Latest Spectral Analysis Technical Articles

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What is it About Audio Distortion? Understanding Nonlinearity

Learn about how system nonlinearity creates distortion in audio signals that impacts the sounds we hear. We will examine sine waves, harmonics, and intermodulation distortion.

April 10, 2022 by John Woodgate

What Is the Power Spectrum of Quantization Noise?

Our series on quantization noise begins with a clarification of the framework the author used to determine the scope of his investigation into quantization noise.

March 07, 2021 by Wes Brodsky

Modeling ADCs Using Effective Number of Bits (ENOB)

Learn about the concept of ENOB (effective number of bits) and how it can be used in modeling data converters in system simulations.

February 26, 2021 by Wes Brodsky

PCB Layout Techniques for Reducing Harmonic Distortion of a Differential ADC Driver

Summary

February 19, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Reducing Distortion in Tape Recordings with Hysteresis in SPICE

Summary

January 24, 2021 by Kevin Aylward

Reducing Second Harmonic Distortion with Symmetrical PCB Layout

Need a low-distortion ADC interface? In this article, we'll discuss how to reduce 2nd harmonic distortion by using symmetric PCB layout.

January 18, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

What Is the Sinc Function and Why Is It Important in Electrical Engineering?

This Frequent Engineering Question gives a quick overview of a mathematical function that appears frequently in digital signal processing.

September 23, 2020 by Robert Keim

What Is the Fourier Transform?

This article gives you essential information on a mathematical technique that plays an absolutely fundamental role in system design and signal processing.

July 30, 2020 by Robert Keim

Anti-Aliasing Filters: Applying Sampling Theory to ADC Design

This article examines an important aspect of the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem and explains its connection to the need for anti-aliasing filters in analog-to-digital conversion.

May 20, 2020 by Robert Keim

The Nyquist–Shannon Theorem in the Frequency Domain

This article continues our discussion of sampling theory and introduces the concept of aliasing.

May 07, 2020 by Robert Keim

Assessing the ADC SNR and SFDR for Communications Systems

In this article, we will see how we can determine the SFDR for an ADC used in a radio receiver. Also, we’ll examine the ADC SNR requirement for this application.

December 22, 2019 by Dr. Steve Arar

Understanding Different Definitions of the Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) Specification

In this article, we’ll look at the spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) which is a popular specification for quantifying the linearity of a circuit.

December 01, 2019 by Dr. Steve Arar

Noise in Electronics Engineering: Distribution, Noise RMS and Peak-to-Peak Value, and Power Spectral Density

In this article, we’ll first examine an important feature of common noise sources: the relationship between the noise root mean square (RMS) and peak-to-peak value.

November 20, 2019 by Dr. Steve Arar

The Relationship Between Rise Time and Bandwidth in Digital Signals

In this article, we’ll look at the relationship between the rise/fall time of a digital signal and its bandwidth.

October 10, 2019 by Dr. Steve Arar

Low-Noise Voltage References: Understanding the Noise Performance of a Voltage Reference IC

Working with a low noise voltage reference? Learn more about noise specifications and relevant voltage reference ICs.

July 01, 2019 by Dr. Steve Arar

Quantization Noise and Amplitude Quantization Error in ADCs

Learn the methods and applications of modeling the quantization error of an ADC using a noise source.

April 22, 2019 by Dr. Steve Arar

Understanding Amplitude Quantization Error for ADCs

This article examines the quantization error of an analog-to-digital converter.

April 17, 2019 by Dr. Steve Arar

Intro Software Walkthrough: Fast Fourier Transforms and the Xilinx FFT IP Core

This article will explain some of the most important settings and design parameters for the Xilinx FFT IP core and function as a basic walkthrough of the Fast Fourier Transform interface.

October 17, 2018 by Dr. Steve Arar

Audio Processing in Scilab: How to Implement Spectrum Subtraction

This article discusses a technique in which frequency-domain subtraction is used to selectively suppress the noise components in an audio signal.

September 20, 2018 by Robert Keim

How to Use Scilab to Analyze Frequency-Modulated RF Signals

Computing a discrete Fourier transform can help you to analyze the ways in which RF modulation affects the spectrum of a carrier signal.

September 11, 2018 by Robert Keim