Monolayers of small metal clusters of type Au-55[P(C6H5)(3)](12)Cl-6 were investigated with a low-temperature ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunnelling microscope. Apart from the usual charge-quantization phenomena, such as Coulomb blockade and staircase, negative differential resistance was observed by performing measurements at distinct locations on the cluster layers. The latter phenomenon can be understood from a `gate' effect caused by neighbouring clusters and involving a nonclassical behaviour of the capacitances generated by the nanoscale tunnel junctions.
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