CHAPTER I

Introduction to Signals and

Systems
Lecture 1: Signals

University of Engineering and Technology - VNU Hanoi

Signals and Systems 2010 1 / 29

 Classification of Signals What is a signal?

A physical quantity that conveys information on

the nature of a physical phenomenon.
A function of one or more variables
A speech signal: function of time (one-dimensional
signal).
A dynamic picture (projection of a dynamic scene
into an image plane): multi-dimensional function of
three variables x, y, t.

Signals and Systems 2010 2 / 29

 Classification of Signals Continuous vs. Discrete signals

Continuous-time vs. Discrete-time signals

Continuous-time signals:
Value varies continuously with time.
Discrete-time signals:
Value only changes at discrete instants of time.
Can be derived from a continuous-time signal by
sampling it at discrete instants of time, usually with a
uniform rate.

Signals and Systems 2010 3 / 29

 Classification of Signals Continuous vs. Discrete signals

Continuous-valued vs. Discrete-valued signals

Continuous-valued signals: can take any value
in a continuous range (finite or infinite).
Discrete-valued signals: can take only values
from a discrete set (finite or infinite).

Analog vs. Digital signals

Analog signals: continuous-time
continuous-valued signals.
Digital signals: discrete-time signals which can
take only values from a finite set → values of
digital signals are quantized.

Signals and Systems 2010 4 / 29

 Classification of Signals Periodic vs. Nonperiodic signals

Periodic signals: repeating themselves after a

certain amount of time, i.e.,
∃T > 0 : f (t + T ) = f (t).
Fundamental period of a periodic signal: the smallest
value of T which satisfies the above condition.
Nonperiodic signals: there is no value of T
satisfying the above condition.

Signals and Systems 2010 5 / 29

 Classification of Signals Causal, anti-causal and non-causal signals

Causal signals: having non-zero values only on

the non-negative part of the time, i.e.,
∀t < 0 : f (t) = 0.
Anti-causal signals: having non-zero values only
on the non-positive part of the time, i.e.,
∀t > 0 : f (t) = 0.
Non-causal signals: can have non-zero values
on both positive and negative parts of time.

Signals and Systems 2010 6 / 29

 Classification of Signals Even vs. Odd signals

Even signals: f (t) = f (−t).

Odd signals: f (t) = −f (−t).
Any signal can be represented as a sum of an
even signal and an odd signal:

f (t) = feven (t) + fodd (t)

in which:
1
feven (t) = [f (t) + f (−t)]
2
1
fodd (t) = [f (t) − f (−t)]
2

Signals and Systems 2010 7 / 29

 Classification of Signals Deterministic vs. Random signals

Deterministic signals: value at any instant of

time is specified by a mathematical formula or a
lookup table.
Random signals: there are some uncertainties
about the signals before they occur → unable to
determine exact values at instants of time in the
future.

Signals and Systems 2010 8 / 29

 Classification of Signals Multi-channel and multi-dimensional signals

Multi-channel signals: represented in the form of

a vector whose components are single-channel
signals
F(t) = [f1 (t) f2 (t) ... fN (t)]
Multi-dimensional signals: functions of multiple
independent variables

f (x1 , x2 , ..., xN )

Signals and Systems 2010 9 / 29

 Classification of Signals Rigt-sided vs. Left-sided signals

Right-sided signals:

∀t < t0 < ∞ : f (t) = 0

Left-sided signals:

∀t > t0 > −∞ : f (t) = 0

Lê Vũ Hà (VNU - UET) Signals and Systems 2010 10 / 29

 Classification of Signals Finite-length vs. Infinite-length signals

Finite-length signals: having a finite support, i.e.,

∃ − ∞ < t1 < t2 < ∞ : f (t) = 0 if t ∈
/ [t1 , t2 ].
Infinite-length signals: having an infinite support.

Signals and Systems 2010 11 / 29

 Energy and Power of Signals Energy of signals

Energy of a continuous-time signal f (t) is

defined as:
Z ∞
Ef = |f (t)|2 dt
−∞

Energy of a discrete-time signal f (n) is defined

as: ∞
X
Ef = |f (n)|2
n=−∞

Signals and Systems 2010 12 / 29

 Energy and Power of Signals Norms of signals

Lp -norm of a continuous-time signal f (t) is

defined as:
Z ∞ 1/p
p
||f (t)||p = |f (t)| dt
−∞

Lp -norm of a discrete-time signal f (n) is defined

as: " ∞ #1/p
X
||f (n)||p = |f (n)|p
n=−∞

Signals and Systems 2010 13 / 29

 Energy and Power of Signals Norms of signals

Energy of a signal is the square of its L2 -norm:

Ef = ||f ||22

When p → ∞:

||f (t)||∞ = ess sup |f (t)|

||f (n)||∞ = max{f (n)}
n

Signals and Systems 2010 14 / 29

 Energy and Power of Signals Energy signals

A signal having finite energy is called an energy

signal.
Periodic signals are not energy signals: energy
of a periodic signal is always infinite.
Finite-length deterministic signals are energy
signals.

