Strong tunneling and Coulomb blockade in a single-electron transistor

We have developed a detailed experimental study of a single-electron transistor in a strong tunneling regime. Although weakened by strong charge fluctuations, Coulomb effects were found to persist in all samples including one with the effective conductance eight times higher than the quantum value (6.45 kΩ)^-1. A good agreement between our experimental data and theoretical results for the strong tunneling limit is found. A reliable operation of transistors with conductances 3--4 times larger than the quantum value is demonstrated.