Matched filter
In signal processing, a matched filter is obtained by correlating a known signal, or template, with an unknown signal to detect the presence of the template in the unknown signal. This is equivalent to convolving the unknown signal with a conjugated time-reversed version of the template. The matched filter is the optimal linear filter for maximizing the signal to noise ratio (SNR) in the presence of additive noise. Matched filters are commonly used in radar, in which a known signal is sent out, and the reflected signal is examined for common elements of the out-going signal. Pulse compression is an example of matched filtering. It is so called because impulse response is matched to input pulse signals. Two-dimensional matched filters are commonly used in image processing, e.g., to improve SNR for X-ray. Matched filtering is a demodulation technique with LTI (linear time invariant) filters to maximize SNR. It was originally also known as a North filter.
The following section derives the matched filter for a discrete-time system. The derivation for a continuous-time system is similar, with summations replaced with integrals.
The matched filter is the linear filter, , that maximizes the output signal-to-noise ratio.
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