Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling

Ladder Filter: A network composed of alternating series and shunt reactive elements
Low Pass:

Vs

a4

a2

a1

a3

The network is doubly terminated with the same source and load resistance.
Some observations:
The inductors and capacitors are chosen such that the filter has a cutoff frequency at
c and it is matched to the load R.
Using a higher-order ladder network, the roll-off of the filters response in the pass
band is steeper than a traditional R-L or R-C type filter.
Doubly terminated ladder filters have a lower sensitivity to component variations.
The reactive elements can be chosen in a manner to synthesize a desired response
in the pass band, and stop band

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Types of Ladder Filters:
Four Basic Types:
Maximally Flat, or Butterworth Filters
Equal Ripple, or Chebyshev Filters
Linear Phase Filters
Elliptic Filters
Note that the topology of the filters are the same (except Elliptic filters require mutually
coupled elements). However, the filters response will differ depending on the design.

Filter Response
Loss Factor:
L=

Pi average input power

=
P average output power

Note that:
G = Gain =

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Maximally Flat (Butterworth) Low Pass Filters
Choose the L and C values such that:

f
LB = 1 +
fc

2n

( f c = cutoff frequency (Hz))

Example: f c = 1 Hz
100
0

LB( 1 , f)
GBdb ( 1 , f)

LB( 2 , f)

GBdb ( 2 , f)

LB( 3 , f) 10

20

GBdb ( 3 , f)

LB( 4 , f)

GBdb ( 4 , f) 40

1
0.1

1
f

10

60
0.1

10

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Equiripple (Chebyshev) Low Pass Filters
Choose the L and C values such that:
f
LC = 1 + Cn
fc

2
1

= ripple size
Cn ( x ) = Chebyshev polynomial (c.f.: Abromowitz & Stegun)

Tcheb( 1 , x)
Tcheb( 2 , x)
Tcheb( 3 , x) 0
Tcheb( 4 , x)

Example: f c = 1Hz , 1 dB ripple ( = 0.206 )

0

10
LC( 1 , f)

GCdb( 1 , f)

LC( 2 , f)

GCdb( 2 , f) 20

LC( 3 , f)

GCdb( 3 , f)

LC( 4 , f)

GCdb( 4 , f) 40
1
0.1

1
f

10

60
0.1

10

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Chebyshev Filter 1 dB ripple:
0
GCdb ( 1 , f)
GCdb ( 2 , f) 2
GCdb ( 3 , f)
GCdb ( 4 , f)
4

0.1

10

Cheybshev Filter 0.5 dB ripple

0
GCdb ( 1 , f)
GCdb ( 2 , f) 2
GCdb ( 3 , f)
GCdb ( 4 , f)
4

0.1

10

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Low-Pass Filter Design
Design Parameters
Filter Response
o Maximally flat (Butterworth):
Flat response through pass band close to 0 dB
-20n dB roll-off per decade roll-off in the stop band
o Equiripple *Chebyshev):
Rippled response through pass band. Level specified by design.
Faster roll-off into the stop band (just past cut-off)
-20n dB per decade asymptotic response
Cutoff frequency ( f c )
Order of the filter
o Governs the roll-off in the stop-band
o Also affects the pass-band response
Impedance
o Source and load impedance
Component design
o Compute L, and C for the filter to meet the design parameters

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Low-Pass Filter Prototype
Prototype filter
o c = 1 rad/sec, R = 1
a4

a2

Vs

a1

a3

Or,
R

Vs

a3

a1

a2

a4

Series a-values are normalized reactances

Parallel a-values are normalized susceptances

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Filter Tables
From Table 5.1 Text:
Butterworth Filter
a2
a3
a4
a5
Order a1
1
2
2
2
2
3
1
2
1
4
0.765 1.848 1.848 0.765
5
0.618 1.618 2
1.618 0.618
Chebyshev Filter (0.2 dB ripple)
a2
a3
a4
a5
Order a1
1
0.434
3
1.228 1.153 1.228
5
1.339 1.337 2.166 1.337 1.339

