AlNahrain Univ.

4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School

1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Bode plot
In electrical engineering and control theory, a Bode plot is
a graph of the frequency response of a system. It is usually a combination
of a Bode magnitude plot, expressing the magnitude of the frequency
response, and a Bode phase plot, expressing the phase shift. Both
quantities are plotted against a horizontal axis proportional to the
logarithm of frequency.

Among his several important contributions to circuit theory and

control theory, engineer Hendrik Wade Bode, while working at Bell Labs
in the United States in the 1930s, devised a simple but accurate method
for graphing gain and phase-shift plots. These bear his name, Bode gain
plot and Bode phase plot.

Bode was faced with the problem of designing stable amplifiers

with feedback for use in telephone networks. He developed the graphical
design technique of the Bode plots to show the gain margin and phase
margin required to maintain stability under variations in circuit
characteristics caused during manufacture or during operation. The
principles developed were applied to design problems
of servomechanisms (A servomechanism, sometimes shortened to servo,
is an automatic device that uses error-sensing negative feedback to
correct the performance of a mechanism and is defined by its function. It
usually includes a built-in encoder. A servomechanism is sometimes
called a heterostat since it controls a system's behavior by means
of heterostasis.) and other feedback control systems. The Bode plot is an
example of analysis in the frequency domain (The frequency

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

domain refers to the analysis of mathematical functions or signals with

respect to frequency, rather than time).

Bode Definition

The Bode plot for a linear, time-invariant system (Linear time-

invariant theory, commonly known as LTI system theory, comes
from applied mathematics and has direct applications such as
in circuits, signal processing, control theory, and other technical areas. It
investigates the response of a linear and time-invariant system to an
arbitrary input signal. Trajectories of these systems are commonly
measured and tracked as they move through time (e.g., an acoustic
waveform), but in applications like image processing and field theory, the
LTI systems also have trajectories in spatial dimensions. Thus, these
systems are also called linear translation-invariant to give the theory the
most general reach. In the case of generic discrete-time (i.e., sampled)
systems, linear shift-invariant is the corresponding term. A good example
of LTI systems are electrical circuits that can be made up of resistors,
capacitors, and inductors.) with transfer function ( being the
complex frequency in the Laplace domain) consists of a magnitude plot
and a phase plot.

The Bode magnitude plot is the graph of the

function of frequency (with being the imaginary unit).
The -axis of the magnitude plot is logarithmic and the magnitude is
given in decibels, i.e., a value for the magnitude is plotted on the axis
at

The Bode phase plot is the graph of the phase of the transfer function

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

in degrees plotted logarithmically as a function of .

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Bode Plot : Frequency Domain

Sine Waves as test functions for systems
One of the most commonly used test functions for a circuit or system
is the sine wave. This is not because sine waves are a particularly
common signal. They are in fact quite rare - the transmission of
electricity (a 60 Hz sine wave in the U.S., 50 Hz in much of the rest of
the world) is one example. The reason sine waves are important is
complex and involve a branch of Mathematics called Fourier
Theory. Briefly put: any signal going into a circuit can be represented
by a sum of sine waves of varying frequency and amplitude (often an
infinite sum).
This is why sine waves are important. Not because they are
common, but because we can represent arbitrarily complex functions
using only these very simple function.

Determining system output given input and transfer

function
Given that sine waves are important, how can we analyze the
response of a circuit or system to sinusoidal inputs (after all transients
have died out - the so-called sinusoidal steady state)? There are many
ways to do this, depending on your mathematical sophistication. Let's
use a fairly basic explanation that uses phasors. If you are unfamiliar
with phasors, you can find a description in almost any circuits or
systems textbook.
For a system of the type we are studying (linear constant coefficient)
if the input to a system is a sinusoid at a particular frequency, then the
output of the system is also a sinusoid at the same frequency, but
typically with a different amplitude or phase. Put another way, if the
input to a system (described by the transfer function H(s)) is
A·sin(ω·t+φ) then the output is M·A·sin(ω·t+φ+θ). This is likewise true
for cosine - only the magnitude and phase of the output relative to the
input changes. This is shown below.

