ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the definition and significance of the matched filter in order to clarify the sense in which it is optimal. It also examines two hybrid chaotic systems in detail, and show how simple matched filters can be defined for their oscillations. The chapter describes an experimental implementation of an electronic chaotic oscillator and its matched filter. A central concern in the design of a communication system is the problem of noise from extraneous sources interfering with reception of transmitted information. A receiver must decide whether a bit of information in a received waveform originated at the transmitter or is due to entropy-generating external noise sources. A matched filter is a key component in many communication and radar systems. Specifically, a matched filter is a linear filter whose output maximizes the ratio of signal power to noise power when receiving a known signal (i.e., the signal to which the filter is matched) contaminated with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN).
