EEE 107 Lecture 2a:

Frequency Domain
Representation of Signals
R EVIEW O F FO UR IER SER IES

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 1

Review of Last Lecture
• Discussed basic elements of a communication system
bˆ1bˆ2 ...
b1b2 ...
x (t ) xˆ (t ) mˆ (t )
m (t )
Information Destination
Source Transmitter Channel Receiver

• Introduced different signal classifications, channel effects, and

transmission modes
• Identified system design parameters, both technological and
physical limitations, that limit the performance of communication
system

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 2

Communication Signals
• Time-varying quantities such as voltage, current, electromagnetic
fields
• Can be represented in frequency domain as a linear combination
of sinusoidal components with different frequencies
• Analysis of signals and system is easier (most of the time) in
frequency domain
• Tools for frequency domain analysis are: Fourier Series (for
periodic signals) and Fourier Transform (for aperiodic signals)

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 3

Periodicity of Signals

-T0 0 T0 2T0

• xp(t) is periodic if there exists some finite T such that xp(t)=xp(t+T)

for all t
• Smallest such T is fundamental period T0
• Any integer multiple of T0 is a period of xp(t)
• Fundamental frequency is defined as f0=1/T0

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 4

Decomposition of Periodic Signals

-T0 0 T0 2T0

c2
c1 c3
+ +
0 T0 0 T0 0 T0

Periodic signals can be expressed as a sum of sinusoidal

components with frequencies f0, 2f0, 3f0, …, kf0 and complex weights
c0, c1 , c2, …, ck

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 5

 The Fourier Series Expansion
• Uses complex exponential as basis function
• Synthesis Equation of Fourier Series:

x p (t )  c e
k  
k
j 2k f 0 t

Signal has components only

ck represent the complex weight at integer multiples of the
of the exponential function fundamental frequency f0

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 6

The Fourier Series Expansion


Synthesis Equation: x p (t )  k
c e
k  
j 2kf 0t

1
Analysis Equation: ck   x p (t )e  j 2kf 0t
dt
T0 T0

|Xp(f)|  Xp(f)
|c-2|
|c-1| |c1| |c2|  c-1  c1  c2
 c-2  c0
|c0|

-2f0 -f0 0 f0 2f0 -2f0 -f0 0 f0 2f0

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 7

 The Fourier Series Expansion
Trigonometric Form:

x p (t )  a0  2 ak cos(2kf 0t )  bk sin( 2kf 0t )
k 1
1
1
ak   x p (t ) cos(2kf 0t )dt bk   x p (t ) sin( 2kf 0t )dt
T0 T0 T0 T0

For real signals, we exploit symmetry of Fourier

Series coefficients ( ck  c k , ck  c k ): ak  jbk , k  0


ck  ak  jbk , k  0
x p (t )  c0  2 ck cos(2kf 0t  ck ) c  a
 0 0
k 1

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 8

 The Fourier Series Expansion
Trigonometric form can be used to separate even and odd components

x p (t )  a0  2 ak cos(2kf 0t )  bk sin( 2kf 0t )
k 1

• even part of x(t) is composed of cosine terms only

• odd part of x(t) is composed of sine terms only
• a0 is the DC offset of the signal (average value)

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 9

Parseval’s Power Theorem
… states that for a periodic signal x(t) with finite power, we have
∞
1 2 2
𝑃𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑥 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑐𝑛
𝑇0 𝑇0 𝑛=−∞

• Average power  sum of magnitude squares of the phasor c k

• provides a method for computing the average power in the
frequency domain

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 10

Line Spectra
• As discussed, signals can be represented as a combination of sinusoids
with different frequency, amplitude, and phase
• A suitable representation would be the line spectrum, which consists of
the magnitude response and phase response
• Example:
x p (t)  Acos(2 πf1t)  Bsin(2 πf 2 t)

|Xp(f)|  Xp(f)

A B B A 90

-f1 -f2 f2 f1 -f1 -f2 f2 f1

-90

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 11

Rectangular Pulse Train Example
Determine the Fourier Series coefficients of the periodic signal
given below. Solve for the power contributed by the DC
component of the signal.

