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First Order Circuits The current I(t), expressed in units of amperes,

through one of these elements is related to the
We will consider a few simple electrical circuits that voltage drop V(t), in units of volts, across it as
lead to first order linear differential equations. follows:
These are sometimes referred to as first order
circuits.
The basic elements to be considered are:

1 1 1 2

RC Circuit What is the resulting current I(t) in the closed

First we consider a circuit consisting of a simple loop for all times t ≥ 0?
loop containing a capacitor and a resistor in
series with a voltage source E(t), as illustrated by Applying Kirchhoff's voltage law to the closed
the following diagram. Suppose the capacitor circuit gives VR + VC = E(t), and using the voltage-
holds an initial charge Q0 = 0 and the switch is current relationships for resistors and capacitors
closed at time t = 0. gives
………………..(1)
Consider the case where E(t) = E0 is constant.
Then Eq. 1 becomes
…………………(2)
1 3 1 4

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Notice that this equation is not a differential

equation since it involves the integral of I. There ………………….(4)
are two ways to make this into a differential
equation that we can solve. One option is to We will first solve Eq. 4. This is a constant
differentiate Eq. 2 to reduce it to a differential coefficient linear first order differential equation
equation in the unknown function Q. In standard form, it
is
…………………(3) ………………….(5)
The second way is to let 𝑄 = ∫ 𝐼 𝑠 𝑑𝑠 be an
so the integrating factor is et/RC. Multiplying Eq. 5
antiderivative of I(t). Then Eq. 2 becomes the
by the integrating factor gives the equation
initial value problem
1 5 1 6

The initial condition Q(0) = 0 implies that K =

………….(6) −E0C so the solution of the differential equation
for Q is
which gives ……….(10)
Now differentiate this equation to get the
………….(7) current I(t):

Integrating gives ………..(11)

Note that the current decreases from its initial
………….(8) value of E0/R to 0 as t → ∞. As a second
So that approach, solving Eq. 3 with the initial condition
………….(9) RI(0) = E0 obtained from Eq. 2 by setting t = 0, we
1 7
get exactly the same result.
1 8

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RL Circuit Thus, the solution of Eq. 12 is

Consider now the situation where an inductor
and a resistor are present in a circuit, as in the ………(13)
following diagram, where the impressed voltage
is a constant E0. Kirchhoff's voltage law then Note that for this circuit, the current increases
gives the governing equation from its initial value of 0 to its limiting value
limit t→ ∞ I(t) = E0/R.
……….(12)
The initial condition is obtained from the fact
that the current in the system is zero at the
instant when the switch is closed. This equation
is almost the same as Eq. (4), where Q is
replaced by I, R by L, and 1/C by R.
1 9 1 10

Natural Response of an RL Circuit

The natural response of an RL or RC circuit is • Consider the following circuit, for which the switch is
its behavior (i.e. current and voltage) when closed for t < 0, and then opened at t = 0:
stored energy in the inductor or capacitor is
released to the resistive part of the network t=0 i +
(containing no independent sources). v
Io Ro L R
–
Notation:
The step response of an RL or RC circuit is its 0– is used to denote the time just prior to
behavior when a voltage or current source switching
step is applied to the circuit, or immediately 0+ is used to denote the time immediately after
switching
after a switch state is changed.
• The current flowing in the inductor at t = 0– is Io

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Recall: The current flowing in an inductor

cannot change instantly, and the voltage
across a capacitor, which is proportional to Later when we talk about second-order circuits –
the charge stored in the capacitor, cannot ones that consist of resistors and the equivalent
change instantly. of two energy storage elements, like an L and a
C or two Cs – we’ll take a look at the initial and
For a first-order circuit these are called initial final values of these quantities and their time
values of current and voltage. A long time derivatives.
after the circuit configuration changes, the
currents and voltages achieve their final, or
steady-state values.

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Solving for the Current (t  0) What Does e-t/t Look Like?

