5.3.

Inverse Z Transforms
The inverse Z transform is defined as follow:
[ ] ( )
1
1
2
k
f k F z z dz
j

(5.3.1)
This can be done using contour integration. Needless to say, what we prefer to do is get every
term in a form that we can look up in the table.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
What is the inverse Z transform of
( )
2 4
1 2 3 F z z z

+ +
Solution
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 2 2 3 4 f k k k k + +
Or we might say
[ ] [ ] [ ] 0 1, 2 2, 4 3. f f f
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
Solve
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 0.3 1 1 0 y k y k u k y
Solution
First take the Z transforms of both sizes
( ) ( )
1
0.3
1
z
Y z z Y z
z

( )
( ) ( )
1
1 0.3 1
z
Y z
z z

( )
( ) ( )
2
0.3 1
z
Y z
z z

In order to get back to the sampled time domain, we have to do a partial fraction. We use a
version of partial fraction expansion similar to what we used for the Laplace transforms.
Start by dividing everything by z. The reason will be apparent shortly.
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 0.3 1 0.3 1
Y z z A B
z z z z z
+

. (5.3.2)
Multiplying through by z-0.3 and evaluating at z = 0.3 gives us A
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 1
( )
0.3
0.3
0.429
1 0.7
z
z
A
z



.
Multiplying through by z-1 and evaluating at z = 1 gives us B
( )
1
1
1.429
0.3 .7
z
z
B
z

.
Now we multiply back through by the z that we saved to give us terms that we can find in the
tables:
( )
( ) ( )
0.429 1.429
0.3 1
z z
Y z
z z

+

.
We can easily go to the sampled time-domain
[ ] ( ) [ ] 1.429 0.429 0.3
k
y k u k
1

]
.
Check:
[ ] ( ) [ ]
[ ] ( ) [ ]
[ ] ( ) [ ]
0
1
2
0 1.429 0.429 0.3 1
1 1.429 0.429 0.3 1.3
2 1.429 0.429 0.3 1.39
y u k
y u k
y u k
1

]
1

]
1

]
We can compare these values by looking at the original equation:
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 0.3 1 1 0 y k y k u k y +
At k = 0 [ ] [ ] [ ] 0 0.3 1 0 1 y y u +
at k = 1 [ ] [ ] [ ] 1 0.3 0 1 1.3 y y u +
at k = 2 [ ] [ ] [ ] ( ) ( ) 2 0.3 1 0.3 1.3 1 1.39 y y u k + + +
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
Find the inverse Z transform of
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2 0.25
0.2 0.3
z z
F z
z z

Solution
We start by dividing out a z so we will have it at the end
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2 0.25
0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3
F z z A B
z z z z z

+

, (5.3.3)
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 2
and solve for A and B:
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
0.2
2 0.25 2 0.2 0.25 2 .05
1
0.3 0.2 0.3 .1
Z
z
A
z




( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
0.3
2 0.25 2 0.3 0.25 2 .05
1
0.2 0.3 0.2 .1
Z
z
B
z




( )
0.2 0.3
z z
F z
z z
+

Check the partial fraction expansion:
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
0.3 0.2 2 0.5
0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2
z z z z z z z z
F z
z z z z z z
+ +
+

.
The inverse Z is:
[ ] ( ) ( ) [ ] 0.2 0.3
k k
f k u k
1
+
]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
Find the inverse Z transform of
( )
1
2 1
F z
z

.
Solution
First I will rewrite it as
( )
0.5
0.5
F z
z

Remember, I need to divide out a z term so I can get the inverse. One solution is to just
multiply both sides by 1/ z , and then do a partial fraction expansion:
( )
( )
0.5
0.5 0.5
F z A B
z z z z z
+

0
0.5
1
0.5
z
A
z

0.5
0.5
1
z
B
z


( )
0.5
z z
F z
z z

5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 3

[ ] [ ] ( ) [ ] 0.5
k
f k k u k +
[ ] ( )
0
0 1 0.5 0 f +
[ ] 1 0.5 f
[ ] 2 0.25 f
Notice that this is ( ) [ ] 0.5
k
u k with the first term missing. Could I have done this another
way? Suppose I say
( )
1
0.5
.5
z
F z z
z

.
I know
( ) [ ]
1
0.5
0.5 0.5
0.5
k z
Z u k
z

' ;

.
Then the right shift theorem tells me
[ ] ( ) [ ]
( ) [ ]
1
0.5 0.5 1
0.5 1 .
k
k
f k u k
u k

Notice that
[ ] 0 0 f
[ ] 1 0.5 f
[ ] 2 0.25 f
,
which is in agreement with the result we got by multiplying by 1/z and doing a partial fraction
expantion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
Find the inverse Z transform of
( )
( ) ( )
1
1 0.5
F z
z z

