1/f resistor noise
Louis J. DeFelice · Journal of Applied Physics · 1976
Specific carbon composition resistors are shown to have excess noise that is 1/f and is proportional to the square of the current they carry, in a frequency band defined by 10-Hz high- and 100-Hz low-pass 3-dB points. Similar resistors are constructed with volumes in the ratio 1:4:9:16, but which have equal Ohmic values. The effect of volume scaling on excess noise is thereby separated from Johnson noise. Autocorrelation functions are used to analyze the noise data. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that 1/f noise is inversely proportional to volume. The concept that the main factor in 1/f-noise generation is the mean energy dissipated per charge carrier is also discussed. A unitless index of excess noise is suggested as a manufacturer specification.