The objective of an adaptive filter is to change (adapt) the coefficients of the linear filter, and hence its frequency response, to generate a signal similar to the noise present in the signal to be filtered. The adaptive process involves minimization of a cost function, which is used to determine the filter coefficients. By and large, the adaptive filter adjusts its coefficients to minimize the squared error between its output and a primary signal. In stationary conditions, the filter should converge to the Wiener solution. Conversely, in non-stationary circumstances, the coefficients will change with time, according to the signal variation, thus converging to an optimum filter [4].
In an adaptive filter, there are basically two processes:
-A filtering process, in which an output signal is the response of a digital filter. Usually, FIR filters are used in this process because they are simple and stable.
-An adaptive process, in which the transfer function H(z) is adjusted according to an optimizing algorithm. The adaptation is directed by the error signal between the primary signal and the filter output. The most used optimizing criterion is the least mean square (LMS) algorithm.