1/f noise under drift and thermal agitation in semiconductor materials

Abstract

Voss and Clarke observed 1/f noise in the square of Johnson noise across samples in thermal equilibrium without applying a current. We refer to this phenomenon as “thermal 1/f noise”. Voss and Clarke suggested spatially correlated temperature fluctuations as an origin of thermal 1/f noise; they also showed that thermal 1/f noise closely matches the 1/f spectrum obtained by passing a current through the sample. An intermittent generation–recombination (g–r) process has recently been introduced to interpret 1/f noise in semiconductors. The square of this intermittent g–r process generates a 1/f noise component which correlates with Voss and Clarke’s empirical findings. Traps which intermittently rather than continuously generate g–r pulses are suggested as the origin of 1/f noise under drift and thermal agitation. We see no need to introduce correlated temperature fluctuations or oxide traps with a large distribution of time constants to explain 1/f noise.