1 ∕ f noise in gold nanoparticle chemosensors

Abstract

We present a systematic study of low-frequency noise in Au nanoparticle chemosensors. All the sensors we have studied exhibit 1∕f-type noise at low frequencies. The magnitude of the 1∕f noise was smaller in devices with a larger device area, indicating that the 1∕f noise is caused by intrinsic processes. The noise amplitude was found to be strongly temperature dependent between 40–300K, with a local peak at around 100K, and weakly dependent below 40K. The noise data could not be fit by a single activated process indicating that multiple noise processes must be present in our sensors.