  We have investigated the transport and noise properties of submicron YBCO
bicrystal grain-boundary junctions prepared using electron beam lithography.
The junctions show an increased conductance for low voltages reminiscent of
Josephson junctions having a barrier with high transmissivity. The voltage
noise spectra are dominated by a few Lorentzian components. At low temperatures
clear two-level random telegraph switching (RTS) signals are observable in the
voltage vs time traces. We have investigated the temperature and voltage
dependence of individual fluctuators both from statistical analysis of voltage
vs time traces and from fits to noise spectra. A transition from tunneling to
thermally activated behavior of individual fluctuators was clearly observed.
The experimental results support the model of charge carrier traps in the
barrier region.
