Simplest Calculation of Half-band Filter Coefficients

Neil Robertson November 20, 20179 comments

Half-band filters are lowpass FIR filters with cut-off frequency of one-quarter of sampling frequency fs and odd symmetry about fs/4  [1]*.  And it so happens that almost half of the coefficients are zero.  The passband and stopband bandwiths are equal, making these filters useful for decimation-by-2 and interpolation-by-2.  Since the zero coefficients make them computationally efficient, these filters are ubiquitous in DSP systems.

Here we will compute half-band...


There's No End to It -- Matlab Code Plots Frequency Response above the Unit Circle

Neil Robertson October 23, 20179 comments
Reference [1] has some 3D plots of frequency response magnitude above the unit circle in the Z-plane.  I liked them enough that I wrote a Matlab function to plot the response of any digital filter this way.  I’m not sure how useful these plots are, but they’re fun to look at. The Matlab code is listed in the Appendix. 

This post is available in PDF format for easy...


Modeling a Continuous-Time System with Matlab

Neil Robertson June 6, 20172 comments

Many of us are familiar with modeling a continuous-time system in the frequency domain using its transfer function H(s) or H(jω).  However, finding the time response can be challenging, and traditionally involves finding the inverse Laplace transform of H(s).  An alternative way to get both time and frequency responses is to transform H(s) to a discrete-time system H(z) using the impulse-invariant transform [1,2].  This method provides an exact match to the continuous-time...


Canonic Signed Digit (CSD) Representation of Integers

Neil Robertson February 18, 2017

In my last post I presented Matlab code to synthesize multiplierless FIR filters using Canonic Signed Digit (CSD) coefficients.  I included a function dec2csd1.m (repeated here in Appendix A) to convert decimal integers to binary CSD values.  Here I want to use that function to illustrate a few properties of CSD numbers.

In a binary signed-digit number system, we allow each binary digit to have one of the three values {0, 1, -1}.  Thus, for example, the binary value 1 1...


Matlab Code to Synthesize Multiplierless FIR Filters

Neil Robertson October 31, 20163 comments

This article presents Matlab code to synthesize multiplierless Finite Impulse Response (FIR) lowpass filters.

A filter coefficient can be represented as a sum of powers of 2.  For example, if a coefficient = decimal 5 multiplies input x, the output is $y= 2^2*x + 2^0*x$.  The factor of $2^2$ is then implemented with a shift of 2 bits.  This method is not efficient for coefficients having a lot of 1’s, e.g. decimal 31 = 11111.  To reduce the number of non-zero...


The Power Spectrum

Neil Robertson October 8, 2016

Often, when calculating the spectrum of a sampled signal, we are interested in relative powers, and we don’t care about the absolute accuracy of the y axis.  However, when the sampled signal represents an analog signal, we sometimes need an accurate picture of the analog signal’s power in the frequency domain.  This post shows how to calculate an accurate power spectrum.

Parseval’s theorem [1,2] is a property of the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) that...


Digital PLL's -- Part 2

Neil Robertson June 15, 20165 comments

In Part 1, we found the time response of a 2nd order PLL with a proportional + integral (lead-lag) loop filter.  Now let’s look at this PLL in the Z-domain [1, 2].  We will find that the response is characterized by a loop natural frequency ωn and damping coefficient ζ. 

Having a Z-domain model of the DPLL will allow us to do three things:

Compute the values of loop filter proportional gain KL and integrator gain KI that give the desired loop natural...

Digital PLL's -- Part 1

Neil Robertson June 7, 201626 comments
1. Introduction

Figure 1.1 is a block diagram of a digital PLL (DPLL).  The purpose of the DPLL is to lock the phase of a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) to a reference signal.  The loop includes a phase detector to compute phase error and a loop filter to set loop dynamic performance.  The output of the loop filter controls the frequency and phase of the NCO, driving the phase error to zero.

One application of the DPLL is to recover the timing in a digital...


Peak to Average Power Ratio and CCDF

Neil Robertson May 17, 20164 comments

Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) is often used to characterize digitally modulated signals.  One example application is setting the level of the signal in a digital modulator.  Knowing PAPR allows setting the average power to a level that is just low enough to minimize clipping.

However, for a random signal, PAPR is a statistical quantity.  We have to ask, what is the probability of a given peak power?  Then we can decide where to set the average...


Filter a Rectangular Pulse with no Ringing

Neil Robertson May 12, 201610 comments

To filter a rectangular pulse without any ringing, there is only one requirement on the filter coefficients:  they must all be positive.  However, if we want the leading and trailing edge of the pulse to be symmetrical, then the coefficients must be symmetrical.  What we are describing is basically a window function.

Consider a rectangular pulse 32 samples long with fs = 1 kHz.  Here is the Matlab code to generate the pulse:

N= 64; fs= 1000; % Hz sample...

