OPTIMUM DIGITAL FILTERING AND INVERSE FILTERING IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN*

Two distinct filters are developed in the frequency domain which represent an attempt to increase the resolution of fine structure contained in the signal whilst keeping the expected filtered noise energy within reasonable bounds. A parameter termed the White Noise Amplification is defined and used together with a measure of the deconvolved pulse width in order to provide a more complete characterisation of the filters. Each of the two main types of frequency domain filters discussed varies in properties with respect to a single adjustable parameter. This may be contrasted with a time domain Wiener filter which in general has three variables: length, delay and an adjustable noise parameter or weight. The direct frequency domain analogue of the Wiener filter is termed a gamma-Fourier filter, and is shown to have properties which span the range from those of a spiking filter with zero least square error at one extreme, to those of a matched filter at the other extreme of its variable parameter's range. The second type of filter considered—termed the modulated Gaussian filter—is similarly shown to be a perfect spiking filter at one extreme of its parameter range, but adopts the properties of an output energy filter at the other extreme.