‫وزارة التعليم‬

‫العالي والبحث‬
‫العلمي‬
‫الجامعة العراقية‬
‫كلية الهندسة‬
‫هندسة الكهرباء‬

‫‪Active‬‬
‫‪Band‬‬

‫‪NABAA SALIM JAWAD‬‬

‫‪THIRD LEVEL‬‬

‫‪ALAA‬‬
‫‪MAJED‬‬
‫‪Electronic Circuits‬‬
Active Band Pass Filter
For a low pass filter this pass band starts from 0Hz or DC and continues
up to the specified cut-off frequency point at -3dB down from the
maximum pass band gain. Equally, for a high pass filter the pass band
starts from this -3dB cut-off frequency and continues up to infinity or the
maximum open loop gain for an active filter.
However, the Active Band Pass Filter is slightly different in that it is a
frequency selective filter circuit used in electronic systems to separate a
signal at one particular frequency, or a range of signals that lie within a
certain “band” of frequencies from signals at all other frequencies. This
band or range of frequencies is set between two cut-off or corner
frequency points labelled the “lower frequency” ( ƒL ) and the “higher
frequency” ( ƒH ) while attenuating any signals outside of these two
points.
Simple Active Band Pass Filter can be easily made 

The cut-off or corner frequency of the low pass filter (LPF) is higher than
the cut-off frequency of the high pass filter (HPF) and the difference
between the frequencies at the -3dB point will determine the
“bandwidth” of the band pass filter while attenuating any signals outside
of these points. One way of making a very simple Active Band Pass
Filter is to connect the basic passive high and low pass filters we look
at previously to an amplifying op-amp circuit as shown.

Active Band Pass Filter Circuit

This cascading together of the individual low and high pass passive
filters produces a low “Q-factor” type filter circuit which has a wide pass
band. The first stage of the filter will be the high pass stage that uses
the capacitor to block any DC biasing from the source. This design has
the advantage of producing a relatively flat asymmetrical pass band
frequency response with one half representing the low pass response
and the other half representing high pass response as shown.

The higher corner point ( ƒH ) as well as the lower corner frequency
cut-off point ( ƒL ) are calculated the same as before in the standard
first-order low and high pass filter circuits. Obviously, a reasonable
separation is required between the two cut-off points to prevent any
interaction between the low pass and high pass stages. The amplifier
also provides isolation between the two stages and defines the
overall voltage gain of the circuit.
The bandwidth of the filter is therefore the difference between these
upper and lower -3dB points. For example, suppose we have a band
pass filter whose -3dB cut-off points are set at 200Hz and 600Hz.
Then the bandwidth of the filter would be given as: Bandwidth (BW) =
600 – 200 = 400Hz.
The normalised frequency response and phase shift for an active
band pass filter will be as follows.
Active Band Pass Frequency Response

While the above passive tuned filter circuit will work as a band pass
filter, the pass band (bandwidth) can be quite wide and this may be a
problem if we want to isolate a small band of frequencies. Active band
pass filter can also be made using inverting operational amplifier.
So by rearranging the positions of the resistors and capacitors within the
filter we can produce a much better filter circuit as shown below. For an
active band pass filter, the lower cut-off -3dB point is given by ƒC1 while
the upper cut-off -3dB point is given by ƒC2.
Inverting Band Pass Filter Circuit

This type of band pass filter is designed to have a much narrower pass
band. The centre frequency and bandwidth of the filter is related to the
values of R1, R2, C1 and C2. The output of the filter is again taken from
the output of the op-amp.

Multiple Feedback Band Pass Active Filter

We can improve the band pass response of the above circuit by
rearranging the components again to produce an infinite-gain multiple-
feedback (IGMF) band pass filter. This type of active band pass design
produces a “tuned” circuit based around a negative feedback active filter
giving it a high “Q-factor” (up to 25) amplitude response and steep roll-
off on either side of its centre frequency. Because the frequency
response of the circuit is similar to a resonance circuit, this center
frequency is referred to as the resonant frequency, ( ƒr ). Consider the
circuit below.
Infinite Gain Multiple Feedback Active Filter

This active
band pass filter circuit uses the full gain of the operational amplifier, with
multiple negative feedback applied via resistor, R2 and capacitor C2.
Then we can define the characteristics of the IGMF filter as follows:

We can see then that the relationship between

resistors, R1 and R2 determines the band pass “Q-factor” and the
frequency at which the maximum amplitude occurs, the gain of the
circuit will be equal to -2Q2. Then as the gain increases so to does the
selectivity. In other words, high gain – high selectivity.

