AL FURAT AL AWSAT TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

NAJAF COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING

DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING

3rd YEAR

Academic Responsible

HAYDER S. RASHID

2015/2016
H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
Academic Year 2015/2016

Basic Concepts of Digital Signal Processing

Digital signal processing (DSP) technology and its advancements have dramatically impacted
our modern society everywhere. Without DSP, we would not have digital/Internet audio or
video; digital recording; CD, DVD, and MP3 players; digital cameras; digital and cellular
telephones; digital satellite and TV; or wire and wireless networks. Medical instruments would
be less efficient or unable to provide useful information for precise diagnoses if there were no
digital electrocardiography (ECG) analyzers or digital x-rays and medical image systems. We
would also live in many less efficient ways, since we would not be equipped with voice
recognition systems, speech synthesis systems, and image and video editing systems. Without
DSP, scientists, engineers, and technologists would have no powerful tools to analyze and
visualize data and perform their design, and so on.

The concept of DSP is illustrated by the simplified block diagram in Fig. (1.1), which
consists of an analog filter, an analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) unit, a digital signal (DS)
processor, a digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) unit, and a reconstruction (anti-image) filter.

As shown in the diagram, the analog input signal, which is continuous in time and
amplitude, is generally encountered in our real life. Examples of such analog signals include
current, voltage, temperature, pressure, and light intensity.

Usually a transducer (sensor) is used to convert the non-electrical signal to the analog
electrical signal (voltage). This analog signal is fed to an analog filter, which is applied to limit
the frequency range of analog signals prior to the sampling process. The purpose of filtering is to
significantly attenuate aliasing distortion. The band-limited signal at the output of the analog
filter is then sampled and converted via the ADC unit into the digital signal, which is discrete
both in time and in amplitude.
The DS processor then accepts the digital signal and processes the digital data according
to DSP rules such as lowpass, highpass, and bandpass digital filtering, or other algorithms for
different applications. Notice that the DS processor unit is a special type of digital computer and

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
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can be a general-purpose digital computer, a microprocessor, or an advanced microcontroller;

furthermore, DSP rules can be implemented using software in general.

With the DS processor and corresponding software, a processed digital output signal is
generated. This signal behaves in a manner according to the specific algorithm used.
The DAC unit converts the processed digital signal to an analog output signal. The signal
is continuous in time and discrete in amplitude (usually a sample-and-hold signal). The final
block in Fig (1.1) is designated as a function to smooth the DAC output voltage levels back to
the analog signal via a reconstruction (anti-image) filter for real-world applications.

Continuous and Discrete Time Signals

 Most of the signals we will talk about are functions of time.
 There are many ways to classify signals. This class is organized according to whether the
signals are continuous in time, or discrete.
 A continuous-time signal has values for all points in time in some (possibly infinite)
interval.
 A discrete time signal has values for only discrete points in time.
 Signals can also be a function of space (images) or of space and time (video), and may be
continuous or discrete in each dimension.

What is a signal?
The concept of signal refers to the time, space or other types of variations in the physical
state of an object, phenomenon, entity etc. The quantification of this state is used to represent,
store or transmit a message. The course is not about the message but about the properties of the
signal.

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
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Examples and mathematical representation

Signals are met in diverse fields, such as:
Elec. Eng. e.g. voltages/currents in a circuit
speech signals
image signals
Physics e.g. radiation
Mech. Eng. e.g. vibration studies
Astronomy e.g. (2-D) pulsars, distant stars
Biomedicine e.g. EEG, ECG, retinoscopy, MRI

Signals are represented mathematically as functions of one or more independent

variables. In this course we focus our attention on signals involving a single independent
variable. For convenience, we will usually refer to this variable as time.
We will be considering two basic types of signals.
 Continuous-time signals. In this case the independent variable is continuous, i.e., these
signals are defined for a continuum of values of the independent variable.
 Discrete-time signals. In this case the independent variable takes a discrete set of values,

i.e., these signals are defined only at discrete times.

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
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In the figure above you can see a continuous and a discrete sine wave described by the following
equations, respectively.
 Continuous case: x(t) = A cos(ω0t +φ)
 Discrete case: x[n] = A cos(θ0n +ψ)
Fundamental classes of signals
1- Deterministic and random signals

The following classification can be made in real life signals.

 If the value of a signal at some specific time is determined exactly by its model then we
have a deterministic signal.
 If the value of the signal cannot be determined but only some statistical properties of it,
e.g., probability of occurrence of a certain value at some specific time, then we have a
random or stochastic signal.

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
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2- Periodic and non-periodic signals

The following classification can be made.

 For a continuous signal, if we can find a number T0 such that x(t +T0) = x(t) for all t, then
the signal is periodic. In the case of a discrete signal we have x[n + N0] = x[n] for all n.
 If there are no such numbers T0 or N0 the signal is non-periodic.

