A fast spectral estimation algorithm based on the FFT

A simple FFT-based algorithm for spectrum estimation is presented. The major difference between this and spectrum estimation using a single pass through the FFT is that the proposed algorithm is iterative and the FFT is used many times in a systematic may to search for individual spectral lines. Using simulated data, the proposed algorithm is able to detect mulitple sinusoids in additive noise. The algorithm is certainly better than the single pass FFT in separating closely spaced sinusoids. Finally the algorithm is applied to some experimental measurements to illustrate its properties.>