ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the continuous-time Fourier transform technique for continuous-time signals and then proceed to the discrete-time Fourier transform for discrete-time sequences. The concept of z-transform is introduced next, which is useful in analyzing and synthesizing discrete-time signals and systems. Some specific areas where Fourier transforms (FTs) are applied include steady-state and resonance analysis of signals, modulation, filter design, sampling rate selection, stability analysis, correlations by block processing, and pitch period estimation. The continuous-time periodic signal can be simply characterized as a sum of harmonically related sine, cosine waveforms. Some specific areas where FTs are applied include steady-state and resonance analysis of signals, modulation, filter design, sampling rate selection, stability analysis, correlations by block processing, pitch period estimation. The motivation for transforming a signal from one domain to another is that the characteristics of a signal are visible directly and can be easily extracted from such a representation.
