Image Enhancement in the

Frequency Domain

Dr. Chandrappa D N
Prof.
Dept of ECE
SJBIT
 Background

• Any function that periodically repeats itself can

be expressed as the sum of sines and/or cosines
of different frequencies, each multiplied by a
different coefficient (Fourier series).
• Even functions that are not periodic (but whose
area under the curve is finite) can be expressed as
the integral of sines and/or cosines multiplied by
a weighting function (Fourier transform).
Background

• The frequency domain refers

to the plane of the two
dimensional discrete Fourier
transform of an image.
• The purpose of the Fourier
transform is to represent a
signal as a linear
combination of sinusoidal
signals of various
frequencies.
 Introduction to the Fourier Transform
and the Frequency Domain

• The one-dimensional Fourier transform and its inverse

– Fourier transform (continuous case)

– Inverse Fourier transform:

• The two-dimensional Fourier transform and its inverse

– Fourier transform (continuous case)

– Inverse Fourier transform:

 Introduction to the Fourier Transform
and the Frequency Domain

• The one-dimensional Fourier transform and its inverse

– Fourier transform (discrete case) DTC

– Inverse Fourier transform:

 Introduction to the Fourier Transform
and the Frequency Domain

• Since and the fact

then discrete Fourier transform can be redefined

– Frequency (time) domain: the domain (values of u) over

which the values of F(u) range; because u determines the
frequency of the components of the transform.
– Frequency (time) component: each of the M terms of F(u).
 Introduction to the Fourier Transform
and the Frequency Domain

• F(u) can be expressed in polar coordinates:

– R(u): the real part of F(u)

– I(u): the imaginary part of F(u)
• Power spectrum:
The One-Dimensional Fourier Transform
Example
 The One-Dimensional Fourier Transform
Some Examples

• The transform of a constant function is a DC value only.

• The transform of a delta function is a constant.

 The One-Dimensional Fourier Transform
Some Examples

• The transform of an infinite train of delta functions spaced by

T is an infinite train of delta functions spaced by 1/T.

• The transform of a cosine function is a positive delta at the

appropriate positive and negative frequency.
 The One-Dimensional Fourier Transform
Some Examples

• The transform of a sin function is a negative complex delta

function at the appropriate positive frequency and a negative
complex delta at the appropriate negative frequency.

• The transform of a square pulse is a sinc function.

 Introduction to the Fourier Transform
and the Frequency Domain

• The two-dimensional Fourier transform and its inverse

– Fourier transform (discrete case) DTC

– Inverse Fourier transform:

• u, v : the transform or frequency variables

• x, y : the spatial or image variables
 Introduction to the Fourier Transform
and the Frequency Domain

• We define the Fourier spectrum, phase anble, and power

spectrum as follows:

– R(u,v): the real part of F(u,v)

– I(u,v): the imaginary part of F(u,v)
 Introduction to the Fourier Transform
and the Frequency Domain

• Some properties of Fourier transform:

 The Two-Dimensional DFT and Its Inverse

The 2D DFT F(u,v) can be obtained by

1. taking the 1D DFT of every row of image f(x,y), F(u,y),
2. taking the 1D DFT of every column of F(u,y)

(a)f(x,y) (b)F(u,y) (c)F(u,v)

The Two-Dimensional DFT and Its Inverse

shif
t
The Two-Dimensional DFT and Its Inverse
The Property of Two-Dimensional DFT
Rotation

DFT

DFT
 The Property of Two-Dimensional DFT
Linear Combination

A
DFT

B
DFT

0.25 * A
+ 0.75 *
DFT
B
 The Property of Two-Dimensional DFT
Expansion

A
DFT

B DFT

Expanding the original image by a factor of n (n=2), filling

the empty new values with zeros, results in the same DFT.
 Two-Dimensional DFT with Different Functions

Sine wave Its DFT

Rectangl
Its DFT
e
 Two-Dimensional DFT with Different Functions

2D Gaussian Its DFT

function

Impulse
Its DFT
s
Filtering in the Frequency Domain
Basics of Filtering in the Frequency Domain
 Some Basic Filters and Their Functions

• Multiply all values of F(u,v) by the filter function (notch filter):

– All this filter would do is set F(0,0) to zero (force the average value of
an image to zero) and leave all frequency components of the Fourier
transform untouched.
 Some Basic Filters and Their Functions

Lowpass
filter

Highpass
filter
Some Basic Filters and Their Functions
 Correspondence between Filtering in
the Spatial and Frequency Domain

• Convolution theorem:
– The discrete convolution of two functions f(x,y) and h(x,y)
of size MXN is defined as

