Basic Signals in detail

We now introduce formally some of the basic signals namely

1) The Unit Impulse function.

2) The Unit Step function

These signals are of considerable importance in signals and systems analysis. Later in the course we will see these signals as the building blocks for representation of other signals. We will cover both signals in continuous and discrete time. However, these concepts are easily comprehended in Discrete Time domain, so we begin with Discrete Time Unit Impulse and Unit Step function.

The Discrete Time Unit Impulse Function: This is the simplest discrete time signal and is defined as

The Discrete Time Unit Step Function u[n]: It is defined as