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CHAPTER
14
Introduction to Digital Filters
Digital filters are used for two general purposes: (1) separation of signals that have been
combined, and (2) restoration of signals that have been distorted in some way. Analog
(electronic) filters can be used for these same tasks; however, digital filters can achieve far
superior results. The most popular digital filters are described and compared in the next seven
chapters. This introductory chapter describes the parameters you want to look for when learning
about each of these filters.
Filter Basics
Digital filters are a very important part of DSP. In fact, their extraordinary
performance is one of the key reasons that DSP has become so popular. As
mentioned in the introduction, filters have two uses: signal separation and
signal restoration. Signal separation is needed when a signal has been
contaminated with interference, noise, or other signals. For example, imagine
a device for measuring the electrical activity of a baby's heart (EKG) while
still in the womb. The raw signal will likely be corrupted by the breathing and
heartbeat of the mother. A filter might be used to separate these signals so that
they can be individually analyzed.
Signal restoration is used when a signal has been distorted in some way. For
example, an audio recording made with poor equipment may be filtered to
better represent the sound as it actually occurred. Another example is the
deblurring of an image acquired with an improperly focused lens, or a shaky
camera.
These problems can be attacked with either analog or digital filters. Which
is better? Analog filters are cheap, fast, and have a large dynamic range in
both amplitude and frequency. Digital filters, in comparison, are vastly
superior in the level of performance that can be achieved. For example, a
low-pass digital filter presented in Chapter 16 has a gain of 1 +/- 0.0002 from
DC to 1000 hertz, and a gain of less than 0.0002 for frequencies above
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