Digital Signal Processing

1 , n = 0,1,..., ( M − 1) / 2
w(n) = 
0 , elsewhere
The resulting impulse response decays
smoothly towards zero as shown below.

6.4 Some Common Window Functions

a) Hamming Window
One of the most widely used window
functions is the Hamming window which is
defined as

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 − ( M − 2) / 2 ≤ n ≤ ( M − 1) / 2 ( M .odd )
0.54 + 0.46 cos(2πn / M ) 
w(n) =   −M /2 ≤ n ≤ M /2 ( M .even)

 0 elsewhere

b) Hanning Window
The Hanning window is defined as
 − ( M − 2) / 2 ≤ n ≤ ( M − 1) / 2 ( M .odd )
0.5 + 0.5 cos(2πn / M ) 
w(n) =   −M /2≤ n ≤ M /2 ( M .even)

 0 elsewhere

c) Blackman Window
The Blackman window is defined as
  2πn   4πn − ( M − 2) / 2 ≤ n ≤ ( M − 1) / 2 ( M .odd )
0.42 + 0.5 cos  + 0.08 cos 
w(n) =   M −1   M − 1  −M /2 ≤ n ≤ M /2 ( M .even)

 0 elsewhere

The most relevant features of some of the

most popular window functions are
summurized in Table 6.2.

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6.5 Summary of the Window Method of

Calculating FIR Filter Coefficients
Step 1: Specify the “ideal” or desired frequency
response H D (ω ) .

Step 2: Using the table provided before, select

the impulse response, hD (n) , of the desired
filter.

Step 3: Select a window function that satisfies

the passband or attenuation specifications and
then determine the number of filter
coefficients.

Step 4: Obtain values of w(n) for the chosen

window function and the values of the actual
FIR coefficients, h(n) , by multiplying hD (n) by
w(n) :
h(n) = hD (n) w(n)

Example: Determine the coefficients of an FIR

lowpass filter to meet the specifications given
below using the window method.

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Passband edge frequency=1.5kHz

Transition width=0.5kHz
Stopband attenuation>50dB
Sampling frequency, Fs=8kHz

Solution: Using Table 6.1, we select hD (n) for

LPF which is given by
 2 f c sin(nω c )
 , n≠0
hD (n) =  nω c
 2 fc , n=0
From Table, it can be seen that the Hamming,
Blackman and Kaiser windows satisfy the
stopband attenuation requirements. Let us
select the Hamming window for simplicity.

Now, transition width, ∆F = 0.5kHz

∆F 0.5
Normalized transition width, ∆f = = = 0.0625
Fs 8

Using Table 6.2, we obtain that the transition

width for Hamming window is ∆f = 3.3 / M from
which we obtain the filter length as
3.3 3.3
M= = = 52.8
M = 53
∆f 0.0625

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Then the filter coefficients can be calculated

from h(n) = hD (n) w(n) for − 26 ≤ n ≤ 26 .

However, the cutoff frequency of the resulting

filter is different from the one given in the
specifications (the smearing effect of the
window)
∆F 0.5
f c′ = f c + = 1.5 + = 1.75kHz
(Unnormalized)
2 2
Normalizing this gives 1.75/8=0.21875.

n=0
hD (0) = 2 f c′ = 2 × 0.21875 = 0.4375

w(0) = 0.54 + 0.46 cos(0) = 1

h(0) = hD (0) w(0) = 0.4375

2 × 0.21875
n=1
hD (1) = sin(2π × 0.21875) = 0.31219
2π × 0.21875
2π
w(1) = 0.54 + 0.46 cos( ) = 0.99677
53

h(1) = h(−1) = hD (1) w(1) = 0.31118

2 × 0.21875
n=2
hD (2) = sin( 2 × 2π × 0.21875) = 0.06013
2 × 2π × 0.21875

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2 × 2π
w(2) = 0.54 + 0.46 cos( ) = 0.98713
53

h(2) = h(−2) = hD (2) w(2) = 0.06012
. . .
. . .
. . .
n=26

2 × 0.21875
hD (26) = sin( 26 × 2π × 0.21875) = −0.01131
26 × 2π × 0.21875
26 × 2π
w(2) = 0.54 + 0.46 cos( ) = 0.08081
53

h(26) = h(−26) = hD (26) w(26) = −0.000914

Note that the indices of the filter coefficients

run from -26 to 26. To make the filter causal
(necessary for implementation) we add 26 to
eac index so that the indices start at zero.