Learn About Transmission Lines Using a Discrete-Time Model

Neil Robertson January 12, 2022

We don’t often think about signal transmission lines, but we use them every day.  Familiar examples are coaxial cable, Ethernet cable, and Universal Serial Bus (USB).  Like it or not, high-speed clock and signal traces on printed-circuit boards are also transmission lines.

While modeling transmission lines is in general a complex undertaking, it is surprisingly simple to model a lossless, uniform line with resistive terminations by using a discrete-time approach.  A...


Add a Power Marker to a Power Spectral Density (PSD) Plot

Neil Robertson February 7, 2021

Perhaps we should call most Power Spectral Density (PSD) calculations relative PSD, because usually we don’t have to worry about absolute power levels.  However, for cases (e.g., measurements or simulations) where we are concerned with absolute power, it would be nice to be able to display it on a PSD plot.  Unfortunately, you can’t read the power directly from the plot.  For example, the plotted spectral peak of a narrowband signal, such as a sinewave, is lower than the...


Find Aliased ADC or DAC Harmonics (with animation)

Neil Robertson January 11, 20213 comments

When a sinewave is applied to a data converter (ADC or DAC), device nonlinearities produce harmonics.  If a harmonic frequency is greater than the Nyquist frequency, the harmonic appears as an alias.  In this case, it is not at once obvious if a given spur is a harmonic, and if so, its order.  In this article, we’ll present Matlab code to simulate the data converter nonlinearities and find the harmonic alias frequencies.  Note that Analog Devices has an online tool for...


The Discrete Fourier Transform as a Frequency Response

Neil Robertson February 4, 20234 comments

The discrete frequency response H(k) of a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter is the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) of its impulse response h(n) [1].  So, if we can find H(k) by whatever method, it should be identical to the DFT of h(n).  In this article, we’ll find H(k) by using complex exponentials, and we’ll see that it is indeed identical to the DFT of h(n).

Consider the four-tap FIR filter in Figure 1, where each block labeled Ts represents a delay of one...


Add the Hilbert Transformer to Your DSP Toolkit, Part 1

Neil Robertson November 22, 20224 comments

In some previous articles, I made use of the Hilbert transformer, but did not explain its theory in any detail.  In this article, I’ll dig a little deeper into how the Hilbert Transformer works.  Understanding the Hilbert Transformer involves a modest amount of mathematics, but the payoff in useful applications is worth it.

As we’ll learn, a Hilbert Transformer is just a particular type of Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter.  In Part 1 of this article, I’ll...


Digital Filter Instructions from IKEA?

Neil Robertson June 18, 20215 comments

Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.   Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.

Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.  Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.

Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.  Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.

Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.  Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.

Swedish “Bygglek” = build and play.  Swedish “Bygglek” = build and...


Book Recommendation "What is Mathematics?"

Neil Robertson June 20, 20229 comments

What is Mathematics is a classic, lucidly written survey of mathematics by Courant and Robbins.  The first edition was published in 1941!  I have only read a portion of it, mainly the chapter on calculus.  One page of Courant is worth about five pages of my old college calculus textbook, and it’s a lot more fun to read.

The reader of this book should already be familiar with algebra and trigonometry.  For engineers, some worthwhile sections of the book are:


Evaluate Noise Performance of Discrete-Time Differentiators

Neil Robertson March 28, 20225 comments

When it comes to noise, all differentiators are not created equal.  Figure 1 shows the magnitude response of two differentiators.  They both have a useful bandwidth of a little less than π/8 radians (based on maximum magnitude response error of 2%).  Suppose we apply a signal with Gaussian noise to each of these differentiators.  The sinusoidal signal with noise is shown in the top of Figure 2.  Signal frequency is π/12.5 radians.  The output of the so-called...


Add the Hilbert Transformer to Your DSP Toolkit, Part 2

Neil Robertson December 4, 2022

In this part, I’ll show how to design a Hilbert Transformer using the coefficients of a half-band filter as a starting point, which turns out to be remarkably simple.  I’ll also show how a half-band filter can be synthesized using the Matlab function firpm, which employs the Parks-McClellan algorithm.

A half-band filter is a type of lowpass, even-symmetric FIR filter having an odd number of taps, with the even-numbered taps (except for the main tap) equal to zero.  This...


Simple Discrete-Time Modeling of Lossy LC Filters

Neil Robertson April 19, 2023

There are many software applications that allow modeling LC filters in the frequency domain.  But sometimes it is useful to have a time domain model, such as when you need to analyze a mixed analog and DSP system.  For example, the system in Figure 1 includes an LC filter as well as a DSP portion.  The LC filter could be an anti-alias filter, a channel filter, or some other LC network.  For a design using undersampling, the filter would be bandpass [1].  By modeling...