EECS 206 IIR Filters IV: Case Study of IIR Filters August 2, 2002

• First-order IIR filter

• Second-order IIR filter

1 First-Order IIR Filter

(a) Difference equation: a1 and b0 real

y[n] = a1 y[n − 1] + b0 x[n].

(b) System function:

b0 b0 z
H(z) = = .
1 − a1 z −1 z − a1

(c) Impulse response:

h[n] = b0 an1 u[n].

(d) Implementation:

x[n] y[n]
- × - + -

6 6
?
b0
× ¾ z −1
6
a1

(e) Stability requirement: |a1 | < 1

(f) Frequency response function:

¯
H(ω̂) = H(z) ¯z=ej ω̂ .
|H(ω̂)|2 = H(ω̂)H∗ (ω̂)
b20
= .
1 − 2a1 cos(ω̂) + a21

(i) 0 < a1 < 1: a positive pole at z = a1 and a peak at ω̂ = 0 =⇒ a lowpass filter

(ii) −1 < a1 < 0: a negative pole at z = a1 and a peak at ω̂ = π =⇒ a highpass filter

1
 0 < a1 < 1 −1 < a1 < 0

6 6
z-plane z-plane

× - × -
−1 1 −1 1

10 ...
.
9 ... highpass a1 = −0.9
.
8 ....
. lowpass a1 = 0.9
7 ... j
..
6 ..
.. ¼
5 ...
4 ....
.
3 ...
.
2 ....
1 ....
..
0 ....................................................................
0 π/4 π/2 3π/4 π

2 Second-Order IIR Filter

(a) Difference equation: a1 , a2 and b0 real

y[n] = a1 y[n − 1] + a2 y[n − 2] + b0 x[n].

(b) System function:

b0
H(z) = −1
1 − a1 z − a2 z −2
2
b0 z
= 2
z − a1 z − a2
b0 z 2
=
(z − re )(z − re−jθ )
jθ

b0
= .
1 − 2r cos(θ)z −1 + r2 z −1

(c) Impulse response:

1 n ¡ ¢
h[n] = r sin (n + 1)θ u[n].
sin θ

2
(d) Implementation:

x[n] + y[n]
- × - + -

6 + 6
?
b0 +
+ ¾ × ¾ z −1
−
6 6
2r cos θ
?
× ¾ z −1
6
r2

(e) Stability requirement: The two poles must reside inside the unit circle |r| < 1
(f) Frequency response function:
¯
H(ω̂) = H(z) ¯z=ejω̂ .

(i) Special cases: θ = 0 or π

Two poles (therefore, a peak) at z = 0 or z = π =⇒ a lowpass or highpass filter
(ii) θ 6= 0, π: a peak at ω̂ = θ =⇒ a bandpass filter.

θ=0 θ = π/2

6 6
×
z-plane z-plane

(2) (2) (2)

× - -
−1 1 −1 1

3
 12 ...
.. r = 0.9, θ = π/6
... ¾
.. peak at ω̂ = π/6
10 ..
...
..
.
8 ...
..
..
..
6 ...
..
...
.
4 ...
..
..
..
2 ...
..
...
..
0 .....................................................................................
0 π/4 π/2 3π/4 π

Conclusion: A real coefficient 2nd order IIR filter can be used as a building block for low, high or
bandpass filtering.