Understanding The Discrete Fourier Transform: Signal Processing
Understanding The Discrete Fourier Transform: Signal Processing
Understanding The Discrete Fourier Transform: Signal Processing
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Figure 3(c). Discrete-time signal
Each sine or cosine term has a part, or is embedded, in x(t). The
constant term a0 corresponds to the DC value (zero frequency) of
x(t). The coefficient an and bn tell us the amplitudes of sine and
cosines, i.e. how much each is contributing to x(t). How do we find
the values of an and bn ? Since an is the amplitude of the nth harmonic
of the cosine signal that is embedded in the signal x(t) ,we recognize
that it is nothing but the spot correlation of the cosine and x(t). Hence,
we obtain an and bn by using Equation 3.
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and
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and Figure 4. (a) A periodic pulse train and (b) its Fourier series.
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Figure 6(c). Periodic discrete-time signal and its The coefficient, or the magnitude, X(v) of the exponent (ejv)
periodic discrete-frequency spectrum minimizes the error between the actual signal and its approximation
through the exponents and is again obtained by using the spot
spaced at 1/Tp Hz and its envelope has the shape of sin(x)/(x), with the correlation equation as below,
null at 1/t Hz. This example helps us in developing intuitively the
Fourier transform from the series when the signal is not periodic. If
the time period Tp is increased, it is reflected in the Fourier series with (13)
reduced frequency spacing because the spacing between the harmon-
ics is equal to the fundamental frequency f0 = 1/T. In the limit, if T is Thus, X(v) tells us how much of e-jvt is present in x(t). Equations
increased to infinity the periodic signal becomes aperiodic as shown 12 and 13 form the Fourier transform pairs.
in Figure 5(a) and the frequency spacing in the spectrum is reduced to
zero as shown in Figure 5(b), making it continuous. This is essentially Discrete Fourier Transform
the Fourier Transform. Let us take a close look at Equations 12 and 13. We note that to
find x(t) or X(v) we need to integrate the
product of two continuous functions over
infinity. This is fine if we are only doing the
math, but if we are interested in finding Fou-
rier transform in real-time applications it is
just not possible. We need to use some tricks
to make it a usable solution. Firstly, we must
have a finite duration signal and a finite spec-
tral band. Secondly, the signal must have fi-
nite time samples and the spectrum must have
finite frequency components. This is precisely
what we are going to have, following the
steps given here.
Let us begin with a continuous-time non-
periodic signal x(t) as shown in Figure 6(a).
Its Fourier transform would be X(v) ,which is
continuous and non-periodic in frequency do-
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