A Pipeline Fast Fourier Transform

This paper describes a novel structure for a hardwired fast Fourier transform (FFT) signal processor that promises to permit digital spectrum analysis to achieve throughput rates consistent with extremely wide-band radars. The technique is based on the use of serial storage for data and intermediate results and multiple arithmetic units each of which carries out a sparse Fourier transform. Details of the system are described for data sample sizes that are binary multiples, but the technique is applicable to any composite number.