Active Band Pass Filter Example No1

An active band pass filter that has a voltage gain Av of one (1) and a
resonant frequency, ƒr of 1kHz is constructed using an infinite gain
multiple feedback filter circuit. Calculate the values of the components
required to implement the circuit.
Firstly, we can determine the values of the two
resistors, R1 and R2 required for the active filter using the gain of the
circuit to find Q as follows.

Then we can
see that a value of Q = 0.7071 gives a relationship of resistor, R2 being
twice the value of resistor R1. Then we can choose any suitable value of
resistances to give the required ratio of two. Then resistor R1 =
10kΩ and R2 = 20kΩ.
The center or resonant frequency is given as 1kHz. Using the new
resistor values obtained, we can determine the value of the capacitors
required assuming that C = C1 = C2.

The closest standard value is 10nF.

Resonant Frequency Point

The actual shape of the frequency response curve for any passive or
active band pass filter will depend upon the characteristics of the filter
circuit with the curve above being defined as an “ideal” band pass
response. An active band pass filter is a 2nd Order type filter because it
has “two” reactive components (two capacitors) within its circuit design.
As a result of these two reactive components, the filter will have a peak
response or Resonant Frequency ( ƒr ) at its “center frequency”, ƒc.
The center frequency is generally calculated as being the geometric
mean of the two -3dB frequencies between the upper and the lower cut-
off points with the resonant frequency (point of oscillation) being given
as:

 Where:
 ƒr is the resonant or Center Frequency
 ƒL is the lower -3dB cut-off frequency point
 ƒH is the upper -3db cut-off frequency point
and in our simple example in the text above of a filters lower and upper
-3dB cut-off points being at 200Hz and 600Hz respectively, then the
resonant center frequency of the active band pass filter would be:

The “Q” or Quality Factor

In a Band Pass Filter circuit, the overall width of the actual pass band
between the upper and lower -3dB corner points of the filter determines
the Quality Factor or Q-point of the circuit. This Q Factor is a measure
of how “Selective” or “Un-selective” the band pass filter is towards a
given spread of frequencies. The lower the value of the Q factor the
wider is the bandwidth of the filter and consequently the higher the Q
factor the narrower and more “selective” is the filter.
The Quality Factor, Q of the filter is sometimes given the Greek symbol
of Alpha, ( α ) and is known as the alpha-peak frequency where:

As the quality factor of an active band pass filter (Second-order System)

relates to the “sharpness” of the filters response around its centre
resonant frequency ( ƒr ) it can also be thought of as the “Damping
Factor” or “Damping Coefficient” because the more damping the filter
has the flatter is its response and likewise, the less damping the filter
has the sharper is its response. The damping ratio is given the Greek
symbol of Xi, ( ξ ) where:

 
The “Q” of a band pass filter is the ratio of the Resonant Frequency,
( ƒr ) to the Bandwidth, ( BW ) between the upper and lower -3dB
frequencies and is given as:

 
Then for our simple example above the quality factor “Q” of the band
pass filter is given as:
346Hz / 400Hz = 0.865.     Note that Q is a ratio and has no units.
When analysing active filters, generally a normalised circuit is
considered which produces an “ideal” frequency response having a
rectangular shape, and a transition between the pass band and the stop
band that has an abrupt or very steep roll-off slope. However, these
ideal responses are not possible in the real world so we use
approximations to give us the best frequency response possible for the
type of filter we are trying to design.
Probably the best known filter approximation for doing this is the
Butterworth or maximally-flat response filter. In the next tutorial we will
look at higher order filters and use Butterworth approximations to
produce filters that have a frequency response which is as flat as
mathematically possible in the pass band and a smooth transition or
roll-off rate.