Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE) PDF Download

Fourier Transform

 

A representation for aperiodic signals 

We have already seen that a broad class of functions (which satisfy the Dirichlet's conditions) can be written in the form of Fourier series .That is ,for a periodic function x(t) satisfying the Dirichlet's conditions , we may say

 

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)    where               Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)

Although this covers a broad class of functions, it puts a serious restriction on the function. That is, Periodicity . So the next question that naturally pops up in one's mind is , "Can we extend our idea of the Fourier series so as to include non periodic functions ?" . This precisely is our goal for this part , the basic inspiration being, an aperiodic signal may be looked at as a periodic signal with an infinite period. Note what follows is not a mathematically rigourous excercise, but will help develop an intuition for the Fourier Transform for aperiodic signals.

 

The Fourier Transform 

Let's start with a simple example .Consider a following function, periodic with period T.

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)
Clearly this is our familiar square wave . Let's see what happens to its Frequency domain representation as we let T to approach infinity . We know that the Fourier coefficients of the above function can be written as

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)
where  Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)
= 1. For T = 4, the expression   Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)    reduces to :Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)

Now we know that every value of k in this equation gives us the coefficient corresponding to the Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)  multiple of the fundamental frequency of the signal. Let's plot the Frequency Domain representation of the signal, which we shall also call the spectrum of the signal.
Note the horizontal axis represents frequency, although the points marked indicate only scale.

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)

 

Now let's double the time period .the expression for the Fourier coefficients will become :

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)
Since frequency is reciprocal of time periodFourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE) ,

as the time period T increases, the distance between the consecutive frequencies f0 in the spectrum will reduce ,and we'll get the following plot.

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE) 

If we reduce the natural frequency by another half ( that is increase the time period by a factor of two ) , we'll get the following frequency spectrum :

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE) 

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)

Notice as the period of the periodic signal is increased, the spacing between adjacent frequency components decreases.

Finally when the period of the signal tends to infinity , i.e. the signal is aperiodic, the frequency spectrum becomes a continuous.
By looking at the plots we can infer that as we will increase the time period more and more, we'll get more and more closely placed frequencies in the spectrum, i.e.: complex exponentials with closer and closer frequencies are required to represent the signal. Hence if we let T to approach infinity we'll get frequency infinitesimally close to each other. This is same as saying that we'll get every possible frequency and hence the whole continuous frequency axis. Thus our frequency spectrum will no more be a series , but will be a continuous function. The representation will change from a summation over discrete frequencies to an integration over the entire frequency axis. The function, which (like the Fourier Series coefficients) gives what is crudely the strength of each complex exponential in the representation is formally called the Fourier Transform of the signal. The representation takes the form:

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)

where X(f) is the Fourier Transform of x(t). Note the similarity of the above equation with the Fourier Series summation in light of the preceding discussion.
This equation is called the Inverse Fourier Transform equation, x(t) being called the Inverse Fourier Transform of X(f)
Such a representation for an aperiodic signal exists, of course subject to some conditions, but we'll come to those a little later.

 

The Fourier Transform equation 

The Fourier Transform of a function x(t) can be shown to be:

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)


This equation is called the Fourier Transform equation.
(As a convention, we generally use capital letters to denote the Fourier transform)
Obviously not in all cases are we guaranteed that the integral on right hand side will converge.
We'll next discuss the conditions for the Fourier Transform of an aperiodic signal to exist.

 

Recap:
Under certain conditions, an aperiodic signal x(t) has a Fourier transform X(f) and the two are related by:


Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE) (Fourier Transform equation)


Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE) ( Inverse Fourier Transform equation)


Now, lets go on to the conditions for existence of the Fourier Transform. Again notice the similarity of these conditions with the Dirichlet conditions for periodic signals.


Dirichlet Conditions for convergence of Fourier Transform

Consider an aperiodic signal x(t). Its Fourier Transfrom exists (i.e the Transform integral converges) and Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE) converges to x(t), except at points of discontinuity provided:


1) x(t) is absolutely integrable . i.e: Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)


2) x(t) has only a finite number of extrema in any finite interval.


For example,  Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)does not satisfy this condition in, say (0,1).


3 ) x(t) has only a finite number of discontinuities in any finite interval. For example the following function (the so called Dirichlet's function ) will not satisfy this condition.

Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)


These 3 conditions satisfied,  Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)will converge to x(t) at all points of continuity of x(t). At points of discontinuity of x(t), this integral converges to the average of the left hand limit and the right hand limit of x(t) at that point. 

Conclusion: 

In this lecture you have learnt:

  • An aperiodic signal may be looked at as a periodic signal with an infinite period .
  • We learnt what inverse Fourier transform is & derived its equation.
  • We saw Dirichlet Conditions for convergence of Fourier Transform.
The document Fourier Transform | Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE) is a part of the Electrical Engineering (EE) Course Signals and Systems.
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FAQs on Fourier Transform - Signals and Systems - Electrical Engineering (EE)

1. What is the Fourier Transform?
Ans. The Fourier Transform is a mathematical technique that decomposes a signal into its individual frequency components. It converts a time-domain signal into a frequency-domain representation, allowing us to analyze the signal's frequency content.
2. How does the Fourier Transform work?
Ans. The Fourier Transform works by representing a signal as a sum of sine and cosine waves of different frequencies. It does this by decomposing the signal into its constituent frequencies and their corresponding amplitudes and phases.
3. What is the practical application of the Fourier Transform?
Ans. The Fourier Transform is widely used in various fields such as signal processing, image processing, audio compression, telecommunications, and more. It helps in analyzing and manipulating signals in the frequency domain, enabling tasks like noise removal, filtering, compression, and pattern recognition.
4. Can the Fourier Transform be applied to non-periodic signals?
Ans. Yes, the Fourier Transform can be applied to both periodic and non-periodic signals. For non-periodic signals, a modified version called the Fourier Transform with a finite time window, known as the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), is used.
5. What are the limitations of the Fourier Transform?
Ans. The Fourier Transform assumes that a signal is stationary, meaning its frequency content remains constant over time. It also assumes that the signal is infinite in duration. However, in real-world scenarios, signals often change over time and have finite durations, which can lead to some limitations when applying the Fourier Transform. Additionally, the Fourier Transform may not accurately represent signals with sharp transitions or sudden changes.
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