$\pi-$shifted magnetoconductance oscillations in mesoscopic superconducting-normal-heterostructures

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and explanation of a novel $ ext{ extpi}$-shifted magnetoconductance oscillation effect in mesoscopic superconducting-normal heterostructures, influenced by interface resistance and temperature.

Contribution

It introduces the first experimental observation and theoretical explanation of $ ext{ extpi}$-shifted oscillations in such systems, highlighting the interplay of proximity effects.

Findings

Oscillations can switch phase between 0 and $ ext{ extpi}$ depending on interface resistance and temperature.

The effect arises from the interplay between conductivity enhancement and density of states suppression.

Experimental detection aligns with theoretical modeling of proximity effects.

Abstract

Interference of proximity induced superconducting correlations in mesoscopic metallic rings is sensitive to the magnetic flux $\Phi$ inside these rings. This is the reason for magnetoconductance oscillations in such systems. We detected experimentally and explained theoretically a novel effect: the phase of these oscillations can switch between 0