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

In this diagram the magnitude of the sinusoid has changed by a factor

of M (which we will take to be a positive real number) and the phase
has changed by a factor of θ (a real number, not necessarily
positive). It is our task to find the value of M and θ for a particular
system, H(s), at a particular frequency, ω. We call M the magnitude of
the system (or transfer function) at ω, and we call θ the phase of the
system at that frequency.
Using complex impedances it is possible to find the transfer function
of a circuit. For example, the circuit below is described by the transfer
function, H(s), where s=jω.

Circuit Transfer Function

Consider the case where R=1 and C=0.1. In that case:

Generally we know the input Vi and want to find the output Vo. We can
do this by simple multiplication

If we have a phasor representation for the input and the transfer

function, the multiplication is simple (multiply magnitudes and add
phases). Finding the output becomes easy. Let's look at some
examples:

Example 1

and the transfer function evaluates to

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

The output is just the product of the input and the transfer function
(evaluated as phasors). Thus the magnitude will change by a factor of
0.316 (this is the gain of the system) and the phase will change by -71.6°
(this is the phase of the system).

Note that Vo has an amplitude of 0.95 and lags Vi by 72°. It is a

phase "lag" because the output lags, or follows, the input (the input goes
up before the output so the output is following the input).

Example 2
Change input phase

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Both input and output have shifted 40° from those in Example 1.

Example 3
Change input frequency

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Frequency has changed, magnitude of output has increased, but

phase lag has decreased (to 45°).

Example 4
Cosine Input

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Note: all angles are given in degrees. They should be changed to radians before
evaluation by calculator or computer.

Magnitude and Phase Plots

The difficulty in representing the transfer function comes about

because we need to plot a complex number, H(s) or H(jω), as a
function of frequency. Consider the transfer function

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

To show how the magnitude and phase vary we need two plots one for
magnitude (magenta, in the plot below) and one for phase (cyan).

Note: Standard Bode plots are logarithmic on the frequency axis, and plot the
magnitude in dB's (deciBels).

We can use these plots to determine the solutions to the examples 1

to 4 without resorting to algebra (though this presupposes that we have
the graphs shown - techniques for drawing these graphs come in
subsequent sections).

Example 5

and the transfer function evaluates to

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

The output is just the product of the input and the transfer function
(evaluated as phasors)

Note that Vo has an amplitude of 0.95 and lags Vi by 72°.

Example 6
Change input phase

Both input and output have shifted 40° from those in Example 1.

Example 7
Change input frequency

Frequency has changed, magnitude of output has increased, but

phase lag has decreased (to 45°).

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Example 8
Cosine input (i.e, a change of phase).

The magnitude and phase plots determine the phasor

representation of the transfer function at any frequency. On the graphs
below we can see that at 10 rad/sec the phasor representation of the
transfer function has a magnitude of 0.707 and a phase of -45°. This
means that at 10 rad/sec the magnitude of the output will be 0.707
times the magnitude of the input and the output will lag the input by
45°.

Key Concept: The frequency response is shown with two plots, one for
magnitude and one for phase.

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

The frequency response of a system is presented as two graphs: one

showing magnitude and one showing phase. The phasor representation
of the transfer function can then be easily determined at any
frequency. The magnitude of the output is the magnitude of the phasor
representation of the transfer function (at a given frequency) multiplied
by the magnitude of the input. The phase of the output is the phase of
the transfer function added to the phase of the input.

Tutorials
High pass Filter

Back ground:

The simple first-order electronic high-pass filter shown in Figure 1,

below is implemented by placing an input voltage across the series

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

combination of a capacitor and a resistor and using the voltage across the
resistor as an output. The product of the resistance and capacitance (R×C)
is the time constant (τ); it is inversely proportional to the cutoff
frequency fc, that is,

where fc is in hertz, τ is in seconds, R is in ohms, and C is in farads.

Figure 1: A passive, analog, first-order high-pass filter, realized by an RC

circuit.

Figure 2 shows an active electronic implementation of a first-order high-

pass filter using an operational amplifier. In this case, the filter has
a passband gain of -R2/R1 and has a cutoff frequency of

Because this filter is active, it may have non-unity passband gain. That is,
high-frequency signals are inverted and amplified by R2/R1.

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Figure 2: An active high-pass filter

The one-pole highpass RC-filter has the transfer function

Where is the inverse of the cut-off frequency .

