The variable law detector

Digital processing of signals, especially fast Fourier transform (FFT) hardware, has reemphasized the role of energy detectors in spectrum analysis. The cost associated with the size of words in special-purpose computers causes a search for methods of representing detected data effectively with a modest number of bits for either further processing or display. A method of accomplishing a reduction in word size is proposed here as a variable law detector. The variable law detector algorithm is described in detail and the detectability performance as a function of the detector parameters is given.