Digital filters for spectrometric applications are compared with the classical RC filter. Properties discussed include noise reduction, line shift, and conservation of line moments. For Gaussian and Lorentzian lines, signal deformation and change of half-width as a function of time constant and line width are calculated for several filter types. Using accuracy, sensitivity, and scan speed as criteria, it is shown that a fourth-order digital smoothing polynomial (DISPO) filter is better by typically 1 or even 2 orders of magnitude than the RC filter. Since a real time implementation of these filters is possible, they can directly replace RC filters in all spectrometric applications.
