Weighted least squares near-equiripple approximation of variable fractional delay FIR filters

The weighted least squares (WLS) method is a well-known method for designing a finite impulse response (FIR) filter. And some authors have reported that if a suitable frequency response weighting function is used to design the filter, the WLS method can produce an equiripple result. However, the weighting function for minimax optimality of WLS design is hard to derive analytically. By an iterative method with an adjustable elaborately constructed weighting function, this idea is extended to design a near-equiripple variable fractional delay FIR filter. The proposed method is superior to the fixed-weighting WLS design in the peak absolute error by about 6.6874 dB. The algorithm converges very rapidly. From the simulation, it typically produces a design which is only about 1 dB away from the truly equiripple solution in two iterations and converges to within 0.0056 dB in eight iterations.