Temperature dependence of the 1/f noise of carbon resistors

We have studied the temperature dependence of the 1/f noise of carbon resistors, and find it to be in good qualitative agreement with the predictions of the model developed by Dutta and Horn to describe the 1/f noise of metal films. This suggests that, as seems to be the case for metals, the noise of carbon resistors is caused by an activated process with a distribution of relaxation times. However, there are small but significant quantitative discrepancies between our experimental results and the predictions of the Dutta–Horn model, and these may yield additional insight into the origin of the noise in this system.