The DFT of Finite-Length Time-Reversed Sequences
Recently I've been reading papers on underwater acoustic communications systems and this caused me to investigate the frequency-domain effects of time-reversal of time-domain sequences. I created this blog because there is so little coverage of this topic in the literature of DSP.
This blog reviews the two types of time-reversal of finite-length sequences and summarizes their discrete Fourier transform (DFT) frequency-domain characteristics.The Two Types of Time-Reversal in DSP
...Model Signal Impairments at Complex Baseband
In this article, we develop complex-baseband models for several signal impairments: interfering carrier, multipath, phase noise, and Gaussian noise. To provide concrete examples, we’ll apply the impairments to a QAM system. The impairment models are Matlab functions that each use at most seven lines of code. Although our example system is QAM, the models can be used for any complex-baseband signal.
I used a very simple complex-baseband model of a QAM system in my last
Update To: A Wide-Notch Comb Filter
This blog presents alternatives to the wide-notch comb filter described in Reference [1]. That comb filter, which for notational reasons I now call a 2-RRS wide notch comb filter, is shown in Figure 1. I use the "2-RRS" moniker because the comb filter uses two recursive running sum (RRS) networks.
The z-domain transfer function of the 2-RRS wide-notch comb filter, H2-RRS(z), is:
References
[1] R. Lyons, "A Wide-Notch Comb Filter", dsprelated.com Blogs, Nov. 24, 2019, Available...
A Wide-Notch Comb Filter
This blog describes a linear-phase comb filter having wider stopband notches than a traditional comb filter.
Background
Let's first review the behavior of a traditional comb filter. Figure 1(a) shows a traditional comb filter comprising two cascaded recursive running sum (RRS) comb filters. Figure 1(b) shows the filter's co-located dual poles and dual zeros on the z-plane, while Figure 1(c) shows the filter's positive-frequency magnitude response when, for example, D = 9. The...An Efficient Lowpass Filter in Octave
This article describes an efficient linear-phase lowpass FIR filter, coded using the Octave programming language. The intention is to focus on the implementation in software, but references are provided for those who wish to undertake further study of interpolated FIR filters [1]- [3].
The input signal is processed as a vector of samples (eg from a .wav file), which are converted to a matrix format. The complete filter is thus referred to as a Matrix IFIR or...
Compute Modulation Error Ratio (MER) for QAM
This post defines the Modulation Error Ratio (MER) for QAM signals, and shows how to compute it. As we’ll see, in the absence of impairments other than noise, the MER tracks the signal’s Carrier-to-Noise Ratio (over a limited range). A Matlab script at the end of the PDF version of this post computes MER for a simplified QAM-64 system.
Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of a QAM system. The transmitter includes a source of QAM symbols, a root-Nyquist...
Polynomial calculations on an FIR filter engine, part 1
Polynomial evaluation is structurally akin to FIR filtering and fits dedicated filtering engines quite well, with certain caveats. It’s a technique that has wide applicability. This two-part note discusses transducer and amplifier non-linearity compensation, function approximation and aspects of harmonic signal synthesis.
Need for polynomials as general non-linear functions
Many transducer types exhibit a non-linear relationship between a measured parameter, such as a voltage, and...
The Risk In Using Frequency Domain Curves To Evaluate Digital Integrator Performance
This blog shows the danger in evaluating the performance of a digital integration network based solely on its frequency response curve. If you plan on implementing a digital integrator in your signal processing work I recommend you continue reading this blog.
Background
Typically when DSP practitioners want to predict the accuracy performance of a digital integrator they compare how closely that integrator's frequency response matches the frequency response of an ideal integrator [1,2]....
Plotting Discrete-Time Signals
A discrete-time sinusoid can have frequency up to just shy of half the sample frequency. But if you try to plot the sinusoid, the result is not always recognizable. For example, if you plot a 9 Hz sinusoid sampled at 100 Hz, you get the result shown in the top of Figure 1, which looks like a sine. But if you plot a 35 Hz sinusoid sampled at 100 Hz, you get the bottom graph, which does not look like a sine when you connect the dots. We typically want the plot of a...
5G NR QC-LDPC Encoding Algorithm
3GPP 5G has been focused on structured LDPC codes known as quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes, which exhibit advantages over other types of LDPC codes with respect to the hardware implementations of encoding and decoding using simple shift registers and logic circuits.
