Electrical Low-Frequency 1/ƒ^γ Noise Due to Surface Diffusion of Scatterers on an Ultra-low-Noise Graphene Platform

Low-frequency 1/ƒ^γ noise is ubiquitous, even in high-end electronic devices. Recently, it was found that adsorbed O₂ molecules provide the dominant contribution to flux noise in superconducting quantum interference devices. To clarify the basic principles of such adsorbate noise, we have investigated low-frequency noise, while the mobility of surface adsorbates is varied by temperature. We measured low-frequency current noise in suspended monolayer graphene Corbino samples under the influence of adsorbed Ne atoms. Owing to the extremely small intrinsic noise of suspended graphene, we could resolve a combination of 1/ƒ^γ and Lorentzian noise induced by the presence of Ne. We find that the 1/ƒ^γ noise is caused by surface diffusion of Ne atoms and by temporary formation of few-Ne-atom clusters. Our results support the idea that clustering dynamics of defects is relevant for understanding of 1/ƒ noise in metallic systems.