Theory of Coulomb-blockade Oscillations in the Conductance of a Quantum Dot

A linear-response theory is developed for resonant tunneling through a quantum dot of small capacitance, in the regime of thermally broadened resonances. The theory extends the classical theory of Coulomb-blockade oscillations by Kulik and Shekhter to the resonant-tunneling regime. Both the cases of negligible and strong inelastic scattering in the quantum dot are considered. Effects from the non-Fermi-Dirac distribution of electrons among the energy levels (occurring when kT is comparable to the level separation) are fully included. Explicit analytic results are obtained for the periodicity, amplitude, line shape, and activation energy of the conductance oscillations.