13 0.08125 -21.80353261 2 0.0002 1.256637061
5040 1.6 0.06 0.0375 -28.51937465 2.5 0.00005 0.633345079
10050 1.6 0.13 0.08125 -21.80353261 2.5 0.00005 1.262920247
20060 1.6 0.015 0.009375 -40.56057447 3 0.00006 2.520813945
30100 1.6 0.01 0.00625 -44.08239965 2 0.000008 0.756495511
50300 1.6 0.0055 0.0034375 -49.27514586 2 0.000004 0.632088442
101000 1.6 0.002 0.00125 -58.06179974 2 0.000008 2.538406864
202000 1.6 0.001 0.000625 -64.08239965 2.5 0.000001 0.507681373
502000 1.6 -- -- -- -- -- --

Note:
The output signals for the last few frequencies were very hard to read. The output reading for 502000 Hz was
impossible to read and any estimation would certainly be wrong.
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PART – II Theoretical values for R=100KΩ, C=0.01µF
Frequency (Hz) Vout/Vin Gain Phase
1003 0.00223 -53.03390274 -1.4134
2000 0.001581 -56.0213626 -1.4914
5040 0.000996 -60.03481323 -1.5392
10050 0.000705 -63.03621766 -1.555
20060 0.000499 -66.03798909 -1.5629
30100 0.000408 -67.78679674 -1.5655
50300 0.000315 -70.03378892 -1.5676
101000 0.000223 -73.03390274 -1.5692
202000 0.000157 -76.08200695 -1.57
502000 0.000116 -78.71084022 -1.5705

VI. Conclusion and Observations

The measurements have good agreement with the predictions. However, the measured cutoff frequency
for the circuit with 10k resistor is higher than expected. That means that the filter does not reject some
high frequencies that it is suppose to reject. The measured cutoff frequency for the 100k resistor circuit is
smaller than expected. That means that the filter rejects some frequencies that it is not supposed to reject.
For this circuit, the measure cutoff frequency is lower than expected.
Based on this experiment, we can clearly identify the resistor as determining factor in adjusting the cutoff
frequency for an RC low pass filter.