DC Block Electrical Filters, Coaxial

Passive DC Block Filters
Terminates Directly into High-Impedance Test Equipment
DC Block Filter with 1 dB Cutoff of >1 Hz
Mains Hum Filter for 50 - 60 Hz and 100 - 120 Hz Suppression

EF500

>1 Hz DC Block Filter

EF599

50 - 60 Hz Mains Hum Filter with DC Block

Application Idea

EF500 Used in Conjunction with a High-Impedance Oscilloscope and Amplified Photodetector

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Overview
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Figure 1: Each EF500 Series coaxial filter has a male and female BNC connector. It is engraved with the part number, the type of filter, the passband range, and the response curve (the EF599 displays the mains hum suppression values instead of the curve).

Electrical Filters Selection Guide
Low-Pass Electrical Filters
High-Pass Electrical Filters
DC Block and Mains Hum Electrical Filters
DC Block Filter for RF

Features

Butterworth DC Block Filter Design
With and Without Mains Hum Suppression
Can be Driven by Any 50 Ω Load
Designed to be Terminated into High-Impedance Equipment
No External Power Supply Required

Thorlabs' Passive Electrical Filters are feedthrough BNC filters that allow the user to filter unwanted signals and noise. These DC block filters are designed to be driven by a low-impedance source and terminated directly into high-impedance equipment. Examples of typical 50 Ω (low-impedance) sources are Thorlabs' amplified photodetectors, while examples of high-impedance equipment include 1 MΩ oscilloscope terminals, DAQ boards, and 100 kΩ op-amp inputs. This page contains our DC block electrical filters. Thorlabs also offers low-pass and high-pass electrical filters, as well as a DC block filter for RF with SMA connectors.

These are passive filters; therefore, no power supply is needed to run these devices. Additionally, they will not display any of the intermodulation distortions that are often observed when using active filters. Passive filters also have lower noise floors and lower thermal emission than their active counterparts, giving these filters higher signal-to-noise capabilities. Each filter is engraved with the part number, passband range, input/output impedance values, and a frequency response curve.

DC Block Filters
These DC Block Filters are designed specifically to block out DC and very low frequency noise, allowing most of the signal through to the output. This large passband is advantageous when it is necessary to analyze or compare signals that contain a significant DC offset. The EF500 is a 1^st order Butterworth filter designed to attenuate signals with sub-Hz frequencies. Perfect for removing unwanted DC biases, this device has excellent transmission at higher frequencies.

DC offsets are not the only problem to plague signal acquisition and analysis. Most often, noise from the mains electricity becomes written onto a signal. This phenomenon is known as mains hum and manifests itself with a fundamental frequency of 50 to 60 Hz. Spikes at the fundamental, second harmonic (100 Hz to 120 Hz), and third harmonic (150 Hz to 180 Hz) are the most common source of mains hum noise. The EF599, a 2nd order Butterworth filter, is a DC block filter specifically designed to filter out noise caused by mains hum. This filter provides excellent suppression through 400 Hz (3 dB, nominal) for attenuation of mains hum noise at its fundamental frequency and at higher harmonics.

Coaxial Design
The EF500 series filters are coaxial and feature a cylindrical design with a male and female BNC connector. This allows the filter to be directly attached to a device, such as an oscilloscope (see image above).

Posted Comments:

xiaowei.feng (posted 2017-08-11 14:45:14.933)

Hi, could you provide a SPICE model of your product EF500 so that we can simulate it? Best Regards Xiaowei

tfrisch (posted 2017-08-28 04:10:13.0)

Hello, thank you for contacting Thorlabs. While we don't have SPICE models for these filters, we will reach out to you to discuss the performance.

pbow027 (posted 2017-08-03 09:52:41.737)

Hi, I need to block the DC component going into an RF electrical spectrum analyser. Both the DC block filter and high-pass filter seem good, but which will be better if I need to see my spectrum at GHz repetition rates? Thank you :) Patrick

tfrisch (posted 2017-08-28 02:55:37.0)

Hello, thank you for contacting Thorlabs. While these filters are not designed for use from DC up to GHz regimes, we may be able to provide a filter with a suitable cut-on wavelength. I will reach out to you directly about your application.

hj (posted 2017-08-01 13:39:56.647)

Hi, I just have one question. The specification of this product says the input voltage (Maximum) is 10 V. If I want to filter out DC 20 V in my setup, can I just connect two of these filters (EF599) in series? Thanks in advance. /Hoon

nbayconich (posted 2017-08-04 05:45:24.0)

Thank you for contacting Thorlabs. Stacking two EF599 filters will not improve compliance voltage. The voltage will not be distributed as in a simple series circuit. I will contact you directly with more information.

rayfang (posted 2016-08-27 20:54:51.12)

Hi there, I would like to use the EF500 to protect a spectrum analyser that has a 50 ohm input. Can I connect the 50 ohm source termination to the spectrum analyser, and the high impedance load to the DUT instead? It is a passive device, so I believe signal transmission should be reciprocal. Kindly advise. Thanks. Ray

tfrisch (posted 2016-09-07 09:44:49.0)

Hello Ray. Thank you for contacting Thorlabs. EF500 does use passive components. I'll contact you directly about how the performance might be affected, specifically through change in the cut-on and back reflections.

DC Block Electrical Filters, Coaxial

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Click to Enlarge
The graph above shows a signal taken on an oscilloscope with (blue trace) and without (red trace) using a filter. The observed phase shift is introduced by the filter.

Click for Details
Mechanical Drawing of
Coaxial Design

The coaxial package of these filters offers one male and one female BNC connector.

Item #^a	EF500	EF599
1 dB Passband Window^b(Nominal)	>1 Hz	>650 Hz
3 dB Rejection (Nominal)	<0.3 Hz	<400 Hz
40 dB Rejection (Nominal)	<3 mHz	-
80 dB Rejection (Nominal)	<30 µHz	-
50 - 60 Hz Rejection (Nominal)	-	27 dB
100 - 120 Hz Rejection (Nominal)	-	19 dB
Frequency Response Curve (Click for Graph)	Raw Data	Raw Data
Source Impedance (Typical)	50 Ω
Load Impedance (Typical)^c	≥100 kΩ
Input Voltage (Maximum)	±10 V
Storage Temperature	-20 to 70 °C

Values reported for each item were measured at 25 °C.
The performance of the EF500 is measured out to 600 MHz, while the EF599 is measured out to 500 MHz.
Although these filters can be operated with termination resistances below 1 kΩ, the passband will narrow at smaller termination resistances and the performance is not guaranteed.