Frequency Dependent

and
Nonlinear Circuits

Prof. Greg Kovacs

Department of Electrical Engineering
Stanford University
 OH GREAT!
MORE OP-AMP CIRCUITS!
OBJECTIVES (Why am I sitting in this classroom?)

• To gain insight into op-amp application circuits beyond

those considered in the Intro to Op-Amps.

• To understand the basics of analog filters.

• To understand comparator and Schmitt-Trigger circuits.

• To understand some linear and nonlinear oscillators.

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 2

 WHAT ARE FILTERS GOOD FOR?
• FILTERS AMPLIFY OR ATTENUATE COMPONENTS OF SIGNALS ON THE
BASIS OF THEIR FREQUENCY
• EXAMPLES:
AUDIO EQUALIZER
VARIABLE GAIN OR ATTENUATION IN SEVERAL BANDS

AUDIO BASS OR TREBLE CONTROL

VARIABLE GAIN OR ATTENUATION WITH ONE BAND

OSCILLOSCOPE TRIGGER CIRCUIT

ATTENUATION OF HIGH OR LOW FREQUENCIES

TELEPHONE VOICE-BAND FILTER

LIMITS SIGNAL FREQUENCIES TO VOICE BAND ( 300 - 3KHz)

TELEVISION INTERFERENCE FILTER

LIMITS INTERFERENCE FROM CAR IGNITIONS, ETC.

COFFEE FILTER
KEEPS GROUNDS AND DIRT OUT OF YOU

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 3

 THE BASIC TYPES OF FILTER

• REAL FILTERS DON'T

HAVE "BRICK-WALL"
RESPONSES!

• YOU CAN IMPLEMENT

THEM AS PASSIVE (RLC)
FILTERS, ACTIVE
FILTERS, OR DIGITAL
FILTERS.…

• WE WILL CONSIDER
ACTIVE FILTERS - USING
OP-AMPS.

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 4

REVIEW: FIRST ORDER LOW-PASS

R
vout a0 V V
=
vin S + ω0
in out
C

0.707 V

ω0 = 2πfc = 1
RC
- 45°

1 KHz

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 5

REVIEW: FIRST-ORDER HIGH-PASS
"ZERO AT ZERO"
C
V V
in out

R
vout a1S
=
vin S + ω0

POLE AT o
0.707 V

ω0 = 2πfc = 1
RC + 45°

1 KHz

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 6

POLES, ZEROS, AND CIRCUS TENTS?
AS S - Z1 S - Z2 S - Zm
TS = =
BS S - P1 S - P2 S - Pn

-j

+j

LPF S = A
S + 1+4j S + 1-4j
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 EXAMPLE: 2nd ORDER HIGH-PASS
S 2
TWO POLES HPF S =
S + 1+4j S + 1-4j

TWO ZEROS

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EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 9
THE BASIC 2nd ORDER RESPONSES
THESE ARE YOUR MAIN BUILDING BLOCKS!!!

LPF S = A
S2 + Sωo + ω2o
Q

2
HPF S = AS
S2 + Sωo + ω2o
Q

BPF S = AS
S2 + Sωo + ω2o
Q

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 10

 WHAT DOES "Q" DO?
2

Q > 0.707

Q < 0.707
7

6
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4
1

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EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 12
 POLES OF 2nd ORDER SYSTEMS
LPF S = A
S2 + Sωo + ω2o
Q

POLE DISTANCE FROM j ω AXIS = ωo

2Q

FOR LEAST PEAKING

("MAXIMALLY-FLAT")
P1,2 = - ωo ± jωo 1- 1
Q= 1 2Q 2Q 2
2

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 13

 CASCADING FILTERS....
1.0V

1.0mV

1.0uV
1.0h 100h 10Kh 1.0Mh
V(2) V(3) V(4) V(5) V(6) V(7) V(8) V(9) V(10) V(11)
Frequency

1.0V
BUFFERING BETWEEN
STAGES KEEPS THE
POLES FROM
1.0mV
INTERACTING....
CAN DO BETTER IF THE
POLES AREN'T ALL IN
THE SAME PLACE ON
1.0uV
THE S-PLANE...
1.0h 100h 10Kh 1.0Mh
V(2) V(4) V(6) V(8) V(10) V(12) V(14) V(16) V(18) V(20)
Frequency

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 14

 Guess What?