• For t > 0, the circuit reduces to
e-t/t with t = 10-4
i +
Io Ro L R v
• t is the amount of time necessary
–
for an exponential to decay to
• Applying KVL to the LR circuit: 36.7% of its initial value.
• -1/t is the initial slope of an
exponential with an initial value of
1.
• Solution:
i (t )  i ( 0 ) e  ( R / L ) t

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Solving for the Voltage (t > 0)

Time Constant t
i ( t )  I o e + ( R / L ) t • In the example, we found that
Io Ro L R v i ( t )  I o e  ( R / L ) t and v ( t )  I o Re  ( R / L ) t
–
L
t 
• Define the time constant R
• Note that the voltage changes abruptly:
v (0 )  0
• At t = t, the current has reduced to 1/e (~0.37) of its initial value.
for t  0, v(t )  iR  I o Re ( R / L )t • At t = 5t, the current has reduced to less than 1% of its initial value.

 v (0  )  I o R

Transient vs. Steady-State Response Review (Conceptual)

• The momentary behavior of a circuit (in response to a • Any first-order circuit can be reduced to a Thévenin
change in stimulation) is referred to as its transient (or Norton) equivalent connected to either a single
response. equivalent inductor or capacitor.
RTh

VTh
+
ITh RTh L – C

• In steady state, an inductor behaves like a short circuit

• The behavior of a circuit a long time (many time • In steady state, a capacitor behaves like an open circuit
constants) after the change in voltage or current is
called the steady-state response.

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Natural Response of an RC Circuit Solving for the Voltage (t  0)

• Consider the following circuit, for which the switch is closed for • For t > 0, the circuit reduces to
t < 0, and then opened at t = 0: i
Ro +
+
t=0 Vo  C v R
Ro
+ + –
Vo  R
C v
• Applying KCL to the RC circuit:
–
Notation:
0– is used to denote the time just prior to switching
0+ is used to denote the time immediately after switching
• The voltage on the capacitor at t = 0– is Vo • Solution:

v ( t )  v ( 0 ) e  t / RC

Solving for the Current (t > 0)

i Time Constant t
Ro +
+
Vo  C R
• In the example, we found that
v V o  t / RC
– v ( t )  V o e  t / RC v ( t )  V o e  t / RC and i (t )  e
R
i (0  )  0
• Note that the current changes abruptly: t  RC (with R in ohms and C in
v Vo t / RC • Define the time constant farads, t is in seconds)
for t  0, i (t )   e
R R • At t = t, the voltage has reduced to 1/e (~0.37) of its initial value.
V • At t = 5t, the voltage has reduced to less than 1% of its initial value.
 i (0  )  o
R

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Natural Response Summary Transient Response of 1st-Order Circuits

RL Circuit RC Circuit • We saw that the currents and voltages in RL and RC circuits
decay exponentially with time, with a characteristic time
constant t, when an applied current or voltage is suddenly
i + removed.
L R C v R • In general, when an applied current or voltage suddenly
changes, the voltages and currents in an RL or RC circuit will
– change exponentially with time, from their initial values to
their final values, with the characteristic time constant t as
• Inductor current cannot • Capacitor voltage cannot follows:
change instantaneously change instantaneously

i (0  )  i (0  )
 

x (t )  x f  x ( t 0 )  x f e  ( t  t 0

) /t

v (0  )  v (0  ) where x(t) is the circuit variable (voltage or current)

i(t )  i(0)e t / t v(t )  v(0)e t /t xf is the final value of the circuit variable
t0 is the time at which the change occurs
L This is a very useful equation!
• time constant t • time constant t  RC
R

Procedure for Finding Transient Response Procedure (cont’d)

1. Identify the variable of interest
• For RL circuits, it is usually the inductor current iL(t)
• For RC circuits, it is usually the capacitor voltage vc(t) 3. Calculate the final value of the variable (its
value as t  ∞)
2. Determine the initial value (at t = t0+) of the • Again, make use of the fact that an inductor behaves
variable like a short circuit in steady state (t  ∞) or that a
• Recall that iL(t) and vc(t) are continuous variables: capacitor behaves like an open circuit in steady state (t
 ∞)
iL(t0+) = iL(t0) and vc(t0+) = vc(t0)
• Assuming that the circuit reached steady state before t0 , 4. Calculate the time constant for the circuit
use the fact that an inductor behaves like a short circuit in t = L/R for an RL circuit, where R is the Thévenin equivalent
resistance “seen” by the inductor
steady state or that a capacitor behaves like an open
t = RC for an RC circuit where R is the Thévenin equivalent
circuit in steady state resistance “seen” by the capacitor

