Efficient extension of conventional low frequency filter bank spectrometer by implementation of high resolution Chirp Z signal processing

Abstract

The spectral analysis of any signal involves a signal-processing tool using Fourier processors. Chirp Z Transform (CZT) is a modern technique providing ideally any frequency resolution in the spectrum. The conventional filter bank type spectrometer provides low to moderate (few 100 kHz) frequency resolution and if its frequency resolution is to be increased further then the number of channels must be increased to a large extent, necessitating extra hardware and expense. To increase the frequency resolution of a conventional filter bank further, a novel approach using Chirp Z transform has been suggested at low frequency. It is a cost effective and easy to use solution capable of providing both Chirp Z signal processing and Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) as a special case of CZT. It is an efficient way to perform offline signal processing in applications not requiring real time operation.