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Introduction to DSP

IIR filters

The meaning of z

z is a complex number:

When drawn on the Argand diagram, z has the curious property that it can only have a magnitude of 1:

So z, which is the variable used in our frequency response, traces a circle of radius 1 on the Argand diagram. This is called the unit circle.

The map of values in the z plane is called the transfer function H(z).

The frequency response is the transfer function H(z) evaluated around the unit circle on the Argand diagram of z:

Note that in the sampled data z plane, frequency response maps onto a circle - which helps to visualise the effect of aliasing.

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| Last updated: 3rd January 1998 | http://www.bores.com/courses/intro/iir/5_z.htm


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