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We have studied electron tunneling in ultralow-capacitance silver particles sandwiched between artificial tunnel barriers. We have observed steps in the current-voltage characteristics of these systems with voltage widths of e/C (C being the capacitance of the particles), and associated current rises of e/RC. This represents the first observationof the so-called Coulomb staircase, expected for the charging of particles with extremely small capacitance by a discrete number of electrons.
Barner et al. (1987) studied this question.