8. FREQUENCY EFFECTS IN A.C.

CIRCUITS
Main things to learn

Filters
Input and output voltages
Gain and decibels
Resonance and Q-factor
Four-terminal networks

If an a.c. circuit includes a capacitor or an inductor,

currents, impedance etc. depend on the frequency

B
CR or LR circuits in series.
Question: determine the voltage between the points A and B
as a function of frequency

A
U

CR CIRCUIT
U=E

R
e

UAB = ?

Z = R + jX C

UAB

Magnitude:

U
I= ;
Z

1
=R+
j C

U AB = I jX C
1

U AB

jX C
U
j C
=
U=
U=
Z
1 + j CR
R+ 1
j C

U AB =

U
1 + ( CR )

Low frequencies - UAB U :

High frequencies - UAB << U :

voltage is passed without loss

voltage is strongly attenuated

The circuit acts as a low-pass filter

FOUR-TERMINAL NETWORKS
U - input voltage Uin
UAB - output voltage Uout
A power supply is not a part of the filter circuit,
so that it can be presented as a four-terminal diagram
Four-terminal diagram
for the low-pass filter

Two terminals provide input,

and two terminals provide output

Uin

Uout

General form of a four-terminal diagram

A network is characterised not by Uin or Uout

Uin

G(j)

Uout

but by their ratio G( j) =Uout / Uin response of the network

which is a function of frequency
Examples:
amplifiers, attenuators, filters, etc.

LOW-PASS FILTER
U out U AB
1
Response of the filter: G ( j ) =
=
=
U in
U
1 + j CR
1
Magnitude of response:
G ( ) =
2
(
)
1
+

CR
G ( )
Small frequencies: |G()| 1 - pass band

Large frequencies: |G()|

<< 1 - attenuation band

Note: low and high frequencies differ by

orders of magnitude
Response as a function of frequency
needs to be plotted in logarithmic scale

fC
Pass band
(below fC)

log10f
Attenuation band
(above fC)

fC - cut-off frequency
G (fc ) = 1

HIGH-PASS FILTER
In a similar way, an LR network
acts as a high-pass filter
Response:

G ( ) =

G ( )

G ( j ) =

jL
R + jL

Uin

Uout

R 2 + ( L )

Small frequencies:

|G()| << 1 - attenuation band

Large frequencies:

|G()| 1 - pass band

Attenuation band
(below fC)

Pass band
(above fC)

fC

log10f

fC - cut-off frequency
G (fc ) = 1

GAIN
Response of a network G(j) varies with frequency by orders of magnitude
It is reasonable to characterise it in logarithmic scale

gain log10 G ( )
Measurement unit - bel [B]
Unit which is practically used - decibel =bel/10 [dB]

gain 10 log10 G( )
For amplitudes, gain is defined as gain = 20 log10 G
Amplification: gain > 0
10 times larger: 20 dB
100 times larger: 40 dB

Attenuation: gain < 0

10 times smaller: 20 dB
100 times smaller: 40 dB

For example, for a filter at the cut-off frequency

gain = 20 log10

( )

1
1+ 1

= 10 log10 2 3 dB

RESONANCE AND BAND-PASS FILTER

L

Uin

1
LCR in series: Z = R + j L +
j C
R
(
)
=

G
j
Uout
1
R + j L +
j C

G ( ) =

G ( )

R
1

R 2 + L

The response has maximum at a frequency

fres which is the resonant frequency
The circuit acts as a selective filter:
the pass band is
a narrow band around fres

fres =

1
2 LC

All other frequencies

are in the attenuation band

G ( )

Q-FACTOR: QUALITY OF THE RESONANCE

A resonance may be narrow or wide
The narrower the resonance the better is the frequency selection the higher is the resonance quality the larger is the Q-factor

Bw
f1

f2

fres

fres - resonant frequency

f1 and f2 - cut-off frequencies
Bw = f2 f1 - band width

fres
Quality factor, or Q-factor: Q =
Bw

2 fres L 1 L
For an LCR series circuit, Q =
=
R
R C
UC U L
where UC and UL are voltages across the capacitor
Also, Q =
=
U in U in and the inductor at the resonance, respectively

BAND-STOP FILTER
LCR circuits in series with the output taken from the LC segment
G ( )
1

R
C
Uin

Uout
L

fres
1
j L +
j C
G ( j ) =
1
R + j L +
j C

and

G ( ) =

f
1
L
C

R 2 + L