# Johnson-Nyquist noise in narrow wires

## Abstract

The Johnson-Nyquist noise in narrow semiconducting wires having a transverse size smaller than the screening length is shown to be white up to frequency $`D/L^2`$ and to decay at higher frequencies as $`\omega ^{\frac{1}{2}}`$. This result is contrasted with the noise spectra in neutral and charged liquids.

It is interesting to compare properties of charged and neutral systems. The role of the Coulomb interaction crucially depends on the effective dimensionality of the charged system. For instance, due to the long-range nature of the Coulomb interaction in three-dimensional systems the density excitations of neutral liquids (acoustic phonons) are transformed to gapped plasmons, while in one- and two-dimensional systems plasmons remain gapless. Here I examine the noise spectrum as another aspect of the singular role of Coulomb interaction critically depending on the dimensionality.

The noise spectrum is quite different in charged and neutral liquids. The equilibrium Johnson-Nyquist noise in an electrical conductor (with a screening length smaller than any size of the conductor) is white up to very high frequencies (the smaller of the elastic scattering rate $`1/\tau `$ and the Maxwell relaxation frequency $`4\pi \sigma `$); while in neutral liquids, the noise becomes frequency-dependent above the “Thouless” frequency $`D/L^2`$ ($`D`$ is a diffusion constant and $`L`$ is the distance between points). The difference is due to screening in charged liquids and depends on the dimensionality of the conductor. I show here that for electrical wires having a transverse size $`a`$ smaller than the Debye screening length $`\lambda _D`$ (noted here as narrow wires), the Johnson-Nyquist noise decays as $`\omega ^{\frac{1}{2}}`$ above the “Thouless” frequency independently of external screening. The threshold frequency $`D/L^2`$ can be made arbitrarily small by increasing the separation between two points $`L`$.

To calculate the fluctuations of the electrochemical potential, we need to relate it to the coupled fluctuations of charge density and currents. We start by writing the continuity equation and the current equation valid in the hydrodynamic limit:

$`{\displaystyle \frac{\rho }{t}}+div(\stackrel{}{j})=0;\stackrel{}{j}=\sigma \stackrel{}{E}^{tot}D\stackrel{}{}\rho .`$ (1)   
For self-consistency, we need to account for the potential induced by the fluctuation of charge density: $`\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ind}=\frac{u_1(q)}{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}}\rho _{q,\omega }`$ (Coulomb’s law). Since we consider a conductor with transverse dimensions $`a`$ smaller than the screening length $`\lambda _D`$, $`u_1(q)=2ln\frac{1}{qa}`$ is a one-dimensional Coulomb potential ($`q`$ is a wave vector along a one-dimensional conductor). The total potential driving current is the sum of the external and induced potentials. Thus the full system of equations is:

$`i\omega \rho _{q,\omega }+iqj_{q,\omega }=0,j_{q,\omega }=\sigma (iq)\varphi _{q,\omega }^{tot}+D(iq)\rho _{q,\omega },`$ (2)   
$`\varphi _{q,\omega }^{tot}=\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ext}+\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ind},\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ind}={\displaystyle \frac{2ln\frac{1}{qa}}{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}}}\rho _{q,\omega }.`$ (3)   
Finally, after some elementary algebra, we can use the above equations to relate the charge density variation to the external potential:

$`\rho _{q,\omega }={\displaystyle \frac{\sigma _1q^2}{i\omega +(D+2(\sigma _1/ϵ_{\mathrm{}})ln(1/qa))q^2}}\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ext}.`$ (4)   
Using the Einstein relation $`\sigma =D\chi _0`$ and the expression for the one-dimensional conductivity $`\sigma _1=\sigma a^2`$, the density-density response function is

$`\chi _{q,\omega }{\displaystyle \frac{D\chi _0a^2q^2}{i\omega +Dq^2(1+(2a^2\chi _0/ϵ_{\mathrm{}})ln(1/qa))}}.`$ (5)   
We can now apply the fluctuation dissipation theorem (FDT) to calculate the density fluctuation spectrum (assuming classical fluctuations, $`\mathrm{}\omega kT`$):

