Chapter 5

THE APPLICATION OF THE Z TRANSFORM

5.6 Transfer Functions for Digital Filters
5.7 Amplitude and Delay Distortion

Copyright
c 2005 Andreas Antoniou
Victoria, BC, Canada
Email: [email protected]

July 14, 2018

Frame # 1 Slide # 1 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Introduction

V Previous presentations dealt with the frequency response of

discrete-time systems, which is obtained by using the transfer
function.

Frame # 2 Slide # 2 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Introduction

V Previous presentations dealt with the frequency response of

discrete-time systems, which is obtained by using the transfer
function.
V In this presentation, we examine some of the basic types of
transfer functions that characterize some typical first- and
second-order filter types known as biquads.

Frame # 2 Slide # 3 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Introduction

V Previous presentations dealt with the frequency response of

discrete-time systems, which is obtained by using the transfer
function.
V In this presentation, we examine some of the basic types of
transfer functions that characterize some typical first- and
second-order filter types known as biquads.
V Biquads are often used as basic digital-filter blocks to
construct high-order filters.

Frame # 2 Slide # 4 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions

V A first-order transfer function can have only a real zero and a

real pole, i.e.,
z − z0
H(z) =
z − p0

Frame # 3 Slide # 5 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions

V A first-order transfer function can have only a real zero and a

real pole, i.e.,
z − z0
H(z) =
z − p0
V To ensure that the system is stable, the pole must satisfy the
condition −1 < p0 < 1.

Frame # 3 Slide # 6 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions

V A first-order transfer function can have only a real zero and a

real pole, i.e.,
z − z0
H(z) =
z − p0
V To ensure that the system is stable, the pole must satisfy the
condition −1 < p0 < 1.
V The zero can be anywhere on the real axis of the z plane.

Frame # 3 Slide # 7 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions Cont’d

V If the pole is close to point (1, 0) and the zero is close to or

at point (−1, 0), then we have a lowpass filter.

2 2

1 1
jIm z

jIm z
0 0

−1 −1

−2 −2
−2 −1 0 1 2 −2 −1 0 1 2
Re z Re z

Frame # 4 Slide # 8 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions Cont’d

V If the pole is close to point (1, 0) and the zero is close to or

at point (−1, 0), then we have a lowpass filter.
V If the zero and pole positions are interchanged, then we get a
highpass filter.
2 2

1 1
jIm z

jIm z
0 0

−1 −1

−2 −2
−2 −1 0 1 2 −2 −1 0 1 2
Re z Re z

Frame # 4 Slide # 9 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions Cont’d

V Certain applications require discrete-time systems that have a

constant amplitude response and a varying phase response.
Such systems can be constructed by using allpass transfer
functions.

Frame # 5 Slide # 10 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions Cont’d

V Certain applications require discrete-time systems that have a

constant amplitude response and a varying phase response.
Such systems can be constructed by using allpass transfer
functions.
V A first-order allpass transfer function is of the form
p0 z − 1 z − 1/p0
H(z) = = p0
z − p0 z − p0
where the zero is the reciprocal of the pole.

Frame # 5 Slide # 11 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions Cont’d

V Certain applications require discrete-time systems that have a

constant amplitude response and a varying phase response.
Such systems can be constructed by using allpass transfer
functions.
V A first-order allpass transfer function is of the form
p0 z − 1 z − 1/p0
H(z) = = p0
z − p0 z − p0
where the zero is the reciprocal of the pole.
V The frequency response of a system characterized by H(z) is
given by
p0 e jωT − 1 p0 cos ωT + jp0 sin ωT − 1
H(e jωT ) = =
e jωT − p0 cos ωT + j sin ωT − p0

Frame # 5 Slide # 12 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

First-Order Transfer Functions Cont’d

···
p0 e jωT − 1 p0 cos ωT + jp0 sin ωT − 1
H(e jωT ) = =
e jωT − p0 cos ωT + j sin ωT − p0
V The amplitude and phase responses are given by
 
 p0 cos ωT − 1 + jp0 sin ωT 
M(ω) =   
cos ωT − p0 + j sin ωT 
1
(p0 cos ωT − 1)2 + (p0 sin ωT )2 2

= =1
(cos ωT − p0 )2 + (sin ωT )2

and
p0 sin ωT sin ωT
θ(ω) = tan−1 − tan−1
p0 cos ωT − 1 cos ωT − p0
respectively.

Frame # 6 Slide # 13 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Lowpass Biquad

V A lowpass second-order transfer function can be constructed

by placing a complex-conjugate pair of poles anywhere inside
the unit circle and a pair of zeros at the Nyquist point:
2

1
jIm z

−1

−2
−2 −1 0 1 2
Re z

Frame # 7 Slide # 14 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Lowpass Biquad Cont’d

V The transfer function of the lowpass biquad assumes the form:

(z + 1)2 z 2 + 2z + 1
HLP (z) = =
(z − re jφ )(z − re −jφ ) z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + r 2

where 0 < r < 1.

