EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 1

Fourier Transform
In the last several chapters we
Viewed periodic functions in terms of frequency components
(Fourier series) as well as ordinary functions of time
Viewed LTI systems in terms of what they do to frequency
components (frequency response)
Viewed LTI systems in terms of what they do to time-domain
signals (convolution with impulse response)
Today we will
View aperiodic functions in terms of frequency components
via Fourier transform
Define (continuous-time) Fourier transform and DTFT
Gain insight into the meaning of Fourier transform through
comparison with Fourier series


EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 2
Review: Fourier Series
The Fourier series represents a periodic signal in terms of
frequency components:



We get the Fourier series coefficients as follows:



The complex exponential Fourier coefficients are a sequence of
complex numbers representing the frequency component
0
k.
}
e
=
p
0
t ik
k
dt e ) t ( x
p
1
X
0

=
e
=
1 p
0 n
n ik
k
0
e ) n ( x
p
1
X

=
e
=
1 p
0 k
n ik
k
0
e X ) n ( x

=
e
=
k
t ik
k
0
e X ) t ( x
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 3
Discrete Fourier Transform: Like Fourier Series
There is another, only slightly different, way to write a discrete-
time periodic signal as a sum of complex exponentials of
frequency
0
k .
We call it the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), but it is very
similar to the discrete Fourier series (DFS):



We simply move the 1/p term outside the sum.
The terms of the DFT are thus similar to the DFS: X
k
= p X
k
They also give an idea of the relative scaling of the frequency
components.

=
e
=
1 p
0 n
n ik
k
0
e ) n ( x ' X

=
e
=
1 p
0 k
n ik
k
0
e ' X
p
1
) n ( x
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 4
Discrete Time Fourier Transform
Note that for a signal with period p, when determining X
k
we
just need to sum over 1 period and start the sum at any point:



What if the period was really large? Like infinity?
Though the DFT is not defined for aperiodic signals, we have a
name for the DFT equation extended to an infinite sum:
Discrete Time
Fourier Transform
(DTFT)


=
e

=
e
= =
1 2 / p
2 / p n
n ik
1 p
0 n
n ik
k
0 0
e ) n ( x e ) n ( x ' X

=
e
= e
n
n i
e ) n ( x ) ( X
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 5
Interpretation of Fourier Transform
The discrete-time Fourier transform,


like the discrete Fourier series and DFT, gives a measure of the
relative weight of each frequency component in the signal x.
But, here we do not compare it to a fundamental frequency
0

(because there is none).
The fact that periodic signals will only have frequencies that
are integer multiples of the fundamental gave us a sequence
of possible frequencies, and a sequence of weights X
k
.
Now we can have any frequency. So we need a function that
takes values at all real frequencies to describe the signal.

=
e
= e
n
n i
e ) n ( x ) ( X
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 6
Continuous Time Fourier Transform
We can extend the formula for continuous-time Fourier series
coefficients for a periodic signal



to aperiodic signals as well. The continuous-time Fourier
series is not defined for aperiodic signals, but we call the
formula

the (continuous time)
Fourier transform.

} }

e e
= =
2 / p
2 / p
t ik
p
0
t ik
k
dt e ) t ( x
p
1
dt e ) t ( x
p
1
X
0 0
}

e
= e dt e ) t ( x ) ( X
t i
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 7
Inverse Transforms
If we have the full sequence of Fourier coefficients for a periodic
signal, we can reconstruct it by multiplying the complex
sinusoids of frequency
0
k by the weights X
k
and summing:



We can perform a similar reconstruction for aperiodic signals:



These are called the inverse transforms.

=
e
=
1 p
0 k
n ik
k
0
e X ) n ( x

=
e
=
k
t ik
k
0
e X ) t ( x
}

e
e e
t
= d e ) ( X
2
1
) t ( x
t i
}
t
t
e
e e
t
= d e ) ( X
2
1
) n ( x
n i
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 8
Example
Find the Fourier transform of a pulse centered at zero:

e
=
otherwise 0
] 1 , 1 [ t for 1
) t ( x
-1 1
1
} }

e
= = e
1
1
t i t i
dt e dt e ) t ( x ) ( X
( )
e e
=
e

e
=
e
=
i i
1
1 t
t i
e e
i
1
e
i
1
( )
e
e
= e
e
=
) sin( 2
) sin( i 2
i
1
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 9
Sinc Function
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
-40 -20 0 20 40
s
i
n
(
t
)
/
t
t
line 1
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 10
Fourier Transform of Impulse Functions
Find the Fourier transform of the Dirac delta function:



Find the DTFT of the Kronecker delta function:



The delta functions contain all frequencies at equal amplitudes.
Roughly speaking, thats why the system response to an impulse
input is important: it tests the system at all frequencies.

1 e dt e ) t ( dt e ) t ( x ) ( X
0 i t i t i
= = o = = e
e

e
} }
1 e e ) n ( e ) n ( x ) ( X
0 i
n
n i
n
n i
= = o = = e
e

=
e

=
e

EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 11
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
The delta functions are localized in time; they are nonzero at
just one point and zero everywhere else.
But the frequency spread of the delta functions is not
localized. We showed that X() is always 1; it never dies out.
For sinusoids, the opposite is true. They never die out in time,
but the frequency spread is just one point.
The pulse function was somewhat localized in time, and
somewhat localized in frequency (the sinc function dies out
asymptotically).

This is the Heisenberg uncertainty principle: the product of the
time spread and frequency spread of a function can never
be less than a defined minimum nonzero value.
EECS 20 Chapter 10 Part 1 12
Time, Frequency, and Time-Frequency
We know we can represent functions in terms of frequency
components (sinusoids). These basis functions are nonzero at
single points in the frequency domain, but never die out in the
time domain.

We can also represent functions in the time domain. Using the
sifting property, we can represent any function in terms of deltas.
For example, imagine every discrete time function as a train of
appropriately scaled Kronecker deltas. These basis functions are
single points in time, never dying out in frequency.

We can also represent functions in terms of other basis functions,
somewhat localized in time and frequency, like the pulse and sinc.
These functions are referred to as wavelets, and they form
time-frequency representation of a signal.