Signal chain, or signal-processing chain is a term used in
signal processing
Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as audio signal processing, sound, image processing, images, Scalar potential, potential fields, Seismic tomograph ...
and
mixed-signal system
A mixed-signal integrated circuit is any integrated circuit that has both analog circuits and digital circuits on a single semiconductor die.sampling either real-time
phenomena
A phenomenon ( phenomena), sometimes spelled phaenomenon, is an observable Event (philosophy), event. The term came into its modern Philosophy, philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be ...
or from stored data) sequentially, with the output of one portion of the chain supplying input to the next.
Signal chains are often used in signal processing applications to gather and process data or to apply system controls based on analysis of real-time phenomena.
Definition
This definition comes from common usage in the
electronics industry
The electronics industry is the industry (economics), industry that produces electronic devices. It emerged in the 20th century and is today one of the largest global industries. Contemporary society uses a vast array of electronic devices that ar ...
and can be derived from definitions of its parts:Sippi, C. & Sippi, P., Computer Dictionary and Handbook, 1972, Bobbs-Merrill, New York,
*Signal: "The event, phenomenon, or electrical quantity, that conveys information from one point to another".
*Chain: "1. Any series of items linked together. 2. Pertaining to a routine consisting of segments which are run through the computer in tandem, only one segment being within the computer at any one time and each segment using the output from the previous program as its input".
The concept of a ''signal chain'' is familiar to
electrical engineers
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in th ...
, but the term has many synonyms such as ''circuit topology''. The goal of any signal chain is to process a variety of ''signals''Kories, R., Electrical Engineering: a pocket reference, 2003, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, to monitor or control an analog-, digital-, or analog-digital system.
See also
*
Audio signal flow
Audio signal flow is the path an sound, audio signal takes from source to output. The concept of audio signal flow is closely related to the concept of audio gain staging; each component in the signal flow can be thought of as a gain stage.
In ty ...
Feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...