Understanding DSP's Frequency

Domain, Part 2
By Richard Lyons

This series is drawn from the course "DSP Made Simple for
Engineers." For more information, see
http://www.besserassociates.com/outlinesOnly.asp?CTID=27

0 /2 /2



A brief introduction to quadrature signals
Let ' s now f ocus on descr i bi ng a quadr at ur e si gnal , havi ng a real and an
imaginary par t , t hat i s a f unct i on t i me. To do so we must r emember t hat ,
as t he gr eat mat hemat i ci an Kar l Gauss f i r st r ecommended, a si ngl e
compl ex number can be r epr esent ed by a poi nt on t he t wo- di mensi onal
complex plane. Such a pl ane has t wo axes ( r eal and i magi nar y) t hat ar e
orthogonal t o each ot her , meani ng t her e i s a 90
o
di f f er ence i n t he axes'
or i ent at i ons. Consi der a compl ex number whose magni t ude i s one, and
whose phase angl e i ncr eases wi t h t i me. That compl ex number i s t he e
j2fot

poi nt shown on t he compl ex pl ane i n Fi gur e 4. ( Her e t he 2f
o
t er mi s
f r equency i n r adi ans/ second cor r espondi ng t o a f r equency of f
o

cycl es/ second wher e f
o
i s measur ed i n Hz. ) As t i me t i ncr eases t he
compl ex number ' s phase angl e = 2f
o
t i ncr eases and our number or bi t s
t he or i gi n of t he compl ex pl ane i n a count er cl ockwi se di r ect i on.
Fi gur e 4 shows t hat number , r epr esent ed by t he sol i d dot , f r ozen at some
ar bi t r ar y i nst ant i n t i me. ( That r ot at i ng e
j2fot
compl ex number goes by
t wo names i n t he DSP l i t er at ur e; i t ' s of t en cal l ed a " compl ex
exponent i al " , and i t ' s al so r ef er r ed t o as a " quadr at ur e si gnal . " ) I f ,
say, t he f r equency f
o
= 2 Hz t hen t he sol i d dot woul d r ot at e ar ound t he
ci r cl e t wo t i mes, or t wo cycl es, per second.



t =time in seconds,
f
o
=frequency in Hz
Imaginary
axis
0 Real
axis 1
1
j
j
e
=2f
o
t
=2f
o
t
e
j2f
o
t
j2f
o
t


Figure 4: A snapshot , i n t i me, of t wo compl ex number s
whose exponent s, and t hus t hei r phase angl es,
change wi t h t i me.

Because compl ex number s can be r epr esent ed i n bot h pol ar and
r ect angul ar not at i on, we can r epr esent our pol ar e
j2fot
quadr at ur e si gnal
( usi ng one of Leonhar d Eul er ' s i dent i t i es) i n r ect angul ar f or mas:
e
j2fot
= cos( 2f
o
t) + jsi n( 2f
o
t) . ( 2)
Equat i on ( 2) t el l s us t hat as e
j2fot
r ot at es ar ound t he or i gi n i t s r eal
par t , i t s East - West di st ance f r omt he or i gi n, var i es as a cosi ne wave.
The compl ex exponent i al ' s i magi nar y par t , t he Nor t h- Sout h di st ance f r om
t he or i gi n, var i es as a si newave. ( Under st andi ng t he nat ur e of a
si nusoi dal quadr at ur e si gnal i s no mor e di f f i cul t t han r eadi ng a r oad
map. ) The at t r i but es of our t wo- di mensi onal e
j2fot
compl ex exponent i al
ar e best i l l ust r at ed wi t h a t hr ee di mensi onal t i me- domai n pl ot as i n
Fi gur e 5. Not i ce how t he e
j2fot
si gnal spi r al s so beaut i f ul l y al ong t he
t i me axi s wi t h i t s r eal par t bei ng a cosi ne wave and i t s i magi nar y par t
bei ng a si newave. At t i me t = 0 t he si gnal has a val ue of 1 + j0 as we
woul d expect . ( Equat i on ( 2) al l ows us t o r epr esent a si ngl e compl ex
exponent i al as t he or t hogonal sumof r eal cosi ne and r eal si ne
f unct i ons. )

sin(2f
o
t)
2
1
0
1
2
1
0
1
2
3
2
1
0
1
2
Time
R
e
a
l a
x
is
I
m
a
g

a
x
i
s
e
j2f
o
t
cos(2f
o
t)


Figure 5: The val ue of t he e
j2f
o
t
compl ex exponent i al si gnal .