Magnitude Plot

To obtain the Bode magnitude plot one calculates the magnitude of

the transfer function along the imaginary axis

The last equality is obtained using the rules for complex numbers.
On the Bode magnitude plot, decibels are used, and the plotted magnitude
is:

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4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Phase Plot

To obtain the Bode phase plot one calculates:

Care must be taken that the inverse tangent is set up to return degrees, not
radians. The resulting Bode plot is shown in Figure 3 for .

Figure 3: The Bode plot for a first-order (one-pole) highpass filter; the
straight-line approximations are labeled "Bode pole"; phase varies from
90° at low frequencies (due to the contribution of the numerator, which is
90° at all frequencies) to 0° at high frequencies (where the phase
contribution of the denominator is −90° and cancels the contribution of
the numerator).

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Lowpass Filter

A passive (unity pass band gain) lowpass RC filter has the

following transfer function:

where, again, is the inverse of the cut-off frequency. Same procedure

should be taken to evaluate the Bode plot and the corresponding Bode
Plot is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: The Bode plot for a first-order (one-pole) low pass filter; the
straight-line approximations are labeled "Bode pole"; phase is 90° lower
than for Figure 3 because the phase contribution of the numerator is 0° at
all frequencies.

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

The magnitude and the phase of the transfer function are related.
For minimum-phase systems there is a unique relationship between the
magnitude and the phase, the Bode gain-phase relationship.

If the transfer function is a rational function (In mathematics, a rational

function is an algebraic fraction such that both the numerator and the
denominator are polynomials.) with real poles and zeros, then the Bode
plot can be approximated with straight lines. These asymptotic
approximations are called straight line Bode plots or uncorrected Bode
plots and are useful because they can be drawn by hand following a few
simple rules. Simple plots can even be predicted without drawing them.

The approximation can be taken further by correcting the value at each

cutoff frequency. The plot is then called a corrected Bode plot.

Frequency Response and Bode Plot

This section illustrates that a Bode Plot is a visualization of the

frequency response of a system.

Consider a linear, time-invariant system with transfer function .

Assume that the system is subject to a sinusoidal input with frequency ,

that is applied persistently, i.e. from a time to a time . The response

will be of the form

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4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

i.e., also a sinusoidal signal with amplitude shifted in phase with

respect to the input by a phase .

It can be shown[4] that the magnitude of the response is

and that the phase shift is

In summary, subjected to an input with frequency the system responds

at the same frequency with an output that is amplified by a
factor and phase-shifted by . These quantities, thus,
characterize the frequency response and are shown in the Bode plot.

Bode Magnitude Plots

Given a frequency response in pole-zero form:

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Where A is a non-zero constant (can be negative or positive).

Step 1
Factor the transfer function into pole-zero form.
Step 2
Find the frequency response from the Transfer function.
Step 3
Use logarithms to separate the frequency response into a sum of
decibel terms
Step 4
Use to find the starting magnitude.
Step 5
The locations of every pole and every zero are called break points.
At a zero breakpoint, the slope of the line increases by
20dB/Decade. At a pole, the slope of the line decreases by
20dB/Decade.
Step 6
Sketch the actual bode plot as a smooth-curve that follows the
straight lines of the previous point, and travels through the
breakpoints.

Bode Phase Plots

Step 1
If A is positive, start your graph (with zero slope) at 0 degrees. If A
is negative, start your graph with zero slope at 180 degrees (or -180
degrees, they are the same thing).
Step 2
For every zero, slope the line up at 45 degrees per decade

when (1 decade before the break frequency).

Multiple zeros means the slope is steeper.
Step 3

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4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

For every pole, slope the line down at 45 degrees per decade

when (1 decade before the break frequency). Multiple

poles means the slope is steeper.
Step 4
Flatten the slope again when the phase has changed by 90 degrees
(for a zero) or -90 degrees (for a pole) (or larger values, for
multiple poles or multiple zeros.

More Tutorials:

Example: Constant Gain

Draw the bode plot of an amplifier system, with a constant gain increase
of 6dB.

Soln.