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 15

 INTRODUCTION TO ACTIVE FILTERS
Pro’s of Active Filters
1) elimination of inductors
2) low cost (largely due to item 1)
3) smaller size and weight (due to item 1)
4) high isolation (high input impedance, low output impedance)
5) characteristics relatively independent of loading (due to item 3)
6) user-defined gain

Con’s of Active Filters

1) requirement for power
2) limited dynamic range (lower limit due to noise, upper limit due to clipping)
3) limited frequency range (lower limit due to large capacitors, higher limit
due to active device performance)

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 16

 WHAT ABOUT THE INDUCTORS?
• ACTIVE FILTERS CAN BE
DESIGNED USING THE
PRINCIPLE THAT EACH
INDUCTOR IS REPLACED
WITH AN OP-AMP
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT

• INDUCTORS ARE HEAVY

AND EXPENSIVE, SO THIS
APPROACH MAKES SENSE!

• THE TYPE OF ACTIVE

FILTER WE WILL CONSIDER
HERE IS NOT BASED
DIRECTLY ON INDUCTOR
REPLACEMENT, BUT CAN
GET AN EQUIVALENT
RESPONSE.

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 17

 SCALABLE FILTER DESIGN
• NOT ALWAYS APPLICABLE, BUT CAN BE USED IN MANY CASES
• SIMPLE DESIGN PROCESS!
• STANDARD FILTER DESIGN IS NORMALIZED TO A PARTICULAR
CUT-OFF FREQUENCY AND IMPEDANCE
• YOU SCALE THE FILTER COMPONENTS TO MEET YOUR
REQUIREMENTS

THE BASIC IDEA:

TO CHANGE CUT-OFF FREQUENCY, SCALE RC TIME-CONSTANT
TO CHANGE IMPEDANCE SCALE R's and C's IN INVERSE PROPORTION
TO KEEP RC TIME-CONSTANT THE SAME
TO HUNT FOR "REAL" COMPONENT VALUES, SCALE RC TIME-
CONSTANT AND THEN SCALE IMPEDANCE

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 18

 SCALABLE LOW-PASS FILTER
0.016 2Q µF

10 KΩ 10 KΩ Vout
Vin

• NORMALIZED TO 1 KHz
0.016 µF
CUT-OFF FREQUENCY 2Q
AND 10 K RESISTORS
• TO SCALE UP TO 10 KHz
CUT-OFF, YOU WANT RC CAPACITOR VALUES WRITTEN IN
TO GO DOWN BY 10.... TERMS OF "2Q" TO EMPHASIZE
THEREFORE, EITHER RELATIONSHIP TO POLE
REDUCE ALL C'S BY 10X POSITIONS!

Pole Distance from j ω Axis = ωo = 2πfo

OR REDUCE ALL R'S BY
10X
2Q 2Q
• THEN ADJUST C'S TO GET
DESIRED Q...

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 19

 EXAMPLE: SCALED LOW-PASS
• "NORMALIZED" DESIGN IS 1 KHz CUTOFF, 10 K RESISTANCE
• WANT 300 Hz CUTOFF, 1 K RESISTANCE

1) Replace 10 K resistors with 1K and

multiply capacitances by 10 to keep RC
time-constant the same (1 KHz cutoff).
2) Scale the cutoff frequency DOWN by
increasing capacitors by:
0.016 X 10 X 3.333 X 2 X 0.707 = 0.753
RCnew = RCold 1000 Hz
300 Hz
3) Scale the capacitors 0.753 µF

by the appropriate Q
value....

