Gyrator video filter IC with automatic tuning

A single-chip gyrator filter for separating the components of the video signal in a TV receiver is described which is suitable for mass production in a standard bipolar process (f/SUB T/≈400 MHz). The 11 mm/SUP 2/ filter chip operates at frequencies up to 10 MHz, requires no tuning or alignment and has Q-factors which are stable with temperature. The IC contains an automatic tuning system which tunes the five resonators of the filter by aligning an auxiliary gyrator resonator with the crystal oscillator present in the color decoder of a TV receiver. Problems of matching the frequencies of the individual gyrator resonators are discussed, showing how alignment accuracy of 0.5 percent can be obtained when resistivities and specific capacitances have production spreads of at least 10 percent. Various gyrator circuit configurations are given which minimize the circuit complexity and, hence, the chip area. Computer aided design techniques for the filter using geometrically scaled models and macromodeling are presented and it is shown how a complete simulation of the chip led to a significant improvement in bandstop performance. Finally, the measured responses are presented and the filter performance is discussed in the light of present-day requirements.