– Let F(u,v) and H(u,v) denote the Fourier transforms of

f(x,y) and h(x,y), then
Eq. (4.2-31)
Eq. (4.2-32)
 Correspondence between Filtering in
the Spatial and Frequency Domain

• :an impulse function of strength A, located at

coordinates (x0,y0)

where : a unit impulse located at the origin

• The Fourier transform of a unit impulse at the origin (Eq. (4.2-
35)) :
 Correspondence between Filtering in
the Spatial and Frequency Domain

• Let , then the convolution (Eq. (4.2-36))

• Combine Eqs. (4.2-35) (4.2-36) with Eq. (4.2-31), we obtain

 Correspondence between Filtering in
the Spatial and Frequency Domain

• Let H(u) denote a frequency domain, Gaussian filter function

given the equation

where : the standard deviation of the Gaussian curve.

• The corresponding filter in the spatial domain is

• Note: Both the forward and inverse Fourier transforms of a

Gaussian function are real Gaussian functions.
Correspondence between Filtering in
the Spatial and Frequency Domain
 Correspondence between Filtering in
the Spatial and Frequency Domain
• One very useful property of the Gaussian function is that both it and its
Fourier transform are real valued; there are no complex values associated
with them.
• In addition, the values are always positive. So, if we convolve an image
with a Gaussian function, there will never be any negative output values
to deal with.
• There is also an important relationship between the widths of a Gaussian
function and its Fourier transform. If we make the width of the function
smaller, the width of the Fourier transform gets larger. This is controlled
by the variance parameter σ2 in the equations.
• These properties make the Gaussian filter very useful for lowpass filtering
an image. The amount of blur is controlled by σ2. It can be implemented
in either the spatial or frequency domain.
• Other filters besides lowpass can also be implemented by using two
different sized Gaussian functions.
 Smoothing Frequency-Domain Filters

• The basic model for filtering in the frequency domain

where F(u,v): the Fourier transform of the image to be

smoothed
H(u,v): a filter transfer function

• Smoothing is fundamentally a lowpass operation in the

frequency domain.
• There are several standard forms of lowpass filters (LPF).
– Ideal lowpass filter
– Butterworth lowpass filter
– Gaussian lowpass filter
 Ideal Lowpass Filters (ILPFs)

• The simplest lowpass filter is a filter that “cuts off” all high-
frequency components of the Fourier transform that are at a
distance greater than a specified distance D0 from the origin of
the transform.
• The transfer function of an ideal lowpass filter

where D(u,v) : the distance from point (u,v) to the center of

ther frequency rectangle
Ideal Lowpass Filters (ILPFs)
Ideal Lowpass Filters (ILPFs)
Ideal Lowpass Filters
 Ideal Lowpass Filters
Another Example frequenc
Figure 4.13 (a) A frequency-domain y
ILPF of radius 5. (b) Corresponding
spatial filter. (c) Five impulses in the
spatial domain, simulating the values
of five pixels. (d) Convolution of (b)
spatia
and (c) in the spatial domain. l

spatia
l

spatia
l
Butterworth Lowpass Filters (BLPFs)
With order n
Butterworth Lowpass
Filters (BLPFs)

n=2
D0=5,15,30,80,and 230
 Butterworth Lowpass Filters (BLPFs)
Spatial Representation

n=1 n=2 n=5 n=20

Gaussian Lowpass Filters (FLPFs)
Gaussian Lowpass
Filters (FLPFs)

D0=5,15,30,80,and 230
Additional Examples of Lowpass Filtering
Additional Examples of Lowpass Filtering
 Sharpening Frequency Domain Filter

Ideal highpass
filter

Butterworth highpass
filter

Gaussian highpass
filter
 Highpass Filters
Spatial Representations
Ideal Highpass Filters
Butterworth Highpass Filters
Gaussian Highpass Filters
 The Laplacian in the Frequency Domain

• The Laplacian filter

• Shift the center:

Frequency
domain

Spatial
domain
 For display
purposes only
 Implementation
Some Additional Properties of the 2D Fourier Transform
• Periodicity, symmetry, and back-to-back properties

shif
t
 Implementation
Some Additional Properties of the 2D Fourier Transform

• Separability
 Implementation
More on Periodicity
exten
d

exten
d
Summary of Some Important Properties
of the 2-D Fourier Transform
Summary of Some Important Properties
of the 2-D Fourier Transform
Summary of Some Important Properties
of the 2-D Fourier Transform
Summary of Some Important Properties
of the 2-D Fourier Transform