4) ALL DONE! 1 KΩ 1 KΩ Vout

Vin

0.016 X 10 X 3.333
= 0.376 0.376 µF
2 X 0.707

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 20

 TESTING 300 Hz LPF WITH SPICE
300Hz Sallen and Key LOW-
PASS FILTER 0.707 V
Vin 1 0 AC 1V
R1 1 2 1K
Cfb 2 Vout 0.753UF
R2 2 Vninv 1K
Cg Vninv 0 0.376UF 300 Hz
E1 Vout 0 Vninv Vout 100K
.AC DEC 20 1Hz 100KHz
.PROBE
.END

Vin 1 0 pwl(0 1V 10mS 1V 10.001mS 0V)

.TRAN 100US 30mS

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 21
 SCALABLE HIGH-PASS
0.016 µF

10 K 2Q Ω
10 KΩ
2Q
V
in Vout
0.016 µF

THE SAME TYPE OF SCALING, BUT A DIFFERENT FREQUENCY RESPONSE...

JUST SWAP THE R'S AND C'S (CAREFULLY)!

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 22

 AUDIO EQUALIZER

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 23

 Laser-Controlled Audio Equalizer

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EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 25
 Audio “Spectrum Analyzer”

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 Real Spectrum Analyzer

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 ALL-PASS?
MAYBE IN LIBERAL ARTS.
THIS IS EE!

R R

Vin Vout

R
C

• WHAT GOOD IS IT?

• PASSES ALL FREQUENCIES
EQUALLY...

T S = 1 - SRC • PHASE RESPONSE VARIES WITH

1 + SRC FREQUENCY!!!!!

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 28

 MORE COMPLEX FILTERS
• TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GOOD ISOLATION BETWEEN STAGES

• BUILD UP THE FILTER FROM A SERIES OF SECOND- (AND

SOMETIMES FIRST-) ORDER SECTIONS

THE STAGES DON'T

INTERACT!!
• POSITION THE POLES ON THE S-PLANE TO GET THE
DESIRED RESPONSE ON THE j AXIS…

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 29

 Mult-Stage Filters
• Using a variety of software tools (a free one is described later),
you can arrange the poles of filters to give much sharper
cutoffs, etc.
• The basic idea is to put a bunch of second-order filters in
“series” - in a linear system, the order shouldn’t matter.

Example mult-stage filter from the late 1970’s - still relevant, and the discretes are easy
to see (not surface mount).

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 30

 CHEBYSHEV FILTERS

• POLES ARRANGED
AROUND AN ELLIPSE IN
S-PLANE...
2

• CAN GIVE VERY STEEP jw

ROLL-OFFS!!! 1

• THIS IS AT THE EXPENSE -1.0 -0.5 0.0

0

OF RIPPLE IN THE -1

PASS-BAND!
-2

• ORDER AND RIPPLE ARE

THE MAJOR DESIGN
SPECIFICATIONS FOR
THIS TYPE OF FILTER...

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 31

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 32
 EXAMPLE: 6th ORDER CHEBYSHEV
* Chebyshev Low-Pass 6th Order, 0.5 dB Ripple
*Stage a
Ea Vouta 0 Vninva Vouta 100K
R1a Vin Vxa 1.351K
C1a Vninva 0 33nF
R2a Vxa Vninva 16.45K
C2a Vxa Vouta 220nF
*Stage b
Eb Voutb 0 Vninvb Voutb 100K
R1b Vouta Vxb 1.925K
C1b Vninvb 0 6.8nF
R2b Vxb Vninvb 14.91K
C2b Vxb Voutb 220nF
*Stage c
Ec Voutc 0 Vninvc Voutc 100K
R1c Voutb Vxc 2.424K
C1c Vninvc 0 1nF
R2c Vxc Vninvc 21.74K
C2c Vxc Voutc 470nF
*
Vinput Vin 0 AC 1
.AC DEC 50 1Hz 1MEG
.probe
.end

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 33

 WHAT ABOUT PHASE?

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 34

 BUTTERWORTH FILTERS

1.5

1.0

0.5

-1.0
0.0
-3.0 -2.5 -2.0 -1.5 -0.5

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 35

 HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?
• CUTOFF = 1 KHz
• AT 2 KHz THE OUTPUT IS 53 dB DOWN
• AT 10 KHz THE OUTPUT IS 140 dB DOWN
• FOR 6th ORDER BUTTERWORTH ONLY 36 dB DOWN AT 2 KHz

HOW DO YOU DESIGN THEM?