For instance, after this adjustment, we obtain

h(0+26)=h(26)=0.4375
h(1+26)=h(27)=0.31118
h(2+26)=h(28)=0.06012
. . .
. . .
h(26+26)=h(52)=-0.000914

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The filter coefficients, with indices adjusted, are

listed in the following Table.

Example: A requirement exists for an FIR filter

to meet the following specifications:
Passband =150-250Hz
Transition width=50Hz

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Passband ripple= 0.1dB

Stopband attenuation=60dB
Sampling frequency=1kHz

Obtain the filter coefficients and spectrum using

the window method.

Solution: From the specification, the passband

and stopband ripples are
Passband ripple:

20 log(1 + δ p ) = 0.1dB
0.1
log(1 + δ p ) = = 0.005
20
1 + δ p = 100.005 = 1.01157
δ p = 0.01157
Stopband ripple:

− 20 log(δ s ) = 60dB
60
log(δ s ) = − = −3
20
δ s = 10 −3 = 0.001
We use the smaller of the ripples,

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 δ = min(δ p , δ s ) = 0.001
It is clear from Table 6.2 that the attenuation
requirements can be met by the Kaiser or the
Blackman window.

For the Kaiser window, the number of

coefficients is computed by
A − 7.95 60 − 7.95
M≥ = = 72.49
14.36∆f 14.36(50 / 1000)
where A = −20 log10 (δ ) = 60 . The Kaiser
window function is (see Table 6.2)
  2 1/ 2 
  2n   
I o β 1 −    
   M − 1   
w(n) =
I o (β )
Where I o (x ) is the zero-order modified Bessel
function of the first kind. The ripple parameter,
β , is given by
β = 0 if A ≤ 21dB
β = 0.5842( A − 21) 0.4 + 0.007886( A − 21)
if 21dB < A < 50dB
CHAPTER 6: Finite Impulse Response (FIR) Filter Design 21
Digital Signal Processing

β = 0.1102( A − 8.7) if A ≥ 50dB

Clearly, the coefficient computation using

Kaiser window requires tedious computations
by hand. Therefore, we will discuss its
computation method by a MATLAB program
later!

For the Blackman window, an estimate of the

number of filter coefficients is obtained as
(from Table 6.2)
5.5 5 .5
M= = ≈ 110
∆f (50 / 1000)

To account for the smearing effects of the

window function, we compute the cutoff
frequencies as follows
∆f (50 / 1000)
f c′1 = f c1 − = 150 − × 1000 = 125Hz
2 2
∆f (50 / 1000)
f c′2 = f c 2 + = 250 + × 1000 = 275Hz
2 2

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Finally, using the Blackman window function

given in Table 6.2, we can compute the filter
coefficients.

(EXERCISE)

6.6 FIR Filter Design With MATLAB

The MATLAB Signal Processing Toolbox contains
an excellent set of programs and functions for
the design and analysis of different types of FIR
filters.

For standard, frequency selective linear phase

window based FIR filterd design (lowpass,
highpass, bandpass and bandstop), the key
high-level command in the Toolbox is the fir1
command. The syntax for the fir1 command
is
b=fir1(M-1,Fc)

This command computes and returns N-point

impulse response coefficients of an FIR filter
with a cutoff frequency Fc. The coefficients are
stored in the vector b which are arranged as
negative powers of z:
b( z ) = b(0) + b(1) z −1 + b(2) z −2 + ... + b( M − 1) z − ( M −1)

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The parameter , M, specifies the order of the

filter. The cutoff frequency, Fc, is normalized
with respect to the Nyquist rate (i.e, half the
sampling frequency) and lies between 0 and 1
(where 1 corresponds to the Nyquist
frequency).