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Example: RL Transient Analysis

Find the current i(t) and the voltage v(t): t=0 R = 50 W
t=0 R = 50 W
i
+
i +
+ Vs = 100 V v L = 0.1 H

+
Vs = 100 V  v L = 0.1 H –
– Now solve for v(t), for t > 0:
1. First consider the inductor current i
2. Before switch is closed, i = 0
From KVL,

v ( t )  100  iR  100  2  2 e  500 t 50  
--> immediately after switch is closed, i = 0
3. A long time after the switch is closed, i = Vs / R = 2 A
4. Time constant L/R = (0.1 H)/(50 W) = 0.002 seconds
i (t )  2  0  2 e  (t  0) / 0.002  2  2e 500t Amperes

Example: RC Transient Analysis

Find the current i(t) and the voltage v(t): R1 = 10 kW t=0
R1 = 10 kW t=0 i
+
i +
+ Vs = 5 V v C = 1 mF
 R2 = 10 kW
+
Vs = 5 V  v C = 1 mF –
R2 = 10 kW
– Now solve for i(t), for t > 0:
1. First consider the capacitor voltage v From Ohm’s Law,
i (t ) 

V s  v ( t ) 5  5  5 e  100 t


2. Before switch is moved, v = 0 R1 10 4
--> immediately after switch is moved, v = 0
3. A long time after the switch is moved, v = Vs = 5 V
4. Time constant R1C = (104 W)(10-6 F) = 0.01 seconds
v (t )  5  0  5 e  (t 0 ) / 0.01  5  5e 100 t Volts

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Digital Signals
Application to Digital Integrated Circuits (ICs) We compute with pulses.

voltage
When we perform a sequence of computations using a digital We send beautiful pulses in:
circuit, we switch the input voltages between logic 0 (e.g. 0
Volts) and logic 1 (e.g. 5 Volts). time

But we receive lousy-looking

voltage
pulses at the output:

time

Capacitor charging effects are responsible!

The output of the digital circuit changes between logic 0 and • Every node in a real circuit has capacitance; it’s the charging of
these capacitances that limits circuit performance (speed)
logic 1 as computations are performed.

Circuit Model for a Logic Gate

• Electronic building blocks referred to as “logic gates” are Logic Level Transitions
Transition from “0” to “1” Transition from “1” to “0”
used to implement logical functions (NAND, NOR, NOT) in
digital ICs (capacitor charging) (capacitor discharging)
• Any logical function can be implemented using these gates.
• A logic gate can be modeled as a simple RC circuit:

V out ( t )  V high 1  e  t / RC  V out ( t )  V high e  t / RC
Vout Vout
R
Vhigh Vhigh
+ 0.63Vhigh
Vin(t) +
 C Vout 0.37Vhigh

– time time
0 RC 0 RC
switches between “low” (logic 0)
and “high” (logic 1) voltage states (Vhigh is the logic 1 voltage level)

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Sequential Switching Pulse Distortion

What if we step up the input, R The input voltage pulse width
Vin must be long enough;
+ otherwise the output pulse is
+
0
Vin(t) C Vout distorted.
0
time – (We need to wait for the output to
–
reach a recognizable logic level,
wait for the output to respond, before changing the input again.)
Vin

Vout
Pulse width = 0.1RC Pulse width = RC Pulse width = 10RC
0 6
6 6
0
time 5 5 5
4 4 4

Vout
Vout

Vout
3 3 3
2 2 2
Vin

then bring the input back down? 1 1 1

Vout 0 0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 5 10 15 20 25
0 Time Time Time
0
time

Example
Suppose a voltage pulse of width R 4
5 ms and height 4 V is applied to the Vin Vout 3.5
input of this circuit beginning at t = 0: C 3
R = 2.5 kΩ
t = RC = 2.5 ms C = 1 nF 2.5
2
• First, Vout will increase exponentially toward 4 V. 1.5
• When Vin goes back down, Vout will decrease exponentially 1
back down to 0 V. 0.5
00 2 4 6 8 10
What is the peak value of Vout?

