Lecture Outline

Classification of Continuous Time Systems

Continuous-time vs. Discrete-time systems
Linear and nonlinear systems
Time-varying and time-invariant systems
System with and without memory
Causal systems
Invertibility and inverse systems
Stable Systems

Continuous-time vs. Discrete-time systems

x(t)

CT

y(t)

Both input and output of the

system are continuous-time
X[n]

Y[n]

DT
Both input and output of the
system are discrete-time

Linear Systems

Let y1(t) be the response of a system to an input x1(t) and

y2(t) be the response to the input x2(t). Then the system is
linear if
the response to x1(t)+x2(t) is y1(t)+y2(t)
property of superposition
the response to x1(t) is y1(t), where is any arbitrary
constant
property of scaling or homogeneity
Property of superposition implies that the response resulting
from several input signals can be computed as the sum of
the responses resulting from each input signal alone
Property of scaling implies that linear systems scale the
output by the same amount as the input gets scaled.
The two properties can be combined into a single statement
x1 ( t ) + x 2 ( t ) y 1 ( t ) + y 2 ( t )
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Time-Varying and Time-Invariant Systems

A system is time invariant if a time shift in the input signal

causes an identical time shift in the output signal.
If y(t) is the output corresponding to input x(t), a timeinvariant
system will have y(t-t0) as the output when
x(t-t0) is the input
The procedure for testing a system is time invariant is as
follows:
Let y1(t) be the output corresponding to x1(t)
Consider a second input, x2(t), obtained by shifting x1(t)
is x2(t) = x1(t t0) and find the output y2(t)
corresponding to the input x2(t)
From step 1, find y1(t t0) and compare with y2(t)
If y2(t) = y1(t t0), then the system is time invariant;
otherwise it is a time-varying system
See Example 2.2.4
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Systems with and without Memory

A system is memoryless, or instantaneous, if the present

value of the output depends only on the present value of
the input.
A resistor is a memoryless system, since with input x(t)
taken as the current and output y(t) taken as the
voltage, the input/output relationship is y(t) = Rx(t)
where R is the resistance.
A capacitor is a system with memory. With input taken
as the current x(t) and output as the voltage y(t), the
input/output relationship is given by
1
y (t ) =
C

x ( )d

The output at any time t depends on the entire past history of

the input
See Example 2.2.5

Causal Systems

A causal system is one that is nonanticipative; that is, the output may
depend on current and past inputs, but not future inputs.
All "realtime" systems must be causal, since they can not have future inputs
available to them
if x1(t)=x2(t); t<t0
the system is causal
Then y1(t)=y2(t); t<t0

Example 2.2.7

Inverse Systems
x(t )

system

y (t )

z (t ) = x (t )

Inverse system

The inverse system undoes what the given

system does to input x(t) when the inverse

system cascaded to the given system.
If two different inputs result in the same output,
then the system in not invertible.
Example 2.2.8

Stable System: BIBO Stability

A system in bounded-input bounded-output

(BIBO) stable if, for any bounded input x(t) with
|x(t)| < B1 < , the response y(t) is also
bounded, i.e., |y(t)| < B2 < .
All bounded inputs must give rise to bounded
outputs. If we can find even one bounded input for
which the output is not bounded, the system is
unstable.

Example 2.2.9

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