1fNoise and Grain-Boundary Diffusion in Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys

Abstract

We have measured the $\frac{1}{f}$ noise in polycrystalline films of Al, Al-Si(1%), and Al-Cu(4%) in the temperature range of 300 to 600 K. The temperature dependence indicated activation energies of 0.69, 0.80, and 0.89 eV, respectively. These energies are similar to the activation energies found for Al diffusion along grain boundaries for films of the same size and composition measured in the same temperature range. Measurements of samples with identical compositions but differing widths and thicknesses revealed significant departures from the usual inverse volume dependence of the $\frac{1}{f}$ noise.