1) LOTS OF MATH

2) A NICE EASY PROGRAM...

i.e. "FILTER PERFECT" (IBM™
version only) available FREE
from...
Burr-Brown (602) 746-1111
www.burr-brown.com
EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 36
 What
Happens If
We Turn In
Our Lab
Writeup Late?

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 37

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 38
EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 39
 THE GEOPHONE
•Geophones are used to detect very small vibrations of
the earth, and can also detect fairly large vibrations (such
as earthquakes).
•A geophone essentially a permanent magnet suspended
by a spring within a cylindrical coil of wire.
•When the magnet is moved due to vibrations, its lines of
magnetic flux cut through the wires - moving magnetic
fields induce currents in wires.
•Geophones generally have second-order frequency
responses, with 3 dB frequencies in the how Hz range.

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 40

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 41
Frequency Response Measurement
for Geophone

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EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 43
EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 44
 THE COMPARATOR
• OPEN LOOP!

• ONLY TWO OUTPUT STATES...

+Vsat IF Vin > Vref
-Vsat IF Vin < Vref

• PROBLEMS WITH NOISE!

741 Comparator Simulation

X1 Vninv Vref 4 5 Vout UA741 15V

Vplus 4 0 12V
Vminus 0 5 12V
R1 4 Vref 1.4K
R2 Vref 0 1.0K 0V

Vin Vninv 0 sin(0 10 1000)

.TRAN 10uS 2mS
.probe
.end -15V
0.0ms 0.5ms 1.0ms 1.5ms 2.0ms
V(Vref) V(Vout) V(Vninv)
Time

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 45

 THE COMPARATOR
• OPEN LOOP!

• ONLY TWO OUTPUT STATES...

+Vsat IF Vin > Vref
-Vsat IF Vin < Vref

• PROBLEMS WITH NOISE!

741 Comparator Simulation

X1 Vninv Vref 4 5 Vout UA741 15V

Vplus 4 0 12V
Vminus 0 5 12V
R1 4 Vref 1.4K
R2 Vref 0 1.0K 0V

Vin Vninv 0 sin(0 10 1000)

.TRAN 10uS 2mS
.probe
.end -15V
0.0ms 0.5ms 1.0ms 1.5ms 2.0ms
V(Vref) V(Vout) V(Vninv)
Time

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 46

 THE SCHMITT TRIGGER
R3
Vref

R4 Vout

Vin R1 R2

• POSITIVE FEEDBACK (NOT OPEN LOOP)...

• HYSTERESIS.... THERE ARE NOW TWO DISTINCT THRESHOLD
VOLTAGES THAT DETERMINE THE STATE OF THE OUTPUT...
ONE THRESHOLD TO GO HIGH IF IT'S LOW
ANOTHER THRESHOLD TO GO LOW IF ITS HIGH...
• GOOD FOR REJECTING NOISE!!!

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 47

 SCHMITT TRIGGER DESIGN
VOLTAGE AT NON-INVERTING INPUT
BY SUPERPOSITION:
R3
V+ = Vout R1 + Vin R2
V R1 + R2 R1 + R2
ref
R4 Vout TO FIND THE TRIP-POINTS
LET Vin = Vu or VL AND SOLVE...
Vin
R1 R2 VU = Vref R1 + R2 - Vsat- R1
R2 R2
VL = Vref R1 + R2 - Vsat+ R1
R2 R2
SUBTRACT THE TRIP-POINTS TO GET THE HYSTERESIS...
VU - VL = Vref R1 + R2 - Vsat- R1 - Vref R1 + R2 + Vsat+ R1
R2 R2 R2 R2

TO DESIGN:
R1 = VU - VL
1) Determine R1 and R2 based on trip-points: R2 2Vsat+

VU + Vsat- R1
2) Determine Vref (R3 and R4) from R1 and R2: Vref = R2
R1 + R2
R2
EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 48
 SCHMITT TRIGGER VS COMPARATOR
NOISE PERFORMANCE...

