singlerate

Singlerate is a term used in digital signal processing to describe a design approach in which all processing elements, filters, and data paths operate at a single sampling rate throughout the system. In contrast, multi-rate systems use two or more sampling rates and perform upsampling, downsampling, or resampling steps to optimize resource usage or performance. Singlerate designs aim for simplicity, easier timing analysis, and predictable latency, making them common in applications where the signal bandwidth does not justify the complexity of changing sample rates.

In typical singlerate architectures, the input signal is sampled at a fixed rate, and all digital filters and blocks are implemented to work at that rate. This can simplify hardware implementation, reduce memory footprint, and facilitate straightforward software pipelines. However, the single-rate constraint can limit computational efficiency for wideband signals or systems that would benefit from decimation or interpolation to reduce data rates in later stages. It may also lead to higher power consumption or greater silicon area than optimized multi-rate solutions for certain tasks.

Singlerate is often contrasted with multi-rate signal processing, polyphase filter banks, and resampling techniques, which are used to save processing resources when bandwidth permits. Related topics include decimation, interpolation, and digital filter design.