Frame # 8 Slide # 15 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Lowpass Biquad Cont’d

V As the poles move closer to the unit circle, the amplitude

response develops a peak at frequency ω = φ/T while the
slope of the phase response tends to become steeper and
steeper at that frequency.
50 0
r = 0.99
40 − 0.5

r = 0.99
30
−1.0 r = 0.50

Phase shift, rad

20
Gain, dB

−1.5
10
r = 0.50 −2.0
0

−2.5
−10

−20 −3.0

−30 −3.5
0 5 10 0 5 10
Frequency, rad/s Frequency, rad/s

Frame # 9 Slide # 16 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Highpass Biquad

V A highpass second-order transfer function can be constructed

by placing a complex-conjugate pair of poles anywhere inside
the unit circle and a pair of zeros at point (1, 0):
2

1
jIm z

−1

−2
−2 −1 0 1 2
Re z

Frame # 10 Slide # 17 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Highpass Biquad Cont’d

V The transfer function of the highpass biquad assumes the

form:
(z − 1)2 (z 2 − 2z + 1)
HHP (z) = =
z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + r 2 z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + r 2

where 0 < r < 1.

Frame # 11 Slide # 18 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Highpass Biquad Cont’d

V As the poles move closer to the unit circle, the amplitude response
develops a peak at frequency ω = φ/T while the slope of the phase
response tends to become steeper and steeper at that frequency.

50 3.5

40 3.0 r = 0.99
r = 0.99
30
2.5

Phase shift, rad

20 r = 0.50
2.0
Gain, dB

10
r = 0.50 1.5
0

1.0
−10

−20 0.5

−30 0
0 5 10 0 5 10
Frequency, rad/s Frequency, rad/s

Frame # 12 Slide # 19 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Bandpass Biquad

V A bandpass second-order transfer function can be constructed

by placing a complex-conjugate pair of poles anywhere inside
the unit circle, zeros at points (-1, 0) and (1, 0):
2

1
jIm z

−1

−2
−2 −1 0 1 2
Re z

Frame # 13 Slide # 20 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Bandpass Biquad Cont’d

V The transfer function of the bandpass biquad assumes the

form:
(z + 1)(z − 1)
HBP (z) =
z2 − 2r (cos φ)z + r 2

where 0 < r < 1.

Frame # 14 Slide # 21 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Bandpass Biquad Cont’d

V As the poles move closer to the unit circle, the amplitude response
develops a peak at frequency ω = φ/T while the slope of the phase
response tends to become steeper and steeper at that frequency.

40 2

r = 0.99
30
r = 0.99

1
20
r = 0.50

Phase shift, rad

10
Gain, dB

r = 0.50 0
0

−10
−1

−20

−30 −2
0 5 10 0 5 10
Frequency, rad/s Frequency, rad/s

Frame # 15 Slide # 22 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Notch Biquad

V A notch second-order transfer function can be constructed by

placing a complex-conjugate pair of poles anywhere inside the
unit circle, and a complex-conjugate pair of zeros on the unit
circle.
There are three possibilities:

1 1 1
jIm z

0 0 0

−1 −1 −1
−1 0 1 −1 0 1 −1 0 1
Re z

Frame # 16 Slide # 23 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Notch Biquad Cont’d

V The transfer function of the bandpass biquad assumes the

form:
z 2 − 2(cos ψ)z + 1
HN (z) =
z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + r 2

where 0 < r < 1.

Frame # 17 Slide # 24 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Notch Biquad Cont’d

V If ψ = π/4, ψ = π/2, or ψ = 3π/4, the notch filter behaves as a

highpass, bandstop, or lowpass filter.

30 4
ψ = π/4
ψ = π/2
ψ = 3π/4 3
20

10

Phase shift, rad

1
Gain, dB

0 0

−1
−10

−2

−20
−3

−30 −4
0 5 10 0 5 10
Frequency, rad/s Frequency, rad/s

Frame # 18 Slide # 25 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Allpass Biquad

V An allpass second-order transfer function can be constructed

by placing a complex-conjugate pair of poles anywhere inside
the unit circle and a complex-conjugate pair of zeros that are
the reciprocals of the poles outside the unit circle.
2

1
jIm z

−1

−2
−2 −1 0 1 2
Re z

Frame # 19 Slide # 26 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Allpass Biquad Cont’d

V The transfer function of the bandpass biquad assumes the

form:
r 2 z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + 1
HAP (z) =
z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + r 2

where 0 < r < 1.