{ 4-4e-t/2.5ms for 0 ≤ t ≤ 5 ms
The output increases for 5 ms, or 2 time constants.
 It reaches 1-e-2 or 86% of the final value. Vout(t) =
0.86 x 4 V = 3.44 V is the peak value 3.44e-(t-5ms)/2.5ms for t > 5 ms

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A Bit on Second-Order Circuits Initial and final values of v, i, dv/dt, and di/dt
Example: The switch in this circuit has been
A second-order circuit consists of resistors and the closed for a long time. It opens at t = 0. Find:
equivalent of two energy storage elements (Ls, Cs). i(0+), v(0+), di(0+)/dt, dv(0+)/dt, i(infinite time),
A second-order circuit is characterized by a v(infinite time)
second-order differential equation (contains a. Values for t < 0
second-derivatives of time)
b. Values for t = 0+
Example: A circuit containing R, L and C in series
c. Values for t = infinity
with a voltage source; a circuit with R, L and C in
parallel.

a.Values for t < 0 b. Values for t = 0+

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c. Values for t = infinity

A 2nd Order RLC Circuit
i (t)

R
+
vs(t) C
-
L

• Application: Filters
• A bandpass filter such as IF amplifier for the
AM radio.
• A lowpass filter with a sharper cutoff than can
be obtained with an RC circuit.

The Differential Equation The Differential Equation

i (t) + vr(t) -
The voltage and current in a second order circuit is the
R + solution to a differential equation of the following
+ form:
vs(t) C vc(t)
- -
- vl(t) +
(the forcing function –
KVL around the loop: d 2 x (t ) dx(t )
L  2  02 x(t )  f (t ) the driving voltage or
dt 2 dt
vr(t) + vc(t) + vl(t) = vs(t) current source)
x (t )  x p (t )  xc (t )
t
1 di (t ) xp(t) is the particular solution (forced response) and
Ri (t )   i ( x)dx  L  vs (t )
C  dt xc(t) is the complementary solution (natural response).
2
R di (t ) 1 d i (t ) 1 dvs (t )
 i (t )  
L dt LC dt 2 L dt

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The Complementary Solution

The Particular Solution The complementary solution has the following form:
xc (t )  Ke st
• The particular solution xp(t) is usually a weighted sum of f(t) and its K is a constant determined by initial conditions.
first and second derivatives.
s is a constant determined by the coefficients of the
• If f(t) is constant, then xp(t) is constant. differential equation.
• If f(t) is sinusoidal, then xp(t) is sinusoidal
(with the same frequency as the source, for a circuit of only linear d 2 Ke st dKe st
 2  02 Ke st  0
elements) dt 2 dt
s 2 Ke st  2 sKe st  02 Ke st  0

s 2  2 s  02  0

Characteristic Equation Overdamped, critically damped and underdamped response of

source-free transiently excited 2nd-order RLC circuit
Assume circuit is excited by energy stored in C or L
• To find the complementary solution, we need to solve of series RLC circuit.
the characteristic equation:
Assume i(t) = K1es1t + K2es2t where (with slightly
s 2  20 s  02  0 different notation)
s1      
2 2

  0 0

• The characteristic equation has two roots-call them s1 s2     

2 2
0 where

and s2.   R / 2L
 1/ LC
 = R/2L is called the damping factor and
0  1/ LC is the undamped natural frequency
x c ( t )  K 1 e s1 t  K 2 e s 2 t
If  > 0  overdamped case a
s1  0  0  2  1 If  = 0  critically damped case b
If  < 0  underdamped case c
s2  0  0  2  1

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