EEE 425

Lecture 3
EEE 425
Spring 2025 Assoc.Prof.Dr.A.G.Pakfiliz 1
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Continuous Time
Fourier Series
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Introduction
❑ In representing and analyzing LTI systems, our basic approach
has been to decompose the system inputs into a linear
combination of basic signals.
❑ The convolution sum and convolution integral grew out of a
particular choice for the basic signals in terms of which we
carried out the decomposition, specifically delayed unit impulses.
❑ This choice has the advantage that for LTI systems, once the
response to an impulse (δ(t)) at a one-time position is known, the
response is known at all time positions.

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Introduction
❑ In this lecture, we begin the discussion of signal
representation in terms of a different set of basic inputs:
complex exponentials with unity magnitude.
❑ A decomposition in this form is referred to as the Fourier
series for periodic signals, and it becomes the Fourier transform
for aperiodic signals.
❑ Complex exponential expressions are used as the basic
building blocks for representing inputs and outputs of LTI
systems, and their motivation is significantly different from that
of unit impulse functions.
Spring 2025 Assoc.Prof.Dr.A.G.PAKFİLİZ 4
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Introduction
❑ Complex exponents are eigenfunctions of LTI systems. The
response of an LTI system to any complex exponential signal is a
scaled copy of that signal.
❑ Suppose the input of an LTI system is expressed as a linear
combination of complex exponents. In that case, the effect of the
system on the output can be described in terms of the weights
(eigenvalues) applied to each coefficient of the exponents that
make up the input. -jωt
e -jωt n1e
e-j2ωt n2e-jωt
LTI System
e-jkωt nke-jωt

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 EEE 425
Introduction
Before exploiting this property of complex exponentials about
LTI systems, we first examine how a signal can be represented
as a linear combination of these fundamental signals.

This way of expressing periodic

signals is called the Fourier
Series.

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Introduction
The comparison of Fourier Series and Fourier Transform is given
below. Fourier Transform
Fourier Series

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Fourier Series
Expression of Periodic
Signals
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Periodic Signals
➢ A continuous-time signal x(t) to be periodic if there is a positive
( ) ()
nonzero value of T for which, x t + T = x t all t

➢ The fundamental period T0 of x(t) is the smallest positive value of

T is satisfied, and f0=1/T0 is referred to as the fundamental
frequency.
➢Two basic examples of periodic signals are the real sinusoidal and
the complex exponential signals;
x ( t ) = cos (0t +  ) x (t ) = e j0t

0 = 2 T0 = 2 f 0 : fundamental ang . fr.

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Periodic Signals
Complex exponential and exponential signals:

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FS of Complex Exponentials
The complex exponential Fourier Series (FS) representation
of the periodic signal x(t) with fundamental period T0 is
given by: 
2
x (t ) = 
jk t

k =−
ck e 0
0 =
T0

ck’s are known as complex Fourier Coefficients and defined as

1
 x (t ) e
− jk0t
ck = dt
T0 T0

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FS of Complex Exponentials
1
ck =  x ( t ) e− jk0t dt
T0 T0

Here, to specify the integral over the period ∫To , any interval covering
the period "0 to T0 " or "- T0 /2 to T0 /2 " is used for integration. By
setting "k=0"
The equality shows that c0 is equal to the
1
c0 =
T0  x ( t ) dt
T0
average value of x(t) over a period. When x(t)
is real;

c− k = c
k
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Trigonometric FS
The trigonometric Fourier series representation of a periodic
signal x(t) with fundamental period T0 is given by
a0   2 
x ( t ) = +  ( ak cos k0t + bk sin k0t ) 0 = 
2 k =1  T0 
2 2
 x ( t ) cos k tdt
where ak =
T0 T0  x ( t ) sin k tdt
0 bk =
T0 T0 0

The coefficients ak and bk and the complex Fourier

coefficients ck are related by
a0
= c0
1 1
2 ck = ( ak − jbk ) c− k = ( ak + jbk )
ak = ck + c− k bk = j ( ck − c− k ) 2 2
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Trigonometric FS
a0 
x ( t ) = +  ( ak cos k0t + bk sin k0t )
2 k =1
When x(t) is real, then ak and bk are real and by the equation
a0
= c0 ak = ck + c− k bk = j ( ck − c− k )
2

we have
ak = 2 Re  ck  bk = −2 Im  ck 

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Even and Odd Signals
a0 
x ( t ) = +  ( ak cos k0t + bk sin k0t )
2 k =1
If a periodic signal x(t) is even, then bk=0 and its Fourier series
(above) contains only cosine terms:
a0  2
x ( t ) = +  ak cos k0t → 0 =
2 k =1 T0

