Fast algorithms for designing variable FIR notch filters

The paper presents fast algorithms for designing finite impulse response (FIR) notch filters. The aim is to design a digital FIR notch filter so that the magnitude of the filter has a deep notch at a specified frequency, and as the notch frequency changes, the filter coefficients should be able to track the notch fast in real time. The filter design problem is first converted into a convex optimization problem in the autocorrelation domain. The frequency response of the autocorrelation of the filter impulse response is compared with the desired filter response and the integral square error is minimized with respect to the unknown autocorrelation coefficients. Spectral factorization is used to calculate the coefficients of the filter. In the optimization process, the computational advantage is obtained by exploiting the structure of the Hessian matrix which consists of a Toeplitz plus a Hankel matrix. Two methods have been used for solving the Toeplitz‐plus‐Hankel system of equations. In the first method, the computational time is reduced by using Block–Levinson's recursion for solving the Toeplitz‐plus‐Hankel system of matrices. In the second method, the conjugate gradient method with different preconditioners is used to solve the system. Comparative studies demonstrate the computational advantages of the latter. Both these algorithms have been used to obtain the autocorrelation coefficients of notch filters with different orders. The original filter coefficients are found by spectral factorization and each of these filters have been tested for filtering synthetic as well as real‐life signals. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.