Pink noise of ionic conductance through single artificial nanopores revisited

We report voltage-clamp measurements through single conical nanopore obtained by chemical etching of a single ion-track in polyimide film. Special attention is paid on the pink noise of the ionic current (i.e. $1/f$ noise) measured with different filling liquids. The relative pink noise amplitude is almost independent of concentration and pH for KCl solutions, but varies strongly using ionic liquids. In particular we show that depending on the ionic liquid, the transport of charge carriers is strongly facilitated (low noise and higher conductivity than in the bulk) or jammed. These results show that the origin of the pink noise can be ascribed neither to fluctuations of the pore geometry nor to the pore wall charges but rather to a cooperative effect on ions motion

Noise Properties of Rectifying Nanopores

Ion currents through three types of rectifying nanoporous structures are studied and compared for the first time: conically shaped polymer nanopores, glass nanopipettes, and silicon nitride nanopores. Time signals of ion currents are analyzed by power spectrum. We focus on the low-frequency range where the power spectrum magnitude scales with frequency, f, as 1/f. Glass nanopipettes and polymer nanopores exhibit non-equilibrium 1/f noise, thus the normalized power spectrum depends on the voltage polarity and magnitude. In contrast, 1/f noise in rectifying silicon nitride nanopores is of equilibrium character. Various mechanisms underlying the voltage-dependent 1/f noise are explored and discussed, including intrinsic pore wall dynamics, and formation of vortices and non-linear flow patterns in the pore. Experimental data are supported by modeling of ion currents based on the coupled Poisson-Nernst-Planck and Navier Stokes equations. We conclude that the voltage-dependent 1/f noise observed in polymer and glass asymmetric nanopores might result from high and asymmetric electric fields inducing secondary effects in the pore such as enhanced water dissociation

Valuing lead time

When do short lead times warrant a cost premium? Decision makers generally agree that short lead times enhance competitiveness, but have struggled to quantify their benefits. Blackburn (2012) argued that the marginal value of time is low when demand is predictable and salvage values are high. de Treville et al. (2014) used real-options theory to quantify the relationship between mismatch cost and demand volatility, demonstrating that the marginal value of time increases with demand volatility, and with the volatility of demand volatility. We use the de Treville et al. model to explore the marginal value of time in three industrial supply chains facing relatively low demand volatility, extending the model to incorporate factors such as tender-loss risk, demand clustering in an order-up-to model, and use of a target fill rate that exceeded the newsvendor profit-maximizing order quantity. Each of these factors substantially increases the marginal value of time. In all of the companies under study, managers had underestimated the mismatch costs arising from lead time, so had underinvested in cutting lead times