On the Anomalous Flicker Noise Intensity in High-Temperature Superconductors

TL;DR

This paper explains the high flicker noise in high-temperature superconductors as a normalization issue and shows experimental data aligns with a quantum flicker noise theory, challenging previous assumptions.

Contribution

It identifies the normalization of power spectra as the cause of the flicker noise anomaly and validates a quantum theory model against experimental data.

Findings

Flicker noise scales differently than inverse proportionality with sample size.

Experimental data supports the quantum flicker noise law.

Normalization errors led to previous misinterpretations of noise levels.

Abstract

The problem of anomalously high levels of flicker noise observed in the normal state of the high-temperature superconductors is addressed. It is argued that the anomaly is the result of incorrect normalization of the power spectra according to the Hooge formula. A careful analysis of the available experimental data is given, which shows that the scaling of the spectral power with sample size is essentially different from the inverse proportionality. It is demonstrated that the measured spectra obey the law given by the recently proposed quantum theory of fundamental flicker noise.