Quantum approach to 1f noise

Peter H. Handel
Phys. Rev. A 22, 745 – Published 1 August 1980
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Abstract

On the basis of the known experimental properties of 1f noise, some previous models are analyzed. The presence of 1f noise in the simplest systems such as beams of charged particles in vacuum, the existence of 1f noise in currents limited by the surface recombination rate, bulk recombination rate, or by the finite mobility determined by interaction with the phonons in solids, suggests a fundamental fluctuation of the corresponding elementary cross sections. This leads to fluctuations of the kinetic transport coefficients such as mobility μ or recombination speed, observable both in equilibrium and nonequilibrium. In the first case the available Johnson noise power kT, determined by the Nyquist theorem, is free of this type of 1f fluctuation. An elementary calculation is presented which shows that any cross section, or process rate, involving charged particles, exhibits 1f noise as an infrared phenomenon. For single-particle processes, the experimental value of Hooge's constant is obtained as an upper limit, corresponding to very large velocity changes of the current carriers, close to the speed of light. The obtained sin2(θ2) dependence on the mean scattering angle predicts much lower 1f noise for (low-angle) impurity scattering, showing a strong (μ2μlatt2) noise increase with temperature at the transition to lattice scattering. This is in qualitative agreement with measurements on thin films and on heavily doped semiconductors, or on manganin. The theory is based on the infrared quasidivergence present in all cross sections (and in some autocorrelation functions) due to interaction of the current carriers with massless infraquanta: photons, electron-hole pair excitations at metallic Fermi surfaces, generalized spin waves, transverse phonons, hydrodynamic excitations of other quanta, very low-energy excitations of quasidegenerate states observed, e.g., in disordered materials, at surfaces, or at lattice imperfections, etc. The observed 1f noise is the sum of these contributions, and can be used to detect and study new infraquanta.

  • Received 1 December 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.22.745

©1980 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Peter H. Handel

  • University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63121

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Issue

Vol. 22, Iss. 2 — August 1980

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