Because the gain value is constant, and is not dependent on the

frequency, we know that the value of the magnitude graph is constant at
all places on the graph. There are no break points, so the slope of the
graph never changes. We can draw the graph as a straight, horizontal line
at 6dB:

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Example: Integrator
Draw the bode plot of a perfect integrator system given by the transfer
function:

Soln.
First, we find the frequency response of the system, by a change of
variables:

Then we convert our magnitude into logarithms:

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4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Notice that the location of the break point for the pole is located at ω →
0, which is all the way to the left of the graph. Also, we notice that
inserting 0 in for ω gives us an undefined value (which approaches
negative infinity, as the limit). We know, because there is a single pole at
zero, that the graph to the right of zero (which is everywhere) has a slope
of -20dB/Decade. We can determine from our magnitude calculation by
plugging in ω → 1 that the second term drops out, and the magnitude at
that point is 6dB. We now have the slope of the line, and a point that it
intersects, and we can draw the graph:

Example: Differentiator

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4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Remarks:

1. Gain Margin: Greater will the gain margin greater will

be the stability of the system. It refers to the amount of
gain, which can be increased or decreased without making
the system unstable. It is usually expressed in dB.
2. Phase Margin: Greater will the phase margin greater
will be the stability of the system. It refers to the phase
which can be increased or decreased without making the
system unstable. It is usually expressed in phase.
3. Gain Cross Over Frequency: It refers to the frequency
at which magnitude curve cuts the zero dB axis in the
bode plot.
4. Phase Cross Over Frequency: It refers to the frequency
at which phase curve cuts the negative times the
180o axis in this plot.

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

5. Corner Frequency: The frequency at which the two

asymptotes cuts or meet each other is known as break
frequency or corner frequency.
6. Resonant Frequency: The value of frequency at which
the modulus of G (jω) has a peak value is known as
resonant frequency.

Stability Conditions of Bode Plots

Stability conditions are given below :

1. For Stable System: Both the margins should be positive

or phase margin should be greater than the gain margin.
2. For Marginal Stable System: Both the margins should
be zero or phase margin should be equal to the gain
margin.
3. For Unstable System: If any of them is negative
or phase margin should be less than the gain margin.

Example :

A unity control feedback system has

G(s) =80/s(s+2)(s+20).

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Draw the bode plot. Determine the gain margin and phase margin. Also
determine gain cross-over frequency and phase cross-over frequency.
Comment on the system stability using this Bode plot.

Solution:

Step 1:

Arrange G(s)H(s) in time constant form as follows:

Step 2:

Identify factors of given H(s)G(s):

1) K=2

2) One pole is at origin. (Because there is ‘s’ in the denominator).

3) Simple pole 1/(1+s/2) with T1 = ½. Hence wc1 = 1/T1 = 2.

4) Similarly simple pole 1/(1+s/20) with T2 = 1/20. wc2 = 1/T2 = 20.

Step 3: Magnitude plot analysis:

1) For K=2, draw a line of 20logK = 20log2 = 6 dB.

2) For one pole at origin. Straight line of slope -20 dB/decade passing
through intersection point of w=1 and 0 dB. ( Trick to remember: if there is no
pole at origin draw a straight line. For simple pole draw -20dB/decade line,
for second order pole i.e. ‘s^2 term in denominator’ draw -40dB/decade line,
for third order pole (i.e. S^3)draw -60dB/decade line and so on. And always
take intersection point of w=1 and 0 dB. )

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

3) Shift intersection point of w=1 and 0 dB on 20logK line and draw

parallel to -20 dB/decade line drawn. This will continue as a resultant of K
and 1/s till first corner frequency occurs. i.e. wc2=2.

4) At wc1 = 2, as there is simple pole it will contribute the rate of -20

dB/decade hence resultant slope after wc1 = 2 becomes -20-20=-40
dB/decade. This is addition of K, 1/s and 1/(1+s/2). This will continue till it
intersects next corner frequency line i.e. wc2=20.

5) At wc2 = 20, there is simple pole contributing -20dB/ decade and hence
resultant slope after wc2=20 becomes -40-20=-60 dB/decade. This is
resultant of overall G(s)H(s). i.e. G(jw)H(jw) the final slope is -60dB/decade,
as there is no other factor present.

Step 4: Phase angle plot: Convert G(s)H(s) to G(jw)H(jw)

To draw straight line of -40 dB/decade and -60 dB/decade from wc1 = 2 and
wc2 = 20, draw faint lines of slope -20, -40, -60 dB/decade from intersection
point of w=1 and 0 dB line and just draw parallel to them from respective
points .

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

Step 5: Bode plot and solution: as shown from fig below the system
is stable.

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AlNahrain Univ.
4th Class, Laser & Optical Electronics Eng. School
1st Semester 2015/2016 M.S.Salim
Control Theory II Mechatronics Engineering, PhD

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