.
Solution
Once again, we do not have a z term in the numerator to divide out and use later. We could
multiply both sides by 1/z, but that adds and additional term and makes the problem more
complicated. Instead, we write the following:
( )
( ) ( )
1
1 0.5 1 0.5
z A B
F z z
z z z z

1
+
1

]
,
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 4
and we begin by taking the PFE of the term in the backets
( )
( ) ( )
0
1 0.5 1 0.5
z A B
F z
z z z z
1
+
1

]
( ) ( )
1 0.5
1 1
2, 2.
0.5 1
z z
A B
z z



Now we get ( ) F z from ( )
0
F z
( ) ( )
1 1 1
0
2 2
1 0.5
z z
F z z F z z z
z z

_ _



, ,
.
The terms in the parentheses can be found in the table. Then we apply the right shift theorem:
[ ] ( )
( )
[ ]
1
2 2 0.5 1
k
f k u k

.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
Find the inverse Z transform of
( )
2
2
2 1
3 2
z z
F z
z z
+

+ +
.
Solution
Once again, we dont have a z term that we can readily save while we do the partial fraction
expansion, so we might be inclined to use the same technique and write
( )
3 2
1
2
2
3 2
z z z
F z z
z z

1 +

1
+ +
]
.
However, this wont work. You cannot do the inverse Z on the term in the brackets because
the order of z is higher in the numerator than in the denominator. Notice that now term in the
table of Z transform has a higher order of z in the numerator than in the denominator. Instead
we start by dividing
( )
2
2 2
2 1 3
1
3 2 3 2
z z z
F z
z z z z
+
+
+ + + +
.
Now
( )
0 2
3
3 2 1 2
z A B
F z
z z z z
+
+
+ + + +
1 2
3 2 3 1
2, 1
2 1 1 1
z z
z z
A B
z z

+ +

+ +
.
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 5
( )
2 1
1
1 2
F z
z z

+ +
+ +
.
[ ] [ ] ( ) [ ] 2 2
k
f k k u k +
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
Solve the following difference equation. Assume all initial conditions are zero.
[ ] [ ] [ ] ( ) ( ) [ ] 2 0.3 1 0.02 0.01 0.3
k
y k y k y k u k + + +
Solution
Take the Z transform
( ) ( ) ( )
2
0.3 0.02 0.01
0.3
z
z Y z zY z Y z
z
+

( ) ( )
2
0.3 0.02 0.01
0.3
z
Y z z z
z
+

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
0.01
0.1 0.2 0.3
z
Y z
z z z

( )
( ) ( ) ( ) 0.1 0.2 0.3
Y z A B C
z z z z
+ +

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
0.1
0.01 0.01
0.5
0.2 0.3 0.1 0.2
z
A
z z



( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
0.2
0.01 0.01
1
0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1
z
B
z z



( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
0.3
0.01 0.01
0.5
0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1
z
C
z z



[ ] ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
[ ] 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.3
k k k
y k u k +
We can check the answer. Looking at the original equation, the first nonzero term occurs for
k=0: [ ] [ ] [ ] ( ) 2 0.3 1 0.02 0 0.01 y y y + , so [ ] 2 0.001 y
k=1 [ ] ( ) ( ) ( ) 3 0.3 0.01 0.01 .3 y so [ ] 3 0.006 y
Now look at the analytic solution:
[ ] ( ) 0 0.5 1 0.5 0 y +
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 6
[ ] ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 1 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.05 2 0.15 0 y + +
[ ] ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2 0.5 0.01 0.04 0.5 0.09
0.005 0.04 .045 0.001
y +
+
[ ] ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
3 3 3
3 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.3
.0005 .008 .0135 0.006
y +
+
Partial Fraction expansion of multiple poles
Find the inverse Z transform of
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
1
1 .25
z z
F z
z z
+

.
The first step is to save a z:
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
2 2
1
1 .25
1 .25 .25
F z z A B C
z z z
z z z
+
+ +


(5.3.4)
To find A, multiply through by z-1 and evaluate at z = 1,
( )
( ) ( )
2 2
1
1 2
3.56
.25 .75
z
z
A
z

+

.
To find B, multiply through by ( )
2
.25 z
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
1
.25 .25
1 1
z A
z B C z
z z
+
+ +

, (i)
and then evaluate at z = .25
( )
( )
.25
1 1.25 5 4 5
1.67
1 .75 4 3 3
z
z
B
z

+


.
To get C, we first take the derivative of Eq. (i) with respect to z
( )
( )
( )
2
1
.25
1 1
z d d A
z C
dz z dz z
1 +
1
+
1
1