-.5τ .5τ t
-T0 0 T0 2T0

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 12

 Rectangular Pulse Train Example
0.5 τ
1

 j 2 π k ft
ck  Ae dt Symmetric Coefficients (cn=c-n
*)
T0  0.5 τ Infinite Frequency Content
Aτ/T0 c0 c1
A c2
c3 c8 c9 c10
c7
-.5τ .5τ t f
-T0 0 T0 2T0 1/τ c4 c c6
5

  k  sin(x)
ck  A sinc , where sinc  x  
T0  T0  x

To get the DC power, solve for c0 :

c0 = Aτ/T0  PDC = (Aτ/T0)2

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 13

DEMO: Synthesizing Rectangular
Pulse Train
Verify using MATLAB that the Fourier Series Coefficients
obtained from the previous example would indeed synthesize a
rectangular pulse train

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 14

EEE 107 Lecture 2b:
Frequency Domain
Representation of Signals
R EVIEW O F FO UR IER TR A NSFO R M

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 15

Review of Last Lecture
• We have shown that spectral components of a periodic signal can
be analyzed using Fourier Series
• Synthesis Equation: represent x(t) in terms of ck [ck  x(t)]
• Analysis Equation: obtain coefficients ck from x(t) [x(t)  ck ]
• Frequency-domain can be graphically represented in terms of
magnitude and phase spectra
• Parseval’s Power Theorem for solving average power in time
domain and frequency domain

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 16

Fourier Transform
• Frequency domain representation of aperiodic signals can be
obtained using Fourier Transform
• Fourier Transform and Inverse Fourier Transform provides a one-
to-one mapping between time domain and frequency domain

x(t) X(f)

t f

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 17

 From Fourier Series to Transform
X(f)
xp(t) x(t) 1/T0 Xp(f)

-T0 0 T0 t
0 f

•Repeat x(t) every T0 seconds to get xp(t)

•Fourier series coefficients separated in frequency by f0=1/T0
•As T0, discrete samples in frequency domain become a
continuous signal in f

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 18

 From Fourier Series to Transform
At T0  
X(f)
x(t)

0 t
0 f
In the limiting case of T0
2kt 
j

1 X(f )   j 2ft
ck   x(t )e T0
dt x (t )e dt
T0 T0 

 2kt 

 ck e
j
x(t )  T0 x(t )   X ( f )e j 2ft
df

k  

See this link for derivation: http://lpsa.swarthmore.edu/Fourier/Series/FTFS.html

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 19

Rectangular Pulse Example
Solve for the Fourier transform of the following signal
𝜏
𝑡 𝐴, 𝑡 <
𝐴Π = 2
𝜏 𝜏
0, 𝑡 >
2

t
−𝜏 2 0 𝜏 2

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 20

 Rectangular Pulse Example
Solution:

∞
𝑉 𝑓 = 𝑣 𝑡 𝑒 −𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑡 𝑑𝑡
−∞
𝜏 2 −𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑡 𝜏 2
𝑒 𝐴
= 𝐴𝑒 −𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝐴
−𝜏 2 −𝑗2𝜋𝑓 −𝜏 2
𝐴 𝜏
= sin 𝜋𝑓𝜏 t
𝜋𝑓 𝜏
−𝜏 2 0 𝜏 2
𝑉 𝑓 = 𝐴𝜏 sinc 𝑓𝜏

sin 𝜋𝑥
Note: sinc 𝑥 =
𝜋𝑥

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 21

Rectangular Pulse Example

Observations:
•Majority of frequency content is concentrated within -1/τ to +1/τ
• Smaller pulse width  wider main lobe of sinc function
• X(f) occupies infinite bandwidth

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 22

 Inverse Relationship Between
Time and Frequency
Infinite Frequency Content
A

-.5T .5T t
f

• If the time-domain description of a signal is changed, the frequency-

domain description is also changed in an inverse manner, and vice-versa
• Scale change property:
ℱ 1 𝑓
α  1, time shrink
𝑥 𝛼𝑡 𝑋 , 𝛼≠0
𝛼 𝛼 α  1, time expansion
• Signal cannot be both time-limited (finite duration) and band-limited (finite
bandwidth)

