A survey of results and future prospects on quantum 1ƒf noise and 1ƒf noise in general

Abstract In this survey article we discuss the problems surrounding quantum 1 ƒf noise and 1 ƒf noise in general. First we present a short history of quantum 1 ƒf noise concepts, since its inception by Handel in 1975 as effect caused by the infrared correction of cross sections and scattering rates. Next, we summarize the result of our recent quantum electrodynamical (QED) theory based on electron-photon interaction (without the lengthy and cumbersome derivations presented elsewhere). These results fully confirm Handel's basic results for quantum 1 ƒf noise of electromagnetic origin associated with scattering in solids, giving rise to mobility fluctuations; this noise is essential and unavoidable, like Nyquist noise and g-r noise. Other aspects of the quantum 1 ƒf noise formalism are not upheld; in particular we discuss at length the problem of other infra-particle 1 ƒf noise (“general quantum 1 ƒf noise principle” and “phonon bremsstrahlung”), quantum 1 ƒf noise associated with capture or emission processes (among other effects the alpha-particle flicker floor) and the non-existence (classically and quantum electrodynamically) of collision-free linear acceleration noise (“transit noise” in vacuum tubes and L2 dependence noise in solids). Finally, we indicate that many 1 ƒf noise problems are solved and do not contribute an “enigma” any more (many aspects of noise in metals, number fluctuations in semiconductors, low αH mobility-fluctuation noise). On the contrary, more research is necessary to explain high αH mobility-fluctuation noise and some modulation-noise models are suggested.

[1]  Evidence of Electromagnetic Quantum 1/f Noise Found in Gold Thin Films , 1984 .

[2]  T. Kleinpenning,et al.  1/f noise in thermo EMF of intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors , 1974 .

[3]  A. van der Ziel,et al.  On the noise spectra of semi-conductor noise and of flicker effect , 1950 .

[4]  T. V. Ramakrishnan,et al.  Disordered electronic systems , 1985 .

[5]  A. Birbas,et al.  Channel length dependence of the 1/f noise in silicon metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistors. II. Verification of the acceleration 1/f noise process , 1988 .

[6]  A. Ziel,et al.  Fundamental 1/ƒ noise in silicon bipolar transistors , 1988 .

[7]  M. Hollis,et al.  Noise in near-ballistic n+nn+ and n+pn+ gallium arsenide submicron diodes , 1983 .

[8]  C. V. Vliet,et al.  Linear response theory revisited. IV. Applications , 1984 .

[9]  K. M. V. Vliet.  Linear response theory revisited. II. The master equation approach , 1979 .

[10]  M. Surdin,et al.  Fluctuations de courant thermionique et le « Flicker effect » , 1939 .

[11]  Koch,et al.  1/f noise and grain-boundary diffusion in aluminum and aluminum alloys. , 1985, Physical review letters.

[12]  P. Händel,et al.  Flicker-noise fluctuations in α-radioactive decay , 1987 .

[13]  Feng,et al.  Sensitivity of the conductance of a disordered metal to the motion of a single atom: Implications for 1/f noise. , 1986, Physical review letters.

[14]  D. Yennie,et al.  The infrared divergence phenomena and high-energy processes , 1961 .

[15]  A. Ziel.  Generalized semiclassical quantum 1/f noise theory. I. Acceleration 1/f noise in semiconductors , 1988 .

[16]  K. M. V. Vliet.  Linear response theory revisited. I. The many‐body van Hove limit , 1978 .

[17]  K. M. van Vliet.  The transfer-impedance method for noise in field-effect transistors , 1979 .

[18]  M. Weissman,et al.  Nearly traceless 1/f noise in bismuth , 1983 .

[19]  W. Louisell,et al.  Radiation and noise in quantum electronics , 1964 .

[20]  C. Kittel.  Introduction to solid state physics , 1954 .

[21]  C. V. Vliet,et al.  Quantum 1/f Noise Associated with Intervalley Scattering in Nondegenerate Semiconductors. I. Analytical Calculations , 1989 .

[22]  K. M. V. Vliet,et al.  Measurements on current noise in carbon resistors and in thermistors , 1954 .

[23]  Clarke,et al.  Dependence of 1/f noise on defects induced in copper films by electron irradiation. , 1985, Physical review letters.

[24]  Peter Händel,et al.  1fNoise-An "Infrared" Phenomenon , 1975 .

[25]  Charles Surya,et al.  A thermal activation model for 1/ƒy noise in Si-MOSFETs , 1988 .

[26]  C. V. Vliet,et al.  The quantum Boltzmann equation and some applications to transport phenomena , 1988 .

[27]  K. M. V. Vliet,et al.  Linear response theory revisited III: One‐body response formulas and generalized Boltzmann equations , 1982 .

[28]  B. Nag.  Theory of electrical transport in semiconductors , 1972 .

[29]  Renuka P. Jindal,et al.  Phonon fluctuation model for flicker noise in elemental semiconductors , 1981 .

[30]  A. Akhiezer,et al.  QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS. , 1965 .

[31]  S. Otto,et al.  Erratum: Two-point correlation for rich clusters of galaxies [Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 1878 (1986)] , 1986 .

[32]  P. M. Horn,et al.  Low-frequency fluctuations in solids: 1/f noise , 1981 .