If x(t) is odd, then ak=0 and its Fourier series contains only
sine terms: 
2
x ( t ) =  bk sin k0t → 0 =
k =1 T0
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Harmonic Form Fourier Series
Another form of the Fourier series representation of a real
periodic signal x(t) with fundamental period T0 is

2
x ( t ) = C0 +  Ck cos ( k0t −  k ) 0 =
k =1 T0
a0 
Above equation can be written as x ( t ) = +  ( ak cos k0t + bk sin k0t )
2 k =1

which is known as the harmonic form Fourier series of x(t). The

term C0 is known as the DC component, and the term Ckcos(kω0t-
θk) is referred to as the kth harmonic component of x(t).
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Harmonic Form Fourier Series

2
x ( t ) = C0 +  Ck cos ( k0t −  k ) 0 =
k =1 T0
The first harmonic component C1cos(ω0t-θ1) is called the
fundamental component because it has the same fundamental
period as x(t).
Ck: the harmonic amplitudes θk: phase angles
They are related to the Fourier coefficients ak and bk by
a0 bk
C0 = Ck = a + b 2
k
2
k  k = tan
−1

2 ak

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Amp. and Phase Spectra of a Periodic Signal EEE 425

Example: Find and sketch the magnitude spectra for the periodic
square pulse train signal x(t) shown in the figure for d=T0/4 and
d=T0/8.

T0
Solution: Using 1
 ()
− jk0t
ck = x t e dt
T0 0

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Amp. and Phase Spectra of a Periodic Signal EEE 425

Solution: Note that ck=0 whenever “kω0 d/2=mπ”; that is,

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Amp. and Phase Spectra of a Periodic Signal

Solution: The magnitude spectrum for this case is

shown in the figure,

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Amp. and Phase Spectra of a Periodic Signal
Solution: cont.

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Power Content of a Periodic Signal
The average power of a periodic signal x(t) over any period as
1
 x ( t ) dt
2
P=
T0 T0

If x(t) is represented by the complex exponential Fourier series in


x (t ) = 
k =−
ck e jk0t  0 = 2 T0 

then it can be shown that 1 

 x (t ) 
2
dt =
2
ck
T0 T0
k =−

The last eq. is called Parseval's identity (or Parseval's theorem) for the
Fourier series.
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Power Content of a Periodic Signal

1
 x (t ) c
2
dt =
2
k
T0 T0
k =−

Example: Verify Parseval's identity for the Fourier

series.
Solution:

Then,

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Power Content of a Periodic Signal

Solution: (Cont.) Where * denotes the complex conjugate. Above eq.

indicates that if the Fourier coefficients of x(t) are ck, then the Fourier
coefficients of x*(t) are “c*-k”. Setting x1(t)=x(t) and x2(t)=x*(t) in

we have dk=ck and ek = c*-k or (e-k = c*k) and we obtain

or
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 CT FS Examples & Applications EEE 425

Example: Consider the periodic signal with fundamental

frequency made up of the sum of five harmonic
components:

Collecting the harmonic components together, we obtain

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 CT FS Examples & Applications EEE 425

The resulting signal

represents an approximation
to a triangular wave, as seen
in the figure.

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 CT FS Examples & Applications EEE 425

Example: Fourier reconstruction for a rectangular pulse.

% CTFS reconstruction
clear, clf, clear all
global P D
P=2; w0=2*pi/P; D=1; % period, fundamental frequency, and duration
tt=(-400:400)*P/400; % time interval of 4 periods
x = 'rectangular_wave';
xt = feval(x,tt); % original signal
plot(tt,xt,'k:'), hold on
Ns= [1 3 9 19];
for N=Ns
k= -N:N; jkw0t= 1i*k.'*w0*tt; % the set of Fourier reconstruction terms
c= D*sinc(k*D/P);
xht = real(c/P*exp(jkw0t));
plot(tt,xht,'b'), hold on, pause(0.1)
end
axis([tt(1) tt(end) -0.2 1.2])

(Fourier series reconstructions of a rectangular wave with an

increasing number of terms N = 1, 3, 9, 19,. . .)
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CT FS Examples & Applications
Example: Cont.

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