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 23

Rayleigh’s Energy Theorem
• Since aperiodic signals have zero average power (since T0  ∞),
we use energy instead
• We defined signal energy as follows:
∞
𝐸= 𝑣 𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡
−∞

• Rayleigh’s Energy Theorem

∞ ∞
2 2
𝐸= 𝑣 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑉 𝑓 𝑑𝑓
−∞ −∞

• Analagous to Parseval’s Power Theorem

2
• We call 𝑉 𝑓 the energy spectral density of the signal

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 24

Power Signals vs. Energy Signals
• Aside from periodicity, we can characterize signals as either a
power signal or an energy signal
• Power signals have finite, non-zero signal power
1 2 𝑑𝑡
0< 𝑥 𝑡 < ∞
𝑇0 𝑇0

• Energy signals have finite signal energy

∞ 2
−∞
𝑥 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 < ∞

• A signal can be a power signal, energy signal, or neither type

• Cannot be both

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 25

Duality Theorem
• If 𝑣 𝑡 and 𝑉 𝑓 is a Fourier transform pair,

ℱ
𝑣 𝑡 𝑉 𝑓

𝑧 𝑡 =𝑉 𝑡
ℱ 𝑧 𝑡 = 𝑣 −𝑓

• Due to similarity of the Fourier transform and inverse Fourier

transform integrals
• Handy way of generating Fourier Transform pairs without the handy
labor of integration

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 26

Fourier Transform Properties
Linearity:
𝑣 𝑡 = 𝑎1 𝑣1 𝑡 + 𝑎2 𝑣2 𝑡
𝑉 𝑓 = 𝑎1 𝑉1 𝑓 + 𝑎2 𝑉 𝑓
Time delay:
ℱ
𝑣 𝑡 − 𝑡𝑑 𝑉 𝑓 𝑒 −𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑡𝑑
• Delay does not affect the amplitude spectrum
• Only phase is affected: ∠𝑉 𝑓 − 2𝜋𝑓𝑡𝑑
Time/Frequency Scaling:
1ℱ 𝑓
𝑣 𝛼𝑡 𝑉 ,𝛼 ≠ 0
𝛼 𝛼
• Compression in time  Expansion in frequency
• Expansion in time  Compression in frequency

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 27

Fourier Transform Properties
Frequency Translation:
ℱ
𝑣 𝑡 𝑒 𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑉 𝑓 − 𝑓𝑐

• 𝑉 𝑓 is translated by 𝑓𝑐
• Obtained by applying duality theorem to time delay property
Modulation Theorem:
𝑒 𝑗𝜙 𝑗2𝜋𝑓 𝑡
𝑒 −𝑗𝜙
𝑣 𝑡 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜙 = 𝑣 𝑡 𝑒 𝑐 + 𝑣 𝑡 𝑒 −𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
2 2
𝑗𝜙
ℱ 𝑒 𝑒 −𝑗𝜙
𝑣 𝑡 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜙 𝑉 𝑓 − 𝑓𝑐 + 𝑉 𝑓 + 𝑓𝑐
2 2

• Obtained by Euler’s identity and frequency translation property

• Carrier signal  cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜙 and Message signal  𝑣 𝑡
• Spectrum of message is translated by +𝑓𝑐 and −𝑓𝑐

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 28

Fourier Transform Properties
Differentiation in time:
𝑑𝑣 𝑡 ℱ
𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑉 𝑓
𝑑𝑡

• Enhances high frequency components

• Electronic Differentiator includes a first-order high pass filter
Integration in time:
𝑡 ℱ 1
𝑣 𝜆 𝑑𝜆 𝑉 𝑓
−∞ 𝑗2𝜋𝑓

• Enhances low frequency components

• Electronic Integrator includes a first-order low pass filter

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 29

Fourier Transform Properties
Convolution Theorem
ℱ
𝑢 𝑡 ∗𝑤 𝑡 𝑉 𝑓 𝑊 𝑓

ℱ
𝑢 𝑡 𝑤 𝑡 𝑉 𝑓 ∗𝑊 𝑓

• Important in analysis of LTI System Responses

• Easier to multiply than to convolve!

x(t) x(t)*h(t)
h(t)
X(f) X(f)H(f)
H(f)

EEE 107: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 30