Introduction

The Sparse Fast Fourier Transform is a DFT algorithm specifically designed for signals with a sparse frequency domain. This library is a high-performance C++ implementation of versions 1, 2, and 3 of the different SFFT variants.

When Should I use the SFFT library?

You should use the SFFT library when you want to compute the Discrete Fourier Transform of a signal and only a few frequency components occur in the signal. Your signal may be noisy or not, but currently there are some limitations for noisy signals (see Limitations and Known Bugs).

Target Platform

The SFFT library was optimized to run on modern x86 desktop CPUs with SSE support. Optionally the implementation can use the Intel IPP library, which is only available on Intel platforms.

Limitations and Known Bugs

The SFFT library features implementations of SFFT v1, v2, and v3. SFFT v1 and v2 currently only work with a few specific input parameters. SFFT v3 cannot handle signals with noise.

There are no known bugs so far.

Disclaimer

The current SFFT implementation is in an experimental state. It is NOT intended to be used as a drop-in replacement for the FFT library of your choice. Be prepared to find bugs. There is absolutely NO WARRANTY for the correct functioning of this software.

Credits

The original SFFT sourcecode was developed by Haitham Hassanieh, Piotr Indyk, Dina Katabi, and Eric Price at the Computer Science and Artifical Intelligence Lab at MIT. The original sourcecode and contact information can be found at their website Sparse Fast Fourier Transform Website.

Performance optimizations were developed by Jörn Schumacher as part of his Master Thesis Project at the Computer Science Department of ETH Zurich in 2013, under the supervision of Prof. Markus Püschel.

Contact Information

If you are interested in the theory behind the Sparse Fast Fourier Transform, contact the inventors of the SFFT, Haitham Hassanieh, Piotr Indyk, Dina Katabi, and Eric Price, at their Sparse Fast Fourier Transform Website.

If you are interested in performance optimizations that were applied, contact Jörn Schumacher at joerns@student.ethz.ch.