Frame # 20 Slide # 27 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Allpass Biquad Cont’d

V The transfer function of the bandpass biquad assumes the

form:
r 2 z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + 1
HAP (z) =
z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + r 2

where 0 < r < 1.

V We note that the numerator coefficients are the same as the
denominator coefficients but in the reverse order.

Frame # 20 Slide # 28 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Allpass Biquad Cont’d

V The transfer function of the bandpass biquad assumes the

form:
r 2 z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + 1
HAP (z) =
z 2 − 2r (cos φ)z + r 2

where 0 < r < 1.

V We note that the numerator coefficients are the same as the
denominator coefficients but in the reverse order.
V The above is a general property, that is, an arbitrary transfer
function with the above coefficient symmetry is an allpass
transfer function independently of the order.

Frame # 20 Slide # 29 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Second-Order Allpass Biquad Cont’d

MAP (ω)
∗
1
= |HAP (e jωT )| = HAP (e jωT ) · HAP (e jωT ) 2


1
= HAP (e jωT ) · HAP (e −jωT ) 2


1
= HAP (z) · HAP (z −1 ) z=e jωT 2
 

1
r z + 2r (cos φ)z + 1 r 2 z −2 + 2r (cos φ)z −1 + 1
 2 2 
2
= ·
z 2 + 2r (cos φ)z + r 2 z −2 + 2r (cos φ)z −1 + r 2 z=e jωT
1
r 2 z 2 + 2r (cos φ)z + 1 r 2 + 2r (cos φ)z + z 2
 
2
= · =1
z 2 + 2r (cos φ)z + r 2 1 + 2r (cos φ)z + z 2 r 2 z=e jωT

Frame # 21 Slide # 30 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

High-Order Filters

V Higher-order transfer functions can be obtained by forming

products or sums of first- and/or second-order transfer
functions.

Frame # 22 Slide # 31 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

High-Order Filters

V Higher-order transfer functions can be obtained by forming

products or sums of first- and/or second-order transfer
functions.
V Corresponding high-order filters can be constructed by
connecting several biquads in cascade or in parallel.

Frame # 22 Slide # 32 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

High-Order Filters

V Higher-order transfer functions can be obtained by forming

products or sums of first- and/or second-order transfer
functions.
V Corresponding high-order filters can be constructed by
connecting several biquads in cascade or in parallel.
V Methods for obtaining transfer functions that will yield
specified frequency responses will be explored in later chapters.

Frame # 22 Slide # 33 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion

V In practice, a discrete-time system can distort the information

content of a signal to be processed.

Frame # 23 Slide # 34 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion

V In practice, a discrete-time system can distort the information

content of a signal to be processed.
V Two types of distortion can be introduced as follows:

Frame # 23 Slide # 35 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion

V In practice, a discrete-time system can distort the information

content of a signal to be processed.
V Two types of distortion can be introduced as follows:
– Amplitude distortion

Frame # 23 Slide # 36 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion

V In practice, a discrete-time system can distort the information

content of a signal to be processed.
V Two types of distortion can be introduced as follows:
– Amplitude distortion
– Delay (or phase) distortion

Frame # 23 Slide # 37 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V Consider an application where a digital filter characterized by a

transfer function H(z) is to be used to select a specific signal
xk (nT ) from a sum of signals
m
X
x(nT ) = xi (nT )
i=1

Frame # 24 Slide # 38 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V Consider an application where a digital filter characterized by a

transfer function H(z) is to be used to select a specific signal
xk (nT ) from a sum of signals
m
X
x(nT ) = xi (nT )
i=1

V Let the amplitude and phase responses of the filter be M(ω) and
θ(ω), respectively.

Frame # 24 Slide # 39 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V Consider an application where a digital filter characterized by a

transfer function H(z) is to be used to select a specific signal
xk (nT ) from a sum of signals
m
X
x(nT ) = xi (nT )
i=1

V Let the amplitude and phase responses of the filter be M(ω) and
θ(ω), respectively.
V Two parameters associated with the phase response are the absolute
delay τa (ω) and the group delay τg (ω) which are defined as

θ(ω) dθ(ω)
τa (ω) = − and τg (ω) = −
ω dω

Frame # 24 Slide # 40 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V Consider an application where a digital filter characterized by a

transfer function H(z) is to be used to select a specific signal
xk (nT ) from a sum of signals
m
X
x(nT ) = xi (nT )
i=1

V Let the amplitude and phase responses of the filter be M(ω) and
θ(ω), respectively.
V Two parameters associated with the phase response are the absolute
delay τa (ω) and the group delay τg (ω) which are defined as

θ(ω) dθ(ω)
τa (ω) = − and τg (ω) = −
ω dω

V As functions of frequency, τa (ω) and τg (ω) are known as the

absolute-delay and group-delay characteristics.