That e
j2fot
si gnal i s not j ust mat hemat i cal mumbo j umbo! We can
physi cal l y gener at e an e
j2fot
si gnal and t r ansmi t i t t o a l abor at or y down
t he hal l . Al l we need i s t wo equal - ampl i t ude si nusoi dal si gnal
gener at or s, set t o t he same f r equency f
o
. ( However , somehow we have t o

synchr oni ze t hose t wo har dwar e gener at or s so t hat t hei r r el at i ve phase
shi f t i s f i xed at 90
o
. Thei r out put s need t o be or t hogonal . ) Next we
connect coax cabl es t o t he gener at or s' out put connect or s and r un t hose
t wo cabl es, l abel ed ' Cosi ne' f or our cosi ne si gnal and ' Si ne' f or our
si newave si gnal , down t he hal l t o t hei r dest i nat i on. I n t he ot her l ab,
i f t he cont i nuous r eal si gnal s wer e connect ed t o t he hor i zont al and
ver t i cal i nput channel s of an osci l l oscope, as i n Fi gur e 6, we' d see a
br i ght spot r ot at i ng count er cl ockwi se i n a ci r cl e on t he scope' s
di spl ay. ( Remember i ng, of cour se, t o set t he scope' s Hor i zont al Sweep
cont r ol t o t he ' Ext er nal ' posi t i on. )

cos(2f
o
t)
sin(2f
o
t) Vert. In
Horiz. In
O-scope


Figure 6: Quadr at ur e e
j2f
o
t
si gnal osci l l oscope di spl ay.

Pop quiz: What woul d be seen on t he scope' s di spl ay i f t he cabl es wer e
mi sl abel ed and t he t wo r eal si gnal s wer e i nadver t ent l y swapped? I f you
sai d we' d see anot her ci r cl e or bi t i ng i n a cl ockwi se di r ect i on, pat
your sel f on t he back because you' d be cor r ect .
Thi s osci l l oscope exampl e hel ps us answer t he i mpor t ant quest i on,
" When we wor k wi t h quadr at ur e si gnal s, how i s t he j- oper at or i mpl ement ed
i n har dwar e?" The answer i s t hat t he j- oper at or i s i mpl ement ed by how we
t r eat t he t wo r eal si gnal s r el at i ve t o each ot her . We have t o t r eat t hem
or t hogonal l y such t hat t he cosi ne si gnal r epr esent s t he Real ( East - West )
val ue, and t he si newave si gnal r epr esent s t he I magi nar y ( Nor t h- Sout h)
val ue. So i n our osci l l oscope exampl e t he j- oper at or i s i mpl ement ed
mer el y by how t he connect i ons ar e made t o t he scope, and t he r esul t i s a
t wo- di mensi onal quadr at ur e si gnal r epr esent ed by t he i nst ant aneous
posi t i on of t he dot on t he scope' s di spl ay.
By t he way, i f we cont r ol t he i nst ant aneous phase of t he e
j2fot
si gnal
based on some bi pol ar bi nar y dat a ( +1 and 1) , a per son on t he ot her l ab
coul d measur e t hat phase at cer t ai n i nst ant s i n t i me and ext r act t hat
bi nar y dat a. Many di gi t al communi cat i ons syst ems oper at e on t hi s
pr i nci pl e. OK, back t o busi ness. At t hi s poi nt you may ask, " Wher e does
t he i dea of negat i ve f r equency come i n her e?" Wel l , t her e' s a ' Negat i ve
Fr equency' si gnpost up ahead and we' r e now r eady t o answer t hat
quest i on.

Don't be negative about negative frequency
The not i on of negat i ve f r equency i s of t en t r oubl i ng t o engi neer s who' ve
spent so much t i me exami ni ng t he spect r a di spl ayed on anal og spect r um
anal yzer s. Some engi neer s t hi nk of f r equency, by i t s ver y nat ur e, as
somet hi ng t hat cannot be negat i ve. Such as, say, st ar t i ng your car and
dr i vi ng mi nus t en mi l es. Wel l , we can gi ve negat i ve f r equency a sol i d
physi cal meani ng by def i ni ng i t pr oper l y i n t he cont ext of compl ex, or
quadr at ur e, si gnal s. Let ' s do t hat now.


