LAUSR

Inspired by the phenomenon of fluorescence intermittency in quantum dots and other materials, we introduce small off-states (intermissions) which interrupt the generation and recombination (= g–r) process in a semiconductor material. If the remaining on-states are power-law distributed, we find an almost pure 1/f spectrum. Besides well-known g–r noise, we obtain two 1/f noise components which can be attributed to the intermittent generation and recombination process. These components can be given the form of Hooge’s relation with a Hooge coefficient αX=αX∗αg+αX+αr describing the contribution of the generation and recombination process, respectively. Herein, the coefficients αg and αr describe impact of intermissions which in general are different for the generation and recombination process. The impact of g–r noise on 1/f noise is comprised in the coefficient αX∗ for the generation and αX+ for the recombination process. These coefficients are specified for an intrinsic and a slightly extrinsic semiconductor as well as for a semiconductor with traps; for the latter, the temperature dependence of 1/f noise is also investigated. 1/f noise is shown to be inversely related to the number of neutral and ionized X-atoms rather than to the number of conduction electrons as defined in Hooge’s relation. As a possible origin of 1/f noise in semiconductors, electron–phonon scattering is suggested.