Influence of temperature-dependent inelastic scattering on the superconducting proximity effect

We have measured the differential resistance of mesoscopic gold wires of di fferent lengths connected to an aluminum superconductor as a function of te mperature and voltage. Our experimental results differ substantially from t heoretical predictions which assume an infinite temperature-independent gap in the superconductor. In addition to taking into account the temperature dependence of the gap, we must also introduce a temperature-dependent inela stic scattering length in order to fit our data.