Ret ur ni ng t o Fi gur e 4, we can al so t hi nk of anot her compl ex
exponent i al e
j2fot
, t he whi t e dot , or bi t i ng i n a cl ockwi se di r ect i on
because i t s phase angl e = 2f
o
t becomes mor e negat i ve as t i me
i ncr eases. Agai n, i f t he f r equency f
o
= 2 Hz t hen t he whi t e dot woul d
r ot at e ar ound t he ci r cl e t wo t i mes, or t wo cycl es, per second i n t he
cl ockwi se di r ect i on. By def i ni t i on, we cal l t hat r ot at i onal f r equency
mi nus t wo cycl es per second. Those t wo compl ex exponent i al s i n Fi gur e 4
ar e of gr eat i nt er est s t o us because of what i s obt ai ned when t hey' r e
summed al gebr ai cal l y. For exampl e, what i s t he sumof t he posi t i ve-
f r equency count er cl ockwi se r ot at i ng e
j2fot
and t he negat i ve- f r equency
cl ockwi se r ot at i ng e
j2fot
when we add t hei r r eal and i magi nar y par t s
separ at el y? That ' s r i ght . The sumi s a osci l l at i ng f unct i on whose
i magi nar y par t i s al ways zer o. That r eal - onl y sumi s a cosi ne wave whose
peak ampl i t ude i s 2. I f t he magni t udes of t he compl ex exponent i al s i n
Fi gur e 4 had been 0. 5, i nst ead of 1, t hey woul d gr aphi cal l y depi ct
anot her i mpor t ant Eul er i dent i t y:
cos( 2f
o
t) =
e
j2f ot
2
+
e
j2fot
2
. ( 3)
Equat i on ( 3) al l ows us t o r epr esent a r eal cosi ne wave as t he sumof
posi t i ve- f r equency and negat i ve- f r equency compl ex exponent i al s. By our
def i ni t i ons, a posi t i ve- f r equency compl ex exponent i al ' s exponent i s
posi t i ve, and a negat i ve- f r equency compl ex exponent i al has a negat i ve
exponent .
Anot her Eul er i dent i t y, Eq. ( 4) , gi ves t he r el at i onshi p of a r eal
si newave as t he sumof posi t i ve- f r equency and negat i ve- f r equency compl ex
exponent i al s.
si n( 2f
o
t) = j
e
j2fot
2
j
e
j2fot
2
. ( 4)
Those j- oper at or s i n Eq. ( 4) mer el y descr i be t he r el at i ve phase of t he
compl ex exponent i al s at t i me t = 0 as i l l ust r at ed i n Fi gur e 7.

t =0,
f
o
=frequency in Hz
Imaginary
0
Real
1/2
1/2
j/2
j/2
je
je
o
2
j2f
o
t
j2f t
2


Figure 7: The t wo compl ex exponent i al s, at t i me t = 0, t hat
compr i se a si newave.

At t i me t = 0, Eq. ( 4) becomes:
si n( 2f
o
t) |
t=0
= j
e
- 0
2
j
e
0
2
=
j

2

j

2
= 0 ( 5)
compl yi ng wi t h our knowl edge t hat a si newave' s ampl i t ude i s zer o at t i me
t = 0. Don' t wor r y i f t hese concept s of t he j- oper at or and compl ex
exponent i al s seema l i t t l e per pl exi ng at t hi s poi nt . You' l l get used t o
t hem. ( Even t he gr eat Kar l Gauss st r uggl ed wi t h t hese i deas at f i r st . He
cal l ed t he j- oper at or t he " shadow of shadows" . )
OK, l et ' s not f or get wher e we' r e goi ng her e. Our ul t i mat e goal i s
under st and t he nat ur e of t he spect r al di agr ams used i n DSP. I n doi ng so
we had t o def i ne t he not i on of negat i ve f r equency and t hat def i ni t i on i s
i nher ent i n t he compl ex- val ued ( r eal and i magi nar y) r epr esent at i on we
use f or di scr et e spect r a i n DSP. Unl i ke t he ampl i t ude- onl y r esul t s seen
when you use an anal og spect r umanal yzer , i n t he wor l d of DSP our
spect r umanal ysi s pr ovi des compl ex- val ued r esul t s. That i s, di scr et e
spect r a show t he r el at i ve phase shi f t s bet ween spect r al component s.