By default, the basic fir1 command applies a

Hamming window and assumes a lowpass filter
(or a bandpass filter if Fc specifies more than
one cutoff frequency).

However, the basic fir1 command can be

extended by specifying the type of filter and/or
the window function. The syntax in these case
is:
b=fir1(M-1,Fc,’filter-type’)
b=fir1(M-1,Fc,window)
b=fir1(M-1,Fc,’filter-type’,window)

For a highpass filter, the word ‘high’ specifies

the filter type, and for bandstop the word ‘stop’
is used. For both bandpass and bandstop filters,
the variable Fc is a vector that specifies the

CHAPTER 6: Finite Impulse Response (FIR) Filter Design 24

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cutoff frequencies. For highpass and bandstop

filters, the filter length must be an odd integer
(even integer results in zero magnitude
response).

MATLAB supports the use of a variety of

window functions including Hamming, Hanning,
boxcar (rectangular), Kaiser, and Chebyshev
windows. The syntax for generating window
coefficients is:
w=boxcar(M)
w=blackman(M)
w=hamming(M)
w=hanning(M)
w=kaiser(M, beta)

Usually, the window command is embedded

into the fir1 command.

Example: Determine the coefficients of a linear

phase FIR lowpass filter with a passband and
stopband edge frequency of 1kHz and 4.3kHz,
respectively.

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Solution: From Table 6.2, the approximate

relationship between the transition width and
filter length for a Hamming window-based filter
is
3.3 3.3
M≈ = = 10
∆f (4.3 − 1) / 10
The actual cutoff frequency (allowing for the
smearing effect) is
∆F 3.3
f c′ = f c + = 1+ = 2.65kHz
2 2
In MATLAB, the cutoff frequency should be
normalized to half the samling frequency. Thus,
2.65
fc = = 0.53
5

MATLAB m-file:
FS=10000; %Sampling Fre.
fc=0.53; %Cutoff frequency
M=10; %Filter length
hd=fir1(M-1,fc,boxcar(M)); %Ideal
wn=hamming(M); %Calculate coefficients
hn=fir1(M-1,fc,wn); %Obtain win. coeff.
[H,f]=freqz(hn,1,512,FS);%Fre. Res.
mag=20*log10(abs(H));

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plot(f,mag), grid on
xlabel (‘Frequency (Hz)’)
ylabel (‘MagnitudeResponse(dB)’)

-10

-20
Magnitude Response (dB)

-30

-40

-50

-60

-70

-80

-90
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Frequency(Hz)

Example: Determine the coefficients and plot

the magnitude-frequency response of a
bandpass FIR filter, using the Kaiser window and
MATLAB, that meets the following
specifications:
Passband=150-250Hz

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Transition width=50Hz
Passband ripple=0.1dB
Stopband attenuation=60dB
Sampling frequency=1kHz

Solution: This problem is identical to Example

on page 19, which gives the filter length, M=73,
and the ripple parameter, β = 5.65 .

MATLAB m-file:
FS=1000;
FN=FS/2;
M=73;
beta=5.65;
fc1=125/FN;
fc2=275/FN;
FC=[fc1 fc2];
hn=fir1(M-1,FC,kaiser(M,beta));
[H,f]=freqz(hn,1,512,FS);
mag=20*log10(abs(H));
plot(f,mag), grid on
xlabel (‘Frequency (Hz)’)
ylabel (‘MagnitudeResponse(dB)’)

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f=150Hz Log(1)=0dB f=250Hz

20

-20
Magnitude Response (dB)

-40

-60

-80

-100

-120
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Frequency(Hz)

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CHAPTER 6: Finite Impulse Response (FIR) Filter Design 30