LECTURE 9

Dr. Suad El-Geder

EC 331
Computer Engineer Department
▪ Continuous time systems.

o Good for analogue signals and general understanding of signals and systems.

o Appropriate mostly to analogue electronic systems.

▪ Electronic devices are increasingly digital.

o E.g. mobile phones are all digital, TV broadcast will be 100% digital in UK.

o We use digital ASIC chips, FPGAs and microprocessors to implement systems and to process signals.

o Continuous signals are converted to numbers (discrete signals), they are processed and then converted back to continuous

signals.
▪ The sampling process converts continuous signals 𝑥(𝑡) into a sequence of numbers 𝑥[𝑛].

▪ A sample is kept every 𝑇𝑠 units of time. This process is called uniform sampling and 𝑥 𝑛 = 𝑥(𝑛 𝑇𝑠 ).
▪ Sampling theorem is the bridge between continuous-time and discrete time signals.

▪ It states how often we must sample in order not to loose any information.

▪ The bandlimited signal with highest frequency component 𝑓𝑚𝑎𝑥 can reconstructed without distortion from
signal sampled only if the sampling rate 𝑓𝑠 must be at least 2 times the highest frequency contained in the
signal.
▪ Consider a signal bandlimited to 𝐵𝐻𝑧 with Fourier transform 𝑋(𝜔).

▪ The sampled version of the signal 𝑥(𝑡) at a rate 𝑓𝑠 𝐻𝑧 can be expressed as the multiplication of the
original signal with an impulse train as follows:

▪ We can express the impulse train using Fourier series as follows:

▪ Therefore,

▪ Since the following holds:

we have
▪ The previous analysis is depicted below. Consider a signal, bandlimited to 𝐵𝐻𝑧, with Fourier transform

𝑋(𝜔) .

The sampled signal has the following spectrum.

▪ We graphically illustrate below the collection of the above mentioned processes.

▪ The signal is multiplied by a train of impulses (in reality these are very narrow pulses).

▪ The sampled signal is generated.

▪ A lowpass filter is required in order to isolate the main period of the Fourier spectrum
▪ A continuous signal with its Fourier transform is depicted on the left.

▪ The sampled signal and its Fourier transform is depicted on the right.
▪ The gap between two adjacent spectral repetitions is (𝑓𝑠 −2𝐵)𝐻𝑧.

▪ In order to reconstruct the original signal 𝑥(𝑡) we can use an ideal lowpass filter on the sampled spectrum
which has a bandwidth of any value between 𝐵 and (𝑓𝑠 − 𝐵𝐻𝑧).

▪ Reconstruction process is possible only if the shaded parts do not overlap. This means that 𝑓𝑠 must be greater
that twice 𝐵.

▪ We can also visually verify the sampling theorem in the above figure.
▪ The signal 𝑥[𝑛𝑇𝑠] has a spectrum 𝑋𝑠 (𝜔) which is multiplied with a rectangular pulse in frequency

domain in order to isolate the main period which is the spectrum of the original continuous time
signal.
▪ The signal 𝑥[𝑛 𝑇𝑠 ] is convolved with a sinc function, which is the time domain version of a rectangular

pulse in frequency domain centred at the origin.

Example: for continues time signal
m(t) = 5cos50𝜋t + 20sin300 𝜋 t -10cos100 𝜋 t find

1. Nyquist rate

2. Number of samples per 1 minute

3. Sketch Spectrum after sampling up to 2fs

 Nyquist sampling rate )

For 𝑓0 = 5000𝐻𝑧 , 𝑓1 = 1000𝐻𝑧 , and 𝑇𝑠 = 0.00025 seconds,

1.Write y(t) as the sum of two sines or cosines
2.Sample the continuous-time signal y(t) to produce the discrete-time signal y[n]
3.What is the Nyquist sampling rate needed to sample y(t)?
4.What is the sampling frequency being applied to y(t)?
5.Is the signal y(t) sampled below or above the Nyquist sampling rate?
A continuous-time signal is modulated by a second continuous-time
signal such that
The resulting signal y(t) is sampled with period 𝑇𝑠 .

Write y(t) as the sum of two sines or cosines

𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 ∶ 𝑓0 = 5000𝐻𝑧 , 𝑓1 = 1000𝐻𝑧

𝟏
Then, y(t)= [cos(2𝝅4000t) –cos(2𝝅6000t)]
𝟐
▪ Sample the continuous-time signal y(t) to produce the discrete-time signal y[n]

𝟏
Then, y[n] = 𝟐 [cos(2𝝅4000n𝑻𝒔 ) –cos(2𝝅6000n𝑻𝒔 )]
▪ What is the Nyquist sampling rate needed to sample y(t)?
▪ What is the sampling frequency being applied to y(t)?

𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑇𝑠 = 0.00025 seconds

▪ Is the signal y(t) sampled below or above the Nyquist sampling rate
▪ When the rate of sampling is equal to the Nyquist rate, then the time interval between any two adjacent
samples is called the Nyquist interval.
▪ Mathematically, the Nyquist interval is given by,

▪ Example
o Determine the Nyquist rate and Nyquist interval corresponding to signal given by,
1) Ideal – An impulse at each sampling instant.
2) Natural – A pulse of Short width with varying amplitude.
3) Flat Top – Uses sample and hold, like natural but with single amplitude value.
▪ Ideal sampling is also known as instantaneous or impulse train sampling.

▪ In this method, the sampling signal is a periodic impulse train.

▪ The area of each impulse in the sampled signal is equal to the instantaneous value of the input signal x(t).

▪ Let the analog signal m(t) be band limited and of bandwidth W.

▪ If m(t) is sampled by an ideal periodic impulses signal p(t) with period T ,then the result is a sampled signal 𝑚𝑠 (t) as shown by Figure

below.

▪ You cannot use this practically because pulse width cannot be zero and the generation of impulse train is not possible practically.
▪ Natural sampling is also called practical sampling.

▪ Natural sampling is a type of sampling technique used in signal processing where the amplitude of the sampled signal follows the continuous
variation of the original analog signal during the sampling interval.

▪ In this sampling technique, the sampling signal is a pulse train.

▪ In natural sampling method, the top of each pulse in the sampled signal retains the shape of the input signal x(t) during pulse interval.

▪ Again the sampled signal 𝑚𝑠 (t) is the product of m(t) and p(t), where p(t) is the periodic train of pulses with the complex Fourier representation is
given by

𝝉
➢ where n is an integer, A is the amplitude, 𝝉 is the pulse width, and d = , is the duty cycle.
𝑻
Note:
✓ In mathematics, physics and engineering, the sinc function,
denoted by sinc(x), has two forms, normalized and unnormalized.
✓ In mathematics, the historical unnormalized sinc function is
defined for x ≠ 0 by

✓ Alternatively, the unnormalized sinc function is often called

the sampling function.
✓ In digital signal processing and information theory,
the normalized sinc function is commonly defined for x ≠ 0 by
Natural sampling spectrum of Ms(f) for (a) fs = 2W, (b)= fs < 2W, and (c)fs > 2W
Applications of Natural Sampling
Natural sampling is less commonly used in practical systems due to its complexity, but it serves
as a theoretical foundation for understanding sampling techniques. Some applications include:
•Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) : Natural sampling is a form of PAM where the pulse amplitude
varies with the input signal.
•Signal Analysis : It is used in theoretical studies of sampling and modulation.
Drawbacks
•Complexity : Implementing natural sampling requires circuits that can track the input signal continuously during the
sampling interval.
•Limited Practical Use : Due to its complexity, natural sampling is rarely used directly in modern systems.
Flat Top Sampling or Rectangular Pulse Sampling

▪ Flat top sampling like natural sampling is also a practically possible sampling method. But natural

sampling is little complex whereas flat top sampling is quite easy.

▪ In flat-top sampling or rectangular pulse sampling, the top of the samples remains constant and is equal

to the instantaneous value of the baseband signal x(t) at the start of sampling.

▪ The duration or width of each sample is τ and sampling rate is equal to fs = 1 / Ts.
Flat Top Sampling or Rectangular Pulse Sampling Cont.

▪ It may be noted that only starting edge of the pulse represents instantaneous value of the baseband signal

x(t).

▪ Also the flat top pulse of g(t) is mathematically equivalent to the convolution of instantaneous sample and

a pulse h(t) as depicted in the figure below.

 Applications of Flat-Top Sampling
▪ Flat-top sampling is commonly used in practical systems because it simplifies the design of analog-to-

digital converters (ADCs) and other sampling circuits. Some applications include:
✓ Digital Signal Processing (DSP) : Flat-top sampling is used in ADCs to hold the sampled value steady during

quantization.

✓ Communication Systems : It is used in pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) systems.

✓ Oscilloscopes : Oscilloscopes often use flat-top sampling to display signals.

 Advantages and Disadvantages

▪ Advantages :

1. Simplifies hardware implementation, especially in ADCs.

2. Reduces the need for high-speed tracking of the input signal.

▪ Disadvantages :

1. Introduces amplitude distortion due to the sinc function in the frequency domain.

2. Requires compensation (e.g., using an equalizer) to reconstruct the original signal accurately.