Understanding the Z-Transform

Brian Douglas

This intuitive introduction shows the mathematics behind the Z-transform and compares it to its similar cousin, the discrete-time Fourier transform. Mathematically, the Z-transform is straightforward—it’s just a bunch of multiplications and additions, and you’ll learn how to solve an equation for a few different signals. However, understanding how to solve a Z-transform equation isn’t as important as understanding why the math is the way it is. Therefore, the majority of this tech talk discusses what you are actually doing when you take the Z-transform of a signal.