Let ' s l ook at t he compl ex spect r a of a f ew si mpl e si nusoi ds, f r omt he
vi ewpoi nt of Eul er ' s i dent i t i es, as shown i n Fi gur e 8. The t i me- domai n
wavef or mand t he compl ex spect r a of a si newave def i ned by si n( 2f
o
t) i s
shown i n Fi gur e 8( a) . Shi f t i ng t hat si newave i n t i me by 90
o
gi ves us a
cosi ne wave shown i n Fi gur e 8( b) . Anot her shi f t i n t i me by
o
r esul t s i n
a ar bi t r ar y- phase cosi ne wave i n Fi gur e 8( c) .
Remember now, t he posi t i ve and negat i ve- f r equency spect r al component s
of t he si newave r ot at ed count er cl ockwi se and cl ockwi se, r espect i vel y, by
90
o
i n goi ng f r omFi gur e 8( a) t o Fi gur e 8( b) . I f t hose cosi ne wave
spect r al component s cont i nued t hei r r ot at i on by
o
we' d have t he
si t uat i on shown i n Fi gur e 8( c) . We show t hese t hr ee- di mensi onal
f r equency- domai n spect r a, r epl et e wi t h phase i nf or mat i on, because i n t he
wor l d of DSP we' r e of t en i nt er est ed i n spect r al phase r el at i onshi ps. We
use t he FFT al gor i t hmt o measur e spect r al magni t ude and phase t he way an
anal og engi neer uses a net wor k ( vect or ) anal yzer . ( I n case you hadn' t
not i ced, Fi gur e 8 i l l ust r at es a ver y i mpor t ant si gnal pr ocessi ng
pr i nci pl e. A t i me- domai n shi f t of a t i me- per i odi c si gnal r esul t s onl y i n
phase shi f t s i n t he f r equency domai n, spect r al magni t udes do not
change. )

sin(2f
o
t) =
Time
Imag
Part
Real
Part
.

.

.
.

.

.
Imag
Part
Freq
Real
Part
0
e
2
e
2
j j
j2f
o
t j2f
o
t
sin(2f
o
t)
f
o
f
o
cos(2f
o
t) =
Time
Imag
Part
Real
Part
.

.

.
.

.

.
Imag
Part
Freq
Real
Part
0
f
o
f
o
e
2
e
j2f
o
t
2
+
j2f
o
t
cos(2f
o
t)
cos(2f
o
t+) Time
Imag
Part
Real
Part
.

.

.
.

.

.
Complex
Real part
Imaginary
Freq
0
Imag
Part
Real
Part
f
o

f
o

exponential
part
(a)
(b)
(c)


Figure 8: Compl ex f r equency domai n r epr esent at i on of t hr ee si nusoi ds.

The t op por t i on of Fi gur e 8 i l l ust r at es Eq. ( 3) and t he cent er
por t i on i s a gr aphi cal descr i pt i on of Eq. ( 4) . Thankf ul l y, we' ve al most
r eached our goal ! Fi gur e 8 r emi nds us t hat one l egi t i mat e way t o show
t he spect r umof a r eal cosi ne wave i s t o i ncl ude bot h posi t i ve and
negat i ve- f r equency spect r al component s.
Wi t h t hi s t hought i n mi nd, we coul d dr aw t he spect r al magni t ude
( i gnor i ng any phase i nf or mat i on) of a cont i nuous 400 Hz si nusoi d as
shown i n Fi gur e 9( a) showi ng t he i nher ent spect r al symmet r y about zer o
Hz when we r epr esent r eal si gnal spect r a wi t h compl ex exponent i al s. By
' r eal si gnal ' we mean an x( t) si gnal havi ng a non- zer o r eal par t but
whose i magi nar y par t i s al ways zer o. ( Our convent i on i s t o t r eat al l
si gnal s as compl ex and t o t hi nk of r eal si gnal s as a speci al case of
compl ex si gnal s. ) Fi gur e 9( a) i s anot her gr aphi cal r epr esent at i on of
Eul er ' s i dent i t y i n Eq. ( 3) .