$`<\delta \rho _{q,\omega }^2>=\mathrm{}Im\chi _{q,\omega }coth({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}\omega }{2kT}}){\displaystyle \frac{2kT}{\omega }}Im\chi _{q,\omega }.`$ (6)   
The static charge compressibility $`\chi _0`$ is simply related to the Debye screening (or Thomas-Fermi) length: $`1/\lambda _D^2=4\pi \chi _0`$. The induced potential fluctuations can be expressed through the charge density fluctuations:

$`<\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ind}^2>={\displaystyle \frac{(u_1(q))^2}{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}^2}}<\delta \rho _{q,\omega }^2>,`$ (7)   
$`<\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ind}^2>={\displaystyle \frac{2kT}{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{\sigma _1q^2(2ln\frac{1}{qa})^2}{\omega ^2+D^2(1+\frac{a^2}{2\pi ϵ_{\mathrm{}}\lambda _D^2}ln\frac{1}{qa})^2q^4}}.`$ (8)   
We can compare Eqn. (8) with the spectral density of potential fluctuations in bulk three-dimensional charged and neutral liquids. In the case of a three-dimensional charged liquid, we need to use the three-dimensional Coulomb potential $`\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ind}=\frac{u_3(q)}{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}}\rho _{q,\omega }=\frac{4\pi }{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}q^2}\rho _{q,\omega }`$. Following the above simple derivation, we get the expression for voltage fluctuations (it is sufficient for our purposes to consider only longitudinal fluctuations) in a three-dimensional conductor:

$`<\varphi _{q,\omega }^{ind(3d)}^2>={\displaystyle \frac{32\pi ^2kT}{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}^2q^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{\sigma }{\omega ^2+(Dq^2+4\pi \sigma /ϵ_{\mathrm{}})^2}}.`$ (9)   
In the case of a neutral liquid, there is no long-range induced potential; therefore, we get the standard density-density response function and potential fluctuations describing diffusion:

$`<\varphi _{q,\omega }^{(n)}^2>={\displaystyle \frac{<\delta \rho _{q,\omega }^2>}{\chi _0^2}}={\displaystyle \frac{2T}{\chi _0^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{D|\chi _0|q^2}{\omega ^2+(Dq^2)^2}}.`$ (10)   
We can now use the spectral densities (Eqns. 8-10) to calculate the experimentally measured differential noise between the two ends of the sample, averaged over transverse modes:

$`<\varphi _{12}(\omega )^2>={\displaystyle \underset{q_x}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{sin^2(q_xa)}{q_x^2a^2}}{\displaystyle \underset{q_y}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{sin^2(q_ya)}{q_y^2a^2}}`$ (11)   
$`{\displaystyle 𝑑q_z4sin^2(\frac{q_zL}{2})}<\varphi (q,\omega )^2>.`$ (12)   
The Johnson-Nyquist noise in a three-dimensional conductor (9) can be easily calculated, because the dominant contribution to the sums and the integral comes from “zero modes” ($`q_x,q_y,q_z0`$):

$`<\varphi _{12}^{3d}(\omega )^2>=2kT{\displaystyle \frac{16\pi ^2\sigma L}{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}^2S}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(\frac{4\pi \sigma }{ϵ_{\mathrm{}}})^2+\omega ^2}}.`$ (13)   
Such noise is readily interpreted as the noise from a conductor having an internal resistance $`R=\frac{L}{\sigma S}`$ and an internal capacitance $`C=\frac{ϵS}{4\pi L}`$ connected in parallel: $`R(\omega )=R/(1+(RC\omega )^2)`$. Remarkably, the Johnson-Nyquist noise is white up to the frequency $`4\pi \sigma `$, which is independent of the length of the wire. The appropriate physical picture of fluctuations in an electrical conductor is that charge fluctuations relax on a very fast time scale $`1/4\pi \sigma `$, producing quasi-homogeneous current fluctuations. It is important to point out that the noise can depend on frequency through the frequency dependence of the conductivity $`\sigma (\omega )`$. For the Drude model of conductivity, the characteristic frequency for fall-off of the conductivity $`\sigma (\omega )`$ is then the elastic scattering rate $`1/\tau `$.

