Influence of temperature dependent inelastic scattering on the superconducting proximity effect

We have measured the differential resistance of mesoscopic gold wires of different lengths connected to an aluminum superconductor as a function of temperature and voltage. Our experimental results differ substantially from theoretical 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 inelastic scattering length in order to fit our data.