Aliasing

Definition

In A/D conversion, the Nyquist principle states that the sampling rate must be at least twice the maximum bandwidth of the analog signal. If the sampling rate is insufficient, then higher-frequency components are "undersampled" and appear shifted to lower-frequencies. These frequency-shifted components are called aliases.

The frequencies that shift are sometimes called "folded" frequencies because a spectral plot looks like it was folded to superimpose the higher frequency components over the sub-Nyquist portion of the band.

Synonyms