Notes on Digital Signal Processing: Practical Recipes for Design, Analysis and Implementation

Note 23. Window Characteristics

There are many different window functions, and selecting the best one for a particular application can be a daunting task. However there are a number of metrics that can be used to weed out the unsuitable windows and zero in on the several “best” window choices for particular requirements.

23.1. Main Lobe Width

Any window having a finite duration in time has a frequency-domain magnitude response that exhibits a lobed structure similar to the example shown in Figure 23.1. Perhaps the most obvious quantifiable characteristic for a window concerns the width of the main lobe in the magnitude response. The null-to-null measurement is a conceptually straightforward way to characterize the width of the main lobe, but ...