Frame # 24 Slide # 41 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V Now assume that the amplitude spectrum of signal xk (nT ) is

concentrated in frequency band B given by
B = {ω : ωL ≤ ω ≤ ωH }
as shown.

|X(ejωT)| |Xk(ejωT)|

B ω
ωL ωH

Frame # 25 Slide # 42 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V Now assume that the amplitude spectrum of signal xk (nT ) is

concentrated in frequency band B given by
B = {ω : ωL ≤ ω ≤ ωH }
as shown.
V Also assume that the filter has amplitude and phase responses
(
G0 for ω ∈ B
M(ω) = and θ(ω) = −τg ω + θ0 for ω ∈ B
0 otherwise
respectively, where G0 and τg are constants.

|X(ejωT)| |Xk(ejωT)|

B ω
ωL ωH

Frame # 25 Slide # 43 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V The z transform of the output of the filter is given by

m
X m
X
Y (z) = H(z)X (z) = H(z) Xi (z) = H(z)Xi (z)
i=1 i=1

Frame # 26 Slide # 44 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V The z transform of the output of the filter is given by

m
X m
X
Y (z) = H(z)X (z) = H(z) Xi (z) = H(z)Xi (z)
i=1 i=1

V Thus the frequency spectrum of the output signal is obtained

as
m
X
jωT
Y (e )= H(e jωT )Xi (e jωT )
i=1
m
X
= M(ω)e jθ(ω) Xi (e jωT )
i=1

Frame # 26 Slide # 45 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

··· m
X
jωT
Y (e )= M(ω)e jθ(ω) Xi (e jωT )
i=1

V We have assumed that

(
G0 for ω ∈ B
M(ω) = and θ(ω) = −τg ω+θ0 for ω ∈ B
0 otherwise

and hence we get

Y (e jωT ) = G0 e −jωτg +jθ0 Xk (e jωT )

since all signal spectrums except Xk (e jωT ) will be multiplied

by zero.

Frame # 27 Slide # 46 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

···
Y (e jωT ) = G0 e −jωτg +jθ0 Xk (e jωT )

V If we now let τg = mT where m is a constant, we can write

Y (z) = G0 e jθ0 z −m Xk (z)

Frame # 28 Slide # 47 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

···
Y (e jωT ) = G0 e −jωτg +jθ0 Xk (e jωT )

V If we now let τg = mT where m is a constant, we can write

Y (z) = G0 e jθ0 z −m Xk (z)

V Therefore, from the time-shifting theorem of the z transform, we

deduce the output of the filter as

y (nT ) = G0 e jθ0 xk (nT − mT )

Frame # 28 Slide # 48 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

···
Y (e jωT ) = G0 e −jωτg +jθ0 Xk (e jωT )

V If we now let τg = mT where m is a constant, we can write

Y (z) = G0 e jθ0 z −m Xk (z)

V Therefore, from the time-shifting theorem of the z transform, we

deduce the output of the filter as

y (nT ) = G0 e jθ0 xk (nT − mT )

V In effect, if the amplitude response of the filter is constant with

respect to frequency band B and zero elsewhere and its phase
response is a linear function of ω, that is, the group delay is constant
in frequency band B, then the output signal is a delayed replica of
signal xk (nT ) except that a constant multiplier G0 e jθ0 is introduced.

Frame # 28 Slide # 49 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V If the amplitude response of the system is not constant in

frequency band B, then so-called amplitude distortion will be
introduced since different frequency components of the signal
will be amplified by different amounts.

Frame # 29 Slide # 50 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V If the amplitude response of the system is not constant in

frequency band B, then so-called amplitude distortion will be
introduced since different frequency components of the signal
will be amplified by different amounts.
V If the group delay is not constant in band B, different
frequency components will be delayed by different amounts,
and delay (or phase) distortion will be introduced.

Frame # 29 Slide # 51 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

Amplitude and Delay Distortion Cont’d

V Amplitude distortion can be quite objectionable in practice.

Consequently, the amplitude response is required to be flat to
within a prescribed tolerance in each frequency band that
carries information.
V If the ultimate receiver of the signal is the human ear, e.g.,
when a speech or music signal is to be processed, delay
distortion turns out to be quite tolerable.
V In other applications where images are involved, e.g.,
transmission of video signals, delay distortion can be as
objectionable as amplitude distortion, and the delay
characteristic is required to be fairly flat.

Frame # 30 Slide # 52 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7

 This slide concludes the presentation.
Thank you for your attention.

Frame # 31 Slide # 53 A. Antoniou Digital Signal Processing – Secs. 5.6, 5.7