COMPARATOR

SCHMITT TRIGGER

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 49

 TESTING A SCHMITT TRIGGER
DESIGN FOR SYMMETRICAL +/- 1.1 V TRIP POINTS...

X1 Vninv 0 4 5 Vout UA741

Vplus 4 0 12V
Vminus 0 5 12V
R1 Vinput Vninv 1K
R2 Vout Vninv 10K
Vin Vinput 0 pwl(0 -10 0.5mS 10V 1mS -10V)
.TRAN 10uS 1mS
.probe
.end

VH
VL

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 50

 OSCILLATORS

Overall
Gain

AS TO MAKE Af INFINITY...
Af S =
1 - AS β S
-A S β S = 1
Amplifier
Gain THE BARKHAUSEN
Feedback CRITERION
Loop Gain

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 51

 SQUAREWAVE OSCILLATOR:
NONLINEARITY HAS USES!
Icharge fo ≈ 1
R3 2R3C ln 2R1 + 1
R2
C1

Vout

R1

R2

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 52

 SQUARE-WAVE OSCILLATOR
SIMULATION
R3
X1 Vninv Vinv 4 5
C1
Vout UA741
Vout Vplus 4 0 12V
R1 Vminus 0 5 12V
R1 Vout Vninv 1K
R2 R2 Vninv 0 2.2K
R3 Vout Vinv ?K
C1 Vinv 0 ?UF
.TRAN 50uS 25mS
.probe
.end

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 53

 THE WEIN BRIDGE OSCILLATOR

NEGATIVE POSITIVE
FEEDBACK Vout
FEEDBACK

C
Vout
R1
R

R2 R C

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 54

 FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF
POSITIVE FEEDBACK CIRCUIT
AT RESONANCE,
Vout = 0.333333 V
AND PHASE = 0 °

Vin = 1V
C

Vout

R C

fosc = 1
2πRC

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 55

 GAIN OF 3 ?
Vout

• SINCE THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP

PROVIDES A GAIN OF 1/3 AT THE
FREQUENCY OF OSCILLATION, THE C

BARKHAUSEN CRITERION REQUIRES THAT R1

THE AMPLIFIER HAVE A GAIN OF 3... R

• THE AMPLIFIER GAIN IS SET BY RESISTORS

R1 AND R2...

R2 R C

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 56

 SIMULATED
WEIN BRIDGE
OSCILLATOR
X1 Vninv Vinv 4 5 Vout UA741
Vplus 4 0 15V
Vminus 0 5 15V
R1 Vinv 0 ?
R2 Vinv 8 ?
C1 Vout 7 ?
R3 7 Vninv ?
C2 Vninv 0 ?
R4 Vninv 0 ?
Istart Vninv 0 pwl(0 1mA 10us 0V)
.model dmod D
.TRAN 100uS 8mS 0uS 100uS
.probe
.end

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 57

 WEIN-BRIDGE PERFORMANCE

3rd HARMONIC

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 58

 DIODE-STABILIZED
WEIN BRIDGE OSCILLATOR
HOW DOES IT WORK?
• WHEN OUTPUT AMPLITUDE GETS
TOO LARGE, DIODES BEGIN TO
CONDUCT
RG RF • DIODE CONDUCTION EFFECTIVELY
REDUCES THE FEEDBACK
RESISTANCE
• SINCE THE GAIN OF THE OP-AMP
WITH NEGATIVE FEEDBACK IS:

R
G=1+ F
RG
THIS STABILIZES THE OUTPUT
AMPLITUDE!

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 59

 Guess Who?

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 60

HP200A Oscillator - The First HP Product
In 1939 William R. Hewlett
applied for a patent with the
United States Patent Office for
his variable frequency
oscillation generator, a
resistance-capacitance tuned
frequency audio oscillator.
This instrument remained on
the market in a succession of
models until 1985. Prior to
this invention, there was no
simple and precise way of
producing variable and stable
signals in the low frequency
range needed for
measurements in acoustics,
medicine, oil exploration,
seismology, oceanography,
structural vibration analysis,
and many other fields whose
natural processes involve
these low frequencies.

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 61

EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 62
EE122, Stanford University, Prof. Greg Kovacs 63