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Impedance and Frequency Scaling
Given the order filter n of the desired prototype, we can extract the normalized
reactances/susceptances from the table
Need to scale the design to the desired cutoff frequency f c , and source/load
resistance Rs
Frequency Scaling:
o Scale the reactance or the susceptance such that the impedance of the prototype
remains unchanged at the cutoff frequency.
Impedance Scaling
o Scale the reactance to Rs
o Normalize the susceptance by Rs (so the effective reactance scales by Rs )
Formulas:
o Series inductance:
Rs c prototype
Rs
=
Li =
a
ai
i
R prototype c
2 f c

o Parallel capacitance:
R prototype c prototype
1 1
=
Ci =
a
ai

i
R

f
2
s
c
s
c

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Example:
Design a Butterworth filter with f c = 8 MHz, R = 50 with a rejection loss of at least 23
dB at 14 MHz
Solution:

lpf_notes _ex-Sm all Signal AC-2-Graph

2.000Meg

1.6u

8.000Meg

1.6u

IVm2

Vs Rs
2

6.000Meg

L4

L2

50

4.000Meg

Frequency (Hz)

C1

246p

C3

800p

C5

246p 50

RL

313.69m
-5.000

-10.000
FREQ

8.015Meg

DB(v(IVm2))

-3.046

D(FREQ)

0.0

D(DB(v(IVm2))) 0.0

7 10
Note, at f = 7 MHz: L = 10log10 1 + = 1.0 dB
8

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10.000Me

Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Scattering Parameters of a 2-port network

P1reflected
S11 = input reflection coefficient = incident
P1
P2out
S 21 = transmission coefficient = incident
P1

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
PUFF-Simulation

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling

Creating the Circuit in Puff

Download DosBox from sourceforge.net (see running puff under windows xp on
the web page)
Place PUFF on you computer in the directory C:\PUFF
Open DosBox
o Type the following commands in the DosBox window:
mount P: C:\PUFF
P:
PUFF
Then hit any key to start puff
o This will start up puff
Note that any time you want a print out, you can make the puff window active.
Then selecting from your keyboard alt-PrntScrn, will capture the puff window.
Inside PUFF:
o Selecting the function keys F1, F2, F3, etc. will move you to that window.
o We will generally not change at all the board window F4. Instead, we will
use (typically in this order):
F3 parts window
F1 layout window
F2 plot window

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Creating the PUFF circuit

In the parts window

o Enter the component value of the circuit
o Example:
lumped 246pF
(a lumped 246pF capacitor)
l 246pF
(same thing, except l abbreviates lumped)
o For the unit micro, use the key stroke alt-m
o You can also put lumped elements in series or parallel
o Example:
Series: l 1nH + 100pF
(1 nanoHenry in series in 100 picoFarad)
Parallel: l 1.6mH || 20 pF
(|| symbol is the Alt-p)
o Key in the 3 parts for the lpf in the parts window, as shown on the previous
page.
In the layout window
o Move the cursor using shift-arrow
o Move to your starting point near port 1
o Enter the number 1, to connect to port 1
This connects the circuit to port 1 with a transmission line.
NOTE THAT PORT 1 HAS A SOURCE VOLTAGE WITH AN
INTERNAL IMPEDANCE OF zd (board window). Default is 50 ohms.
o Press the a key to activate part a (note it is highlighted in the parts window).
o Press the down arrow. This places part a going down.
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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
Press the = key. This is a ground.
Press the up arrow to go back to the top of part a.
Press b to activate part b.
Press the right arrow. This places part b on the board.
Press shift-left arrow. Note this deletes part b.
Press right-arrow to put it back. Next, push c, and the down arrow to place c.
Press = to ground c, then arrow back up.
Complete the circuit through a again.
After placing the ground on the last part a (on the right-hand-side). Up arrow,
so the cursor is at the junction of parts b and a (again, on the right-hand-side).
Now, enter 2. This terminates the circuit into port 2.
o NOTE: PORT 2 IS TERMINATED BY A LOAD IMPEDANCE OF zd. YOU
DO NOT NEED TO TERMINATE THE CIRCUIT WITH A 50 OHM LOAD.
o You are now ready to simulate
Press F2 to go to the plot window.
o Use the arrow keys to go past S21. A blank S will show up. Press 11 after this
S (so it reads S11). This will also plot the S-parameter S11.
o Use the arrow keys, keep pushing down until the cursor goes into the plot area.
It will first go to 0 then the -20. Change the -20 to -60. Arrow again to go to
the horizontal axis. You can change the range of frequency in a similar way.
o Now, simulate the circuit by pressing p. If you did it correctly, it will
simulate the circuit, and plot the frequency response.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

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Ladder Filters, Butterworth & Chebyshev Filters, Filter Tables & Freq/Imp Scaling
o Note the cursor on the plot. Use the page-up and page-down keys to move
the cursor to get specific data points.
o You can change a component value. Then, press ctrl-p to replot the response
on top of the previous response.
Screen capture
o Press Alt-PrntScreen to screen capture the puff window for your reports

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