  The low-frequency noise figures of single-electron transistors
(electrometers) of traditional planar and new stacked geometry were compared.
We observed a correlation between the charge noise and the contact area of the
transistor island with a dielectric substrate in the set of Al transistors
located on the same chip and having almost similar electric parameters. We have
found that the smaller the contact area the lower the noise level of the
transistor. The lowest noise value 8*10E-6 e/sqrt(Hz) at f = 10 Hz. has been
measured in a stacked transistor with an island which was completely isolated
from a substrate. Our measurements have unambiguously indicated that the
dominant source of the background charge fluctuations is associated with a
dielectric substrate