Signals and Systems 2010 15 / 29

 Energy and Power of Signals Power of signals

Power of a signal is defined as the average

energy of that signal over time.
For a continuous-time signals f (t), its power is
computed by the following formula:

1 T /2
Z
Pf = lim |f (t)|2 dt
T →∞ T −T /2

For a discrete-time signal f (n), its power is

computed by the following formula:
N
1 X
Pf = lim |f (n)|2
N→∞ 2N + 1
i=−N

Signals and Systems 2010 16 / 29

 Energy and Power of Signals Power of signals

Power of a continuous-time periodic signal f (t)

with the period of T is equal to its everage
energy in a period:

1 T
Z
Pf = |f (t)|2 dt
T 0
Power of a discrete-time periodic signal f (n)
with the period of N is also equal to its everage
energy in a period:
N
1X
Pf = |f (n)|2
N
i=0

Signals and Systems 2010 17 / 29

 Energy and Power of Signals Power signals

A signal having finite non-zero power is called a

power signal.
An energy signal can not be power signal:
power of energy signals is always equal to zero.
A power signal can not be energy signal: energy
of power signals is always infinite (for example,
periodic signals).

Signals and Systems 2010 18 / 29

 Operations on the Independent Variable Time shifting

Delaying: shifting the signal toward the right of

the time axis, i.e., f (t) → f (t − T ) (T > 0).
Advancing: shifting the signal toward the left of
the time axis, i.e., f (t) → f (t + T ) (T > 0).

Signals and Systems 2010 19 / 29

 Operations on the Independent Variable Time scaling

Scaling the independent variable by a factor will

change the width of the signal.
Compressing: f (t) → f (at) (a > 1).
Stretching: f (t) → f (at) (0 < a < 1).

Signals and Systems 2010 20 / 29

 Operations on the Independent Variable Reflection

Reflection of a signal is obtained by replacing

time t with −t, i.e., f (t) → f (−t).
The reflection of an even signal is itself.
The reflection of an odd signal is its negative.

Signals and Systems 2010 21 / 29

 Elementary Signals Impulse signals

The continuous-time unit impulse signal,

denoted δ(t), is defined by the Dirac delta
function:

0 (t 6= 0) Z ∞
δ(t) = and δ(t)dt = 1

6= 0 (t = 0) −∞

The discrete-time unit impulse signal, denoted

δ(n), is defined as:

0 (n 6= 0)
δ(n) =
1 (n = 0)


Signals and Systems 2010 22 / 29

 Elementary Signals Step signals

The continuous-time unit step signal, denoted

u(t), is defined as:

0 (t < 0)
u(t) =
1 (t ≥ 0)


The discrete-time unit step signal, denoted u(n),

is defined as:

0 (n < 0)
u(n) =
1 (n ≥ 0)


Signals and Systems 2010 23 / 29

 Elementary Signals Ramp signals

The continuous-time ramp signal is defined as:


0 (t < 0)
r (t) =
t (t ≥ 0)

or equivalently, r (t) = tu(t).

The discrete-time ramp signal is defined as:

0 (n < 0)
r (n) =
n (n ≥ 0)

or equivalently, r (n) = nu(n).

Signals and Systems 2010 24 / 29

 Elementary Signals Sinusoidal signals

A continuous-time real-valued sinusoidal signal

can be represented in the following form:

s(t) = A cos(ωt + φ)

in which, A is the magnitude, ω is the angular

frequency (rad/s), and φ is phase angle (rad) of
the signal. The period of this periodic signal is
T = 2π/ω.
It can also be represented in the form of a
function of the frequency variable f = 1/T (Hz):

s(t) = A cos(2πft + φ)

Signals and Systems 2010 25 / 29

 Elementary Signals Sinusoidal signals

The discrete-time version of a real-valued

sinusoidal signal is given as:

s(n) = A cos(Ωn + φ)

in which, Ω is the angular frequency in rad/cycle.

This discrete-time signal may or may not be
periodic. For it to be periodic with a period of N,
the following must be satisfied: ΩN = 2πm with
some integer m.

Signals and Systems 2010 26 / 29

 Elementary Signals Real exponential signals

A continuous-time real exponential signal can

be represented in the following form:

f (t) = Aeαt

in which, A and α are real values.

If α > 0, f (t) is a growing exponential; if α < 0,
f (t) is a decaying exponential.

Signals and Systems 2010 27 / 29

 Elementary Signals Complex exponential signals

A continuous-time complex exponential signal

can be represented in the following form:

f (t) = Ae(σ+jω)t

Relation between sinusoidal and complex

exponential signals: using Euler’s identity for
ejωt , we derive the following representation for
the complex exponential signal:

f (t) = Aeσt [cos(ωt) + j sin(ωt)]

Signals and Systems 2010 28 / 29

 Elementary Signals Complex exponential signals

f (t) is a complex-valued function of which the

real and imaginary parts are computed as
follows (is A is real):
Re[f (t)] = Aeσt cos(ωt)
Im[f (t)] = Aeσt sin(ωt)]
f (t) is also called a complex sinusoidal signal
with the complex magnitude Aeσt and the
angular frequency ω.
The real magnitude of f (t) is |A|eσt and phase
angle is φ, in which:
Im(A)
q
|A| = Re(A)2 + Im(A)2 and φ = arctan
Re(A)
Signals and Systems 2010 29 / 29