5G NR QC-LDPC Circulant Permutation MatrixA circular permutation matrix ${\bf I}(P_{i,j})$ of size $Z_c \times Z_c$ is obtained by circularly shifting the identity matrix $\bf I$ of...
Design IIR Highpass Filters
This post is the fourth in a series of tutorials on IIR Butterworth filter design. So far we covered lowpass [1], bandpass [2], and band-reject [3] filters; now we’ll design highpass filters. The general approach, as before, has six steps:
Find the poles of a lowpass analog prototype filter with Ωc = 1 rad/s. Given the -3 dB frequency of the digital highpass filter, find the corresponding frequency of the analog highpass filter (pre-warping). Transform the...FFT Interpolation Based on FFT Samples: A Detective Story With a Surprise Ending
This blog presents several interesting things I recently learned regarding the estimation of a spectral value located at a frequency lying between previously computed FFT spectral samples. My curiosity about this FFT interpolation process was triggered by reading a spectrum analysis paper written by three astronomers [1].
My fixation on one equation in that paper led to the creation of this blog.
Background
The notion of FFT interpolation is straightforward to describe. That is, for example,...
An s-Plane to z-Plane Mapping Example
While surfing around the Internet recently I encountered the 's-plane to z-plane mapping' diagram shown in Figure 1. At first I thought the diagram was neat because it's a good example of the old English idiom: "A picture is worth a thousand words." However, as I continued to look at Figure 1 I began to detect what I believe are errors in the diagram.
Reader, please take a few moments to see if you detect any errors in Figure 1.
...The DFT Magnitude of a Real-valued Cosine Sequence
This blog may seem a bit trivial to some readers here but, then again, it might be of some value to DSP beginners. It presents a mathematical proof of what is the magnitude of an N-point discrete Fourier transform (DFT) when the DFT's input is a real-valued sinusoidal sequence.
To be specific, if we perform an N-point DFT on N real-valued time-domain samples of a discrete cosine wave, having exactly integer k cycles over N time samples, the peak magnitude of the cosine wave's...
The Most Interesting FIR Filter Equation in the World: Why FIR Filters Can Be Linear Phase
This blog discusses a little-known filter characteristic that enables real- and complex-coefficient tapped-delay line FIR filters to exhibit linear phase behavior. That is, this blog answers the question:
What is the constraint on real- and complex-valued FIR filters that guarantee linear phase behavior in the frequency domain?I'll declare two things to convince you to continue reading.
Declaration# 1: "That the coefficients must be symmetrical" is not a correct
The Discrete Fourier Transform and the Need for Window Functions
The Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) is used to find the frequency spectrum of a discrete-time signal. A computationally efficient version called the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is normally used to calculate the DFT. But, as many have found to their dismay, the FFT, when used alone, usually does not provide an accurate spectrum. The reason is a phenomenon called spectral leakage.
Spectral leakage can be reduced drastically by using a window function in conjunction...
Simple Concepts Explained: Fixed-Point
Introduction
Most signal processing intensive applications on FPGA are still implemented relying on integer or fixed-point arithmetic. It is not easy to find the key ideas on quantization, fixed-point and integer arithmetic. In a series of articles, I aim to clarify some concepts and add examples on how things are done in real life. The ideas covered are the result of my professional experience and hands-on projects.
In this article I will present the most fundamental question you...
Generating pink noise
In one of his most famous columns for Scientific American, Martin Gardner wrote about pink noise and its relation to fractal music. The article was based on a 1978 paper by Voss and Clarke, which presents, among other things, a simple algorithm for generating pink noise, also known as 1/f noise.
The fundamental idea of the algorithm is to add up several sequences of uniform random numbers that get updated at different rates. The first source gets updated at...
Peak to Average Power Ratio and CCDF
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...
Compute Modulation Error Ratio (MER) for QAM
This post defines the Modulation Error Ratio (MER) for QAM signals, and shows how to compute it. As we’ll see, in the absence of impairments other than noise, the MER tracks the signal’s Carrier-to-Noise Ratio (over a limited range). A Matlab script at the end of the PDF version of this post computes MER for a simplified QAM-64 system.
Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of a QAM system. The transmitter includes a source of QAM symbols, a root-Nyquist...
A Differentiator With a Difference
Some time ago I was studying various digital differentiating networks, i.e., networks that approximate the process of taking the derivative of a discrete time-domain sequence. By "studying" I mean that I was experimenting with various differentiating filter coefficients, and I discovered a computationally-efficient digital differentiator. A differentiator that, for low fequency signals, has the power of George Foreman's right hand! Before I describe this differentiator, let's review a few...
Evaluate Window Functions for the Discrete Fourier Transform
The Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) operates on a finite length time sequence to compute its spectrum. For a continuous signal like a sinewave, you need to capture a segment of the signal in order to perform the DFT. Usually, you also need to apply a window function to the captured signal before taking the DFT [1 - 3]. There are many different window functions and each produces a different approximation of the spectrum. In this post, we’ll present Matlab code that...
Time Machine, Anyone?
Abstract: Dispersive linear systems with negative group delay have caused much confusion in the past. Some claim that they violate causality, others that they are the cause of superluminal tunneling. Can we really receive messages before they are sent? This article aims at pouring oil in the fire and causing yet more confusion :-).
IntroductionIn this article we reproduce the results of a physical experiment...
Phase or Frequency Shifter Using a Hilbert Transformer
In this article, we’ll describe how to use a Hilbert transformer to make a phase shifter or frequency shifter. In either case, the input is a real signal and the output is a real signal. We’ll use some simple Matlab code to simulate these systems. After that, we’ll go into a little more detail on Hilbert transformer theory and design.
Phase ShifterA conceptual diagram of a phase shifter is shown in Figure 1, where the bold lines indicate complex...
The Most Interesting FIR Filter Equation in the World: Why FIR Filters Can Be Linear Phase
This blog discusses a little-known filter characteristic that enables real- and complex-coefficient tapped-delay line FIR filters to exhibit linear phase behavior. That is, this blog answers the question:
What is the constraint on real- and complex-valued FIR filters that guarantee linear phase behavior in the frequency domain?I'll declare two things to convince you to continue reading.
Declaration# 1: "That the coefficients must be symmetrical" is not a correct
Accurate Measurement of a Sinusoid's Peak Amplitude Based on FFT Data
There are two code snippets associated with this blog post:
and
Testing the Flat-Top Windowing Function
This blog discusses an accurate method of estimating time-domain sinewave peak amplitudes based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) data. Such an operation sounds simple, but the scalloping loss characteristic of FFTs complicates the process. We eliminate that complication by...
Computing Large DFTs Using Small FFTs
It is possible to compute N-point discrete Fourier transforms (DFTs) using radix-2 fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) whose sizes are less than N. For example, let's say the largest size FFT software routine you have available is a 1024-point FFT. With the following trick you can combine the results of multiple 1024-point FFTs to compute DFTs whose sizes are greater than 1024.
The simplest form of this idea is computing an N-point DFT using two N/2-point FFT operations. Here's how the trick...
Noise shaping
eywords: Quantization noise; noise shaping
A brief introduction to noise shaping, with firm resolve not to miss the forest for the trees. We may still stumble over some assorted roots. Matlab example code is included.
QuantizationFig. 1 shows a digital signal that is reduced to a lower bit width, for example a 16 bit signal being sent to a 12 bit digital-to-analog converter. Rounding to the nearest output value is obviously the best that can be done to minimize the error of each...
Computing the Group Delay of a Filter
I just learned a new method (new to me at least) for computing the group delay of digital filters. In the event this process turns out to be interesting to my readers, this blog describes the method. Let's start with a bit of algebra so that you'll know I'm not making all of this up.
Assume we have the N-sample h(n) impulse response of a digital filter, with n being our time-domain index, and that we represent the filter's discrete-time Fourier transform (DTFT), H(ω), in polar form...
Oscilloscope Dreams
My coworkers and I recently needed a new oscilloscope. I thought I would share some of the features I look for when purchasing one.
When I was in college in the early 1990's, our oscilloscopes looked like this:
Now the cathode ray tubes have almost all been replaced by digital storage scopes with color LCD screens, and they look like these:
Oscilloscopes are basically just fancy expensive boxes for graphing voltage vs. time. They span a wide range of features and prices:...