3- Even and odd signals

The following states can be made

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
Academic Year 2015/2016

 For a continuous signal, if x(-t) = x(t) for all t, then the signal is even. In the case of a
discrete signal we have x[-n] = x[n] for all n.
 For a continuous signal, if x(t) = -x(-t) for all t, then the signal is odd. In the case of a
discrete signal we have x[n] = -x[-n] for all n . An odd signal is 0 at t = 0 or n = 0, since
x(0) = -x(0) ⇒ x(0) = 0 .

Any signal can be broken into a sum of two signals, one of which is even and one of which is
odd. This is because

4- Causal and Non-Causal Signals

If x(t) = 0, for t < t0 or for discrete signals x[n] = 0, for n < n0 then we have causal signals. The
starting point t0 or n0 is very often taken to be the origin.

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
Academic Year 2015/2016

5- Analogue and Digital Signals

6- Energy and Power Signals

We will use abroad definition of power and energy that applies to any signal x(t) or x[n]

*Signal Energy
𝑡1
E = ∫𝑡0 |𝑥(𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑡 and in discrete time E = ∑𝑛1
𝑛=𝑛0|𝑥(𝑡)|
2

*Signal Power
1 𝑡1 1
P = 𝑡1−𝑡0 ∫𝑡0 |𝑥(𝑡)|2 𝑑𝑡 and in discrete time P = 𝑛1−𝑛0+1 ∑𝑛1
𝑛=𝑛0|𝑥(𝑡)|
2

We will encounter many types of signals; some of them have infinite average power, energy or
both. There are a few rules that can help to determine whether a signal is power or energy signal:

 A signal is called energy signal if E < ∞.

 A signal is called power signal if 0 < P < ∞.
 A signal can be an energy signal, a power signal or neither type.
 An energy signal has zero power. E < ∞; P = 0
 A power signal has infinite energy. P < ∞; E = ∞

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
Academic Year 2015/2016

Special signal models

1- The unit step function u(t)

0 𝑡<0
This is defined as 𝑢(𝑡) = {
1 𝑡≥0
In discrete time the equivalent function is defined as

0 𝑛<0
𝑢[𝑛] = {
1 𝑛≥0

The unit step is used for extracting part of another signal. For example,
−𝑡
𝑥(𝑡) = {𝑒 𝑡 ≥ 0
0 𝑡<0
Can be written as x(t) = u(t) 𝑒 −𝑡

2- The delta function or unit impulse function δ(t)

This is a signal that is everywhere equal to zero except at the origin. This is defined as
0 𝑡≠0
𝛿(𝑡) = {
+∞ 𝑡 = 0
It is conveniently defined as assigning the value x(τ) to the signal x(t) at the instant t =τ through
the integral

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
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+∞ +∞

∫ 𝑥(𝑡)𝛿(𝑡 − 𝜏)𝑑𝑡 = ∫ 𝑥(𝑡 + 𝜏)𝛿(𝑡)𝑑𝑡 = 𝑥(𝜏)

−∞ −∞

In discrete time the equivalent function is defined as

0 𝑛≠0
𝛿[𝑛] = {
1 𝑛=0

and the following relationships hold.

𝑛=+∞ 𝑛=+∞

∑ 𝑥[𝑛]𝛿[𝑛 − 𝑘] = ∑ 𝑥[𝑛 + 𝑘]𝛿[𝑛] = 𝑥[𝑘]

𝑛=−∞ 𝑛=−∞

3- Unit Ramp

The unit ramp is defined as

𝑡 𝑡≥0
𝑟(𝑡) = {
0 𝑡<0
In discrete time the equivalent function is defined as
𝑛 𝑛≥0
𝑟[𝑛] = {
0 𝑛<0
The unit ramp is the integral of the unit step,
𝑡

𝑟(𝑡) = ∫ 𝑢(𝜏)𝑑𝜏
−∞

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H S Rashid (Lecture1) DSP Continuous & Discrete Time Signals
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4- Exponential Signal

An exponential signal is given by

𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑒 𝜎𝑡
 If 𝜎 < 0 this is exponential decay.
 If 𝜎 > 0 this is exponential growth.

Elementary transformations of the independent variable

In this section we focus on a class of elementary signal transformations that involve
simple modifications of the independent variable, i.e., the time axis. These transformations allow
us to introduce several basic properties of signals and systems. We consider the following.

1- Time shift: Starting from the signal x(t) in continuous time, time shift refers to the
operation that gives us either the signal x(t – t0), t0 > 0 that is a delayed version of x(t) or
the signal x(t + t0) that is an advanced version of x(t) . For discrete time signals we would
have x[n], x[n – n0], x [n + n0] respectively.

2- Time reversal: Starting from the signal x(t) in continuous time, time reversal refers to
the operation that gives us the signal x(-t), that is a reflection of x(t) about t = 0. For
discrete time signals we would have x[n] and x[-n] respectively.

3- Time scaling: Starting from the signal x(t) in continuous time, time scaling refers to the
operation that gives us the signal x(αt) that is

(i) Linearly stressed if |𝜶| <1 ,

(ii) Linearly compressed if |𝜶| > 1 and also
(iii) Reversed in time if |𝜶| < 0. For discrete time signals we would have x[n] and
x[αn] respectively.

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