Digital Filter Design

Q. Imagine you are working on designing a digital filter to process discrete-time signals, such as
audio or sensor data. Create a digital filter that eliminates or attenuates unwanted frequencies in the
signal.
Solution:
To design a digital filter using the Z-transform, let's consider a specific design problem. Suppose you
want to design a causal Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter with the following desired transfer
function:

1 − �−1
� � =
1 − 0.5�−1
Here, �(�) represents the Z-transform of the filter, and we want to design a digital filter with this
transfer function.
Step 1: Convert the Desired Transfer Function to Difference Equation
To design the filter, we first need to convert the desired transfer function into a difference equation.
This equation relates the input and output of the filter in discrete time.
The transfer function H(z) can be written as

�(�) 1 − �−1
� � = =
�(�) 1 − 0.5�−1

where:
Y(z) is the Z-transform of the filter's output.
X(z) is the Z-transform of the filter's input.

To obtain the difference equation, we can multiply both sides by 1 − 0.5�−1 , and then apply the
inverse Z-transform to obtain the time-domain difference equation:

1 − 0.5�−1 � � = 1 − �−1 � �

The inverse Z-transform of the left side of this equation gives us the difference equation:
� � − 0.5� � − 1 = � � − �[� − 1]
This difference equation describes the relationship between the input (�[�]) and the output (�[�]) of
the filter.
Step 2: Implement the Filter
Now that we have the difference equation, we can implement the digital filter in software or hardware.
In this case, the filter is a causal FIR filter with coefficients �0 = 1 and �1 =− 1 for the output and
�0 = 1 and �1 =− 0.5 for the input:
� � = � � − � � − 1 + 0.5�[� − 1]
This equation describes how the output �[�] is computed based on the input �[�] and previous values
of the output.
By implementing this digital filter, you can apply it to a discrete-time signal to remove or attenuate
certain frequencies as specified by the transfer function H(z). This is a common application of the Z-
transform in digital signal processing and filter design.