In the case of a “one-dimensional” wire $`\lambda _D>a`$, we can take into account only one “zero mode”($`q_x=q_y=0`$), since higher harmonics make contributions smaller in powers of $`(a/L)^2`$. If we approximate the weak logarithmic dependence in Eqn.(8) by a constant $`ln\frac{1}{qa}ln\frac{L}{a}`$, we get an expression similar to Eqn.(10) with the renormalized diffusion coefficient $`D^{}D(1+\frac{a^2}{2\pi ϵ\lambda _D^2}ln(L/a))`$. Thus the frequency dependence of noise for a “one-dimensional” wire is the same as for a neutral liquid. This result is expected, since the screening is not efficient in one dimension. The integral over wave vector $`q_z`$ can be evaluated explicitly, while the approximation of the logarithm by a constant is reliable for limits $`\omega 0`$ and $`\omega \mathrm{}`$.

$`<\varphi _{12}^{1d}(\omega )^2>=2kT{\displaystyle \frac{D^2}{D^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{\pi L}{\sigma _1\theta }}(1e^\theta (cos\theta sin\theta )),`$ (14)   
where $`\theta =(\omega /2\omega _0)^{1/2}`$ and $`\omega _0=D^{}/L^2`$ is the natural diffusion frequency. From the above expression for noise in a one-dimensional wire, we see that it is white up to the “Thouless” frequency $`\omega _0`$, and it decays above this frequency as $`1/\sqrt{\omega }`$. The same frequency dependence (with $`D^{}D`$) is expected for the fluctuations of the chemical potential between two points in a narrow vessel ($`\omega D/a^2`$) of liquid. It is clear indeed that the difference in chemical potentials between two points is relaxed through diffusion on a characteristic time scale $`L^2/D`$. In fact, it is the classical result for any quantity (such as temperature, density) obeying a diffusion process that does not have long-range correlations.

The nature of the relaxation of a random potential fluctuation is quite different in charged and neutral liquids. In charged liquids, it is essentially the fast process of screening, and in neutral liquids it is the process of diffusion. In reduced dimensionality systems (such as narrow wires), the Coulomb interaction does not cause long-range correlations; therefore, the noise in a narrow conductor can be similar to neutral systems.

The experimental observation of predicted noise properties is feasible in semiconducting materials having a low concentration of carriers. The screening length $`\lambda _D`$ in such materials can be as large as $`10^4cm`$. In fact, with current experimental techniques (see Reference for a review of experiments), even the high Maxwell relaxation frequency crossover can be observed in “wide” wires ($`a\lambda _D`$, the situation almost always encountered) with poor conductivity. In metals, normally both the elastic rate $`1/\tau `$ and the Maxwell frequency $`4\pi \sigma `$ are high and difficult to observe.

The question of the frequency dependence of equilibrium and “shot” noise was raised recently by Y. Naveh et al. Special geometries (sandwich and ground plane) were suggested to observe the Maxwell and Thouless crossover frequencies. The above calculation shows that the crossover at the Maxwell relaxation frequency is a general property of Coulomb systems and should be observed independently of geometry and length $`L`$ for “wide” wires. Moreover, for “narrow” wires ($`\lambda _D>a`$) the Thouless frequency crossover should be seen independently of “external screening” by electrodes or the ground plane.

In conclusion, the noise in narrow conductors ($`\lambda _D>a`$) becomes frequency-dependent starting from low frequency $`D/L^2`$ (quite similar to simple diffusion systems), although in wide conductors, the noise is white up to the smaller of the frequencies $`4\pi \sigma `$ or $`1/\tau `$.

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through the Science and Technology Center for Superconductivity (Grant No. DMR-91-20000). I thank A. Leggett and M. Weissman for helpful discussions.