]
]
,
and then evaluate at z = .25, which will eliminate the term with the A
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 7
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
.25
2 2
.25
1 1 1 1 1
1
1
2 2
3.56
1 .75
z
z
z z z d
C
dz z
z
z

1 + +

1

]



( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
2 2
1 3.56 1.67 3.56
1 .25
1 .25 .25
z z z z
F z
z z
z z z
+
+ +


The second term we rewrite to match a formula in Z transform Table:
( ) ( ) ( )
2 2 2
1.67 0.25 0.25
1.67 6.68
.25
.25 .25 .25
z z z
z z z

.
Therefore,
[ ] ( ) ( ) [ ] 3.56 6.68 .25 3.56 .25
k k
f k k u k
1

]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
Take the partial fraction expansion of
( )
( )
( ) ( )
3
1
1 .25
z z
F z
z z
+

.
Solution
First, save a z:
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
3 3 2
1
1 .25
1 .25 .25 .25
F z z A B C D
z z z
z z z z
+
+ + +


. (5.3.5)
We get A in the usual way:
( )
( )
3
1
1
4.74
.25
z
z
A
z

+

We will solve for B, C, and D by multiplying through by ( )

3
.25 z
( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
3 1 2
1
.25 .25 .25
1 1
z A
z B C z D z
z z
+
+ + +

. (5.3.6)
We get B by evaluating at z=0.25
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 8
( )
( )
1/ 4
1 5/ 4
0.6
1 3/ 4
z
z
B
z

+


.
To get C, we take the first derivative of Eq. (5.3.6) and then evaluate at z = :
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
1
3 .25 2 .25
1 1
z d A
z C D z
dz z z
+
+ +

, (5.3.7)
and then evaluate at z = :
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2 2
1/ 4
1/ 4 1/ 4
1 1 1 1 1 2
3.55
1
1 1
z
z z
z z z d
C
dz z
z z

1 1
+ +
1 1

1 1
] ]
.
To get D, we have to take another derivative of Eq. (5.3.7),
( )
( )
( )
2
1
2
1
3 2 .25 2
1 1
z d A
z D
dz z z
1 +
+
1

]
,
and evaluate at z = :
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
2 3 2
1/ 4
1/ 4 1/ 4
1 1 1 2 1 4
4.74
2 1 2 2
1 1
z
z z
z d d
D
dz z dz
z z

1 1
1 +
1 1
1

1 1
]
] ]
.
Now we have all the constants in Eq. (5.3.5):
( )
( ) ( )
( )
3 2
4.74 0.6 3.55 4.74
1 .25
.25 .25
z z z z
F z
z z
z z

+ + +


.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example
Find the inverse Z transform of
( )
( ) ( )
2
1
0.5 1
F z
z z

Solution
Note that we are missing a z in the numerator to save, but we will proceed with the expansion:
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
2 2
1
0.5 1
0.5 1 1
A B C
F z
z z
z z z
+ +


.
( )
( )
2
1
0.5
1 1
4, 2,
0.5
1
z
z
A B
z
z

5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 9

( )
( )
2
2
2
1 1
4
0.5
0.5
z
z
d
C
dz z
z

.
Now we write
( )
( )
( )
1 1 1
2
4 2 4
0.5 1
1
z z z
F z z z z
z z
z

_
_
_
+





,
,
,
.
When we go back to the sample time domain, we get
[ ] ( ) ( )
( )
( )
1
4 0.5 2 1 4 1
k
f k k u k

+ .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problems
5.3. 1. Find the invers e Z transfor ms of the folloin! f"n#tions$
a%.
( )
( )
1 2
1
1
z
F z
z
+

&%.
( )
( )
2 2
1
.2
F z
z

#%. ( ) ( )
2 1 2
3
F z z z z

+
d%. ( )
4 2
1
2 5
F z
z z

+
e%
( )
( ) ( )
5
1
1/ 2 1/ 3
F z
z z

5.3. 2 'olve for y[k] for the !iven for#in! f"n#tions. (ss"me all initial
#onditions are )ero.
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
3 1
1 2 2
4 8
y k y k y k f k + .
*he#+ the first three ter ms of ,o"r sol"tion a!ai nst the first three ter ms
o&t ai ned dire#tl , from the e-"ati on.
a. [ ] [ ] f k u k
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 10
&. [ ] ( ) [ ] 0.5
k
f k u k
5.3. 3 Find the invers e Z transfor m of the folloin! f"n#tion. .rite ,o"r
anser in the most #on#ise form /ossi&l e.
( )
2
1
1.6 .64
z
H z
z z

+
.
5.3 Inverse Z 4/24/ 2014 11