... ...
0 1 2 1 2
Freq
(kHz)
Spectral replications Spectral replications
0 1 2 1 2
Freq
(kHz)
(f
s
) (f
s
)
Spectrum of continuous x(t)
Spectrum of
discrete x(n)
e
j2400t
2
e
2
j2400t
(a)
(b)


Figure 9: The spect r al magni t ude pl ot of ( a) a 400 Hz
cont i nuous si nusoi d, and ( b) a di scr et e sequence of a
400 Hz si nusoi d sampl ed at a 2 kHz sampl e r at e.

I f we appl y our convent i on of ' spect r al r epl i cat i ons due t o per i odi c
sampl i ng' , we can i l l ust r at e t he spect r al magni t ude of di scr et e sampl es
of a 400 Hz si nusoi d, sampl ed at an f
s
= 2 kHz sampl i ng r at e, as t hat i n
Fi gur e 9( b) . And so t her e you ar e. Fi gur e 9( b) i s t ypi cal of t he
spect r al magni t ude r epr esent at i ons used i n t he DSP l i t er at ur e. I t
combi nes t he spect r al r epl i cat i ons ( cent er ed about i nt eger mul t i pl es of
f
s
) due t o per i odi c sampl i ng as wel l as t he use of negat i ve f r equency
component s r esul t i ng f r omr epr esent i ng r eal si gnal s i n compl ex not at i on.
( Whew! )
To r evi ew t he spect r umof anot her di scr et e sequence, Fi gur e 10( a)
shows t he spect r al magni t ude of a cont i nuous x( t) si gnal havi ng f our
component s i n t he r ange of 100 Hz t o 700 Hz wher e dar k and l i ght squar es
di st i ngui sh t he posi t i ve and negat i ve- f r equency spect r al component s.
Fi gur e 10( b) shows t he spect r al r epl i cat i on f or a di scr et e x( n) sequence
t hat ' s x( t) sampl ed at 2 kHz. The sol e pur pose of t hi s ar t i cl e i s t o
show t he meani ng, r el evance, and val i di t y of Fi gur e 10( b) i n
r epr esent i ng t he spect r umof di scr et e sampl es of a r eal si nusoi d i n t he
compl ex- val ued wor l d of DSP. Thi s f i gur e r emi nds us of t he f ol l owi ng
i mpor t ant pr oper t i es: cont i nuous r eal si gnal s have spect r al symmet r y
about 0 Hz; di scr et e r eal si gnal s have spect r al symmet r y about 0 Hz and
f
s
/ 2 Hz.



... ...
Freq
(kHz)
Spectral replications Spectral replications
Freq
(kHz)
Spectrum of
continuous x(t)
Spectrum of
discrete x(n)
... ...
Freq
(kHz)
(f
s
/2) (f
s
/2)
Spectrum of
discrete x' (n)
0 1 2 1 2
(f
s
) (f
s
)
0 1 2 1 2
(f
s
) (f
s
)
0 1 2 1 2
(a)
(b)
(c)


Figure 10: Spect r umof a si gnal wi t h f our component s i n t he
r ange of 100 Hz t o 700 Hz. ( a) Spect r al magni t ude of
t he cont i nuous si gnal . ( b) Spect r umof a sampl ed x( n)
sequence when f
s
= 2 kHz, and ( c) spect r umof t he x'( n)
sequence when f
s
= 1. 3 kHz.

Fi gur e 10 i l l ust r at es why t he Nyquist Criterion f or l owpass si gnal s
si gnal s whose spect r al component s ar e cent er ed about zer o Hzst at es t hat
t he f
s
sampl i ng r at e must be equal t o or gr eat er t han t wi ce t he hi ghest
spect r al component of x( t) . Because x( t) ' s hi ghest spect r al component i s
700 Hz, t he f
s
sampl e r at e must be no l ess t han 1. 4 kHz. I f f
s
wer e 1. 3
kHz as i n Fi gur e 10( c) , t he cent er s of t he spect r al r epl i cat i ons woul d
be t oo cl ose t oget her and spect r al over l ap woul d occur . We see t hat t he
spect r umi n t he r ange of 1 kHz t o +1 kHz i n Fi gur e 10( c) does not
cor r ect l y r epr esent t he or i gi nal spect r umi n Fi gur e 10( a) . Thi s
unf or t unat e si t uat i on i s t ypi cal l y cal l ed aliasing, and i t r esul t s i n
x'( n) sampl e val ues t hat cont ai n ampl i t ude er r or s. For r eal - wor l d,
i nf or mat i on car r yi ng, si gnal s t her e i s no way t o cor r ect f or t hose
er r or s.
For cl ar i t y, l et ' s descr i be t hi s si t uat i on usi ng di f f er ent wor ds.
Gi ven t he pr oper sampl i ng shown i n Fi gur e 10( b) , we coul d appl y t he x( n)
sampl es t o a di gi t al - t o- anal og conver t er , f ol l owed by hi gh- per f or mance
anal og f i l t er i ng, and exact l y r egener at e ( r econst r uct ) t he or i gi nal
anal og x( t) si gnal . Wi t h t he i mpr oper sampl i ng i n Fi gur e 10( c) , t her e i s
no way t o gener at e t he or i gi nal anal og x( t) si gnal usi ng t he cor r upt ed
x'( n) sampl es.
I n Fi gur e 10( c) we can see t hat t he spect r al over l ap i s cent er ed
about f
s
/ 2 and t hat par t i cul ar f r equency i s i mpor t ant enough t o have i t s
own name; i t ' s somet i mes cal l ed t he folding frequency, but mor e of t en
i t ' s cal l ed t he Nyquist frequency. We can make t he f ol l owi ng ver y
i mpor t ant st at ement r el at i ng cont i nuous and di scr et e si gnal s, " Onl y
cont i nuous f r equency component s as hi gh as t he Nyqui st f r equency ( f
s
/ 2)
can be unambi guousl y r epr esent ed by a di scr et e sequence obt ai ned at an
f
s
sampl i ng r at e. " Fi gur e 10( c) al so r emi nds us of anot her f undament al
connect i on bet ween t he wor l ds of cont i nuous and di scr et e si gnal s. Al l of
t he cont i nuous x( t) spect r al ener gy shows up i n t he di scr et e x'( n)
sequence' s spect r al f r equency r ange of f / 2 t o +f / 2.


s s
The pur pose f or showi ng r epl i cat ed spect r a as we di d i n Fi gur e 10 i s
not t o cause compl i cat i on or conf usi on, but t o pr ovi de a st r ai ght f or war d
expl anat i on f or t he ef f ect s of over l apped spect r a due t o al i asi ng.
( Dr awi ng r epl i cat ed spect r a i s al so usef ul i n i l l ust r at i ng t he spect r al
t r ansl at i on t hat t akes pl ace i n bandpass sampl i ng, and descr i bi ng t he
r esul t of f r equency t r ansl at i on oper at i ons such di gi t al down-
conver si on. ) Wi t h t hat sai d, we concl ude t hi s ar t i cl e wi t h an
expl anat i on of t he var i ous, and somet i mes puzzl i ng, not at i ons used f or
f r equency- axi s l abel i ng i n t he DSP l i t er at ur e. Don' t t ouch t hat di al .

Discrete frequency-axis notation
I n t he wor l d of DSP, f or conveni ence, f r equency- domai n dr awi ngs ar e
of t en l abel ed i n her t z usi ng t he f
s
sampl i ng r at e. Thi s convent i on i s
best expl ai ned wi t h a coupl e of exampl es; t he f i r st of whi ch i s when we
per f or mspect r umanal ysi s ( usi ng t he FFT) of , say, a r eal t i me- domai n
audi o sequence obt ai ned at an f
s
= 11. 025 kHz r at e. We coul d pl ot our
spect r al magni t ude r esul t s usi ng ei t her f r equency- axi s l abel i ng
convent i on shown i n Fi gur e 11. I f we l at er di scover ed t hat t he sampl e
r at e was act ual l y f
s
= 22. 05 kHz, we woul d not have t o r epeat our
spect r al anal ysi s nor r edr aw our spect r al pl ot s because t he f r equency
axi s i s r ef er enced t o f
s
.

dB
0 f
s
/4 f
s
/2
50
40
30
20
10
0
dB
50
40
30
20
10
0
3f
s
/4 f
s
0 f
s
/4 f
s
/2 f
s
/4 f
s
/2
(a) (b)


Figure 11: Exampl e spect r al magni t ude pl ot s; ( a) zer o Hz on t he
l ef t , ( b) zer o Hz i n t he cent er .

Anot her exampl e of l abel i ng f r equency- domai n pl ot s usi ng her t z i s i n
descr i bi ng di gi t al f i l t er s. A f i ve- poi nt movi ng aver age di gi t al f i l t er
has t he f r equency magni t ude r esponse shown i n Fi gur e 12( a) . That
f r equency r esponse cur ve i s t he same whet her t he f i l t er i s used i n an
f
s
= 40 megasampl e/ second di gi t al communi cat i ons syst emor i n an
f
s
= 8 ki l osampl e/ second t el ephone syst em.

0
Filter Mag. Resp.
1
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0
Frequency (rad/second) Frequency (in Hz)
0
Filter Mag. Resp.
1
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0
(a) (b)
f
s
/2 f
s
/4 f
s
/4 f
s
/2
s
/2
s
/4
s
/4
s
/2
(f
s
)


Figure 12: Fr equency magni t ude r esponse of a 5- poi nt movi ng
aver age di gi t al f i l t er .

DSP aut hor s have sever al ot her choi ces i n l abel i ng t he f r equency- axi s
of t hei r f r equency- domai n pl ot s. For exampl e, t he cycl i c f r equency ( Hz)
l abel s i n Fi gur es 11 and 12 can be conver t ed t o r adi ans/ second.
[ 4, 5]
We
do so by r epl aci ng f
s
wi t h
s
, wher e t he si gnal dat a sampl e r at e i s

s
= 2f
s
( 6)

wi t h
s
measur ed i n r adi ans/ second as shown i n Fi gur e 12( b) .

Somet i mes DSP pur i st s, t o make t he not at i on mor e conci se, assi gn f
s
a
val ue of one whi ch l eads t o t he not at i on t hat
s
= 2. Thus, i n t hei r
DSP books you' l l see f r equency- domai n pl ot s l i ke Fi gur e 13( a) wher e t he
f r equency- axi s i s a nor mal i zed angl e wi t h f
s
/ 2 r epl aced wi t h , and
f
s
/ 2 r epl aced wi t h . The j ust i f i cat i on f or doi ng so goes somet hi ng l i ke
t hi s: l et ' s r epr esent a si newave, whose f r equency i s f Hz, by
x( t) = si n( 2f
o
t ) . Di scr et e- t i me sampl es of x( t) ar e:
x( n) = si n( 2ft) |
t=nt
s
= si n( 2fnt
s
) ( 7)
wher e t he i nt eger n sequence i s t he sample number ( of t en cal l ed t he
" i ndex" ) of x( n) . Wi t h t he f act or s 2f havi ng t he di mensi on of
r adi ans/ second, and t
s
havi ng t he di mensi on seconds/ sampl e, t he
r esul t ant angl e i n Eq. ( 7) has t he di mensi on of r adi ans/ sampl e. I f we
r epl ace Eq. ( 7) ' s t
s
wi t h 1/ f
s
, t he di scr et e si nusoi dal sampl es can be
r epr esent ed by:
x( n) = si n( 2
f

f
s
n) = si n( n) ( 8)
wher e i s what I cal l a " nor mal i zed di scr et e- si gnal f r equency" . I f we
assume | f
o
| f
s
/ 2 ( sat i sf yi ng Nyqui st ) , t hen t he nor mal i zed di scr et e-
si gnal f r equency i s i n t he r ange of t o + measur ed i n
r adi ans/ sampl e. Thi s def i ni t i on i s why some aut hor s l i ke t o say, " For
cont i nuous si gnal s, f r equency i s measur ed i n r adi ans/ second. For
di scr et e si gnal s f r equency i s measur ed i n r adi ans/ sampl e. " Redr awi ng t he
f i l t er r esponse f r omFi gur e 12( b) , we i l l ust r at e t he nor mal i zed
di scr et e- si gnal f r equency- axi s r epr esent at i on i n Fi gur e 13( a) .
J ust so you know t hat I ' mnot maki ng al l of t hi s up, Fi gur e 13( b)
shows how a MATLAB bui l t - i n pl ot t i ng f unct i on uses t he r adi ans/ sampl e
f r equency not at i on.



0
Filter Mag. Resp.
1
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0 0.5
1
0.5 1
Normalized freq. (x rad/sample) Frequency (rad/sample)
0
Filter Mag. Resp.
1
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0
/2

/2
(a) (b)


Figure 13: Fi l t er r esponse pl ot s usi ng t he nor mal i zed
di scr et e- si gnal f r equency not at i on of
r adi ans/ sampl e.

I f you' ve spent your t echni cal car eer t hi nki ng about f r equency
measur ed i n cycl es/ second ( Hz) , t he f r equency- axi s l abel i ng i n Fi gur e 13
mi ght seemver y odd. However , i t ' s not so st r ange. Consi der t he di scr et e
si newave i n Fi gur e 14( a) , whose sampl e val ues r epeat ever y 12 sampl es.
I t t akes 12 sampl es t o compl et e one cycl e ( 360
o
) of osci l l at i on.
Li kewi se we can say i t t akes 6 sampl es t o compl et e one r adi an ( 180
o
) of
osci l l at i on. Fr omt hat l ast st at ement , we decl ar e t he di scr et e- si gnal
f r equency of t he si newave t o be one si xt h r adi ans/ sampl e. A spect r al
pl ot of t he si newave i s shown i n Fi gur e 14( b) .

(a)
0 6
x(n)
n
... ...
12 12 6
0 Freq
(b)

/6 /6


Figure 14: A di scr et e si newave, ( a) t i me- domai n sampl es,
( b) f r equency- domai n sampl es.

To consol i dat e our t hought s we l i st var i ous f r equency- axi s not at i ons
i n Tabl e 1. The t hi r d col umn of Tabl e 1 shows t he f r equency r ange of
anal ysi s when usi ng t he FFT.

Table 1: Var i ous f r equency- axi s not at i on.
Frequency Axis
Notation:
Dimensions: FFT Frequency
Range:
Cycl i c f r equency Hz f
s
/ 2 t o +f
s
/ 2
Radi al f r equency Radi ans/ second

s
/ 2 t o +
s
/ 2
Di scr et e- si gnal
f r equency
Radi ans/ sampl e
t o +

I t of t en t akes a DSP novi ce some t i me t o become comf or t abl e wi t h
t hese var i ous f r equency- axi s not at i ons. For t unat el y commer ci al si gnal
pr ocessi ng sof t war e packages, l i ke LabVI EW, Mat hcad, and MATLAB, al l ow
us t o conveni ent l y l abel our f r equency- domai n pl ot s i n good ol ' her t z.
[ 6
8]


REFERENCES
[ 6] LabVI EW- Nat i onal I nst r ument s Cor p. , Aust i n, TX,
ht t p: / / www. ni . com/ l abvi ew/

[ 7] Mat hcad - Par amet r i c Technol ogy Cor p. , Needham, MA,
ht t p: / / www. pt c. com/ pr oduct s/ mat hcad/

[ 8] MATLAB - The Mat hwor ks I nc. , Nat i ck, MA, ht t p: / / www. mat hwor ks. com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ri char d ( Ri ck) Lyons i s a consul t i ng Syst ems Engi neer and l ect ur er wi t h
Besser Associ at es i n Mount ai n Vi ew, Cal i f or ni a. He i s t he aut hor of
" Under st andi ng Di gi t al Si gnal Pr ocessi ng 2/ E" ( Pr ent i ce- Hal l , 2004) , and
Edi t or of , and cont r i but or t o, " St r eaml i ni ng Di gi t al Si gnal Pr ocessi ng,
A Tr i cks of t he Tr ade Gui debook" ( I EEE Pr ess/ Wi l ey, 2007) . He i s al so an
Associ at e Edi t or f or t he I EEE Si gnal Pr ocessi ng Magazi ne.