Waveform Generation

Pulses, chirps, VCOs, sinc functions, periodic/aperiodic and modulated signals

Generate linear, quadratic, and logarithmic chirps using chirp. Create square, rectangular, and triangular waves using square, rectpuls, and sawtooth.

For wireless waveform generation capabilities beyond those shown here, see the Wireless Waveform Generator (Communications Toolbox) app.

Functions

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Waveforms

`chirp`	Swept-frequency cosine
`diric`	Dirichlet or periodic sinc function
`gauspuls`	Gaussian-modulated sinusoidal RF pulse
`gmonopuls`	Gaussian monopulse
`pulstran`	Pulse train
`randn`	Normally distributed random numbers
`rectpuls`	Sampled aperiodic rectangle
`sawtooth`	Sawtooth or triangle wave
`sin`	Sine of argument in radians
`sinc`	Sinc function
`square`	Square wave
`stem`	Plot discrete sequence data
`tripuls`	Sampled aperiodic triangle
`vco`	Voltage-controlled oscillator

Modulation and Quantization

`buffer`	Buffer signal vector into matrix of data frames
`demod`	Demodulation for communications simulation
`framelbl`	Partition label sequence into frames (Since R2024a)
`framesig`	Partition signal into frames (Since R2024a)
`modulate`	Modulation for communications simulation
`shiftdata`	Shift data to operate on specified dimension
`unshiftdata`	Inverse of `shiftdata`
`udecode`	Decode 2ⁿ-level quantized integer inputs to floating-point outputs
`uencode`	Quantize and encode floating-point inputs to integer outputs
`marcumq`	Generalized Marcum Q-function

Topics

Supported File Formats for Import and Export
Table of file formats that MATLAB^® can read and write, and recommended functions.
Create Uniform and Nonuniform Time Vectors
Create time vectors to use as independent variables in computations involving time series.
Waveform Generation: Time Vectors and Sinusoids
Generate a vector representing a time base. Create a sample signal consisting of two sinusoids.
Impulse, Step, and Ramp Functions
Generate a unit impulse, a unit step, a unit ramp, and a unit parabola.
Common Periodic Waveforms
Generate widely used periodic waveforms such as sawtooth waves and square waves.
Common Aperiodic Waveforms
Generate widely used aperiodic waveforms such as Gaussian-modulated sinusoidal pulses and linear, logarithmic, or quadratic chirps.
The pulstran Function
Generate pulse trains from either continuous or sampled prototype pulses.
The Sinc Function
Compute the mathematical sinc function for an input vector or matrix.
The Dirichlet Function
Compute the Dirichlet function, sometimes called the periodic sinc or aliased sinc function.
Create Waveforms Using Wireless Waveform Generator App (Communications Toolbox)
Create, impair, visualize, and export modulated waveforms.

Featured Examples

Signal Generation and Visualization

Generate periodic and aperiodic waveforms, sequences such as impulses, steps, and ramps, multichannel signals, pulse trains, sincs, and Dirichlet functions.

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Radar Pulse Compression

Use pulse compression and Doppler processing to improve range and speed measurements of radar systems.

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