The electromagnetic environment in which a small tunnel junction circuit is embedded plays a crucial role in its transport properties. Although the theory of single-electron tunneling is well established, few analytical results are known. We use a real-time formulation to obtain new predictions for the high-temperature conductance of single- and double-junction systems in series with a resistor. We discuss the implications of our results for recently proposed metrological thermometry based on Coulomb blockade of single-electron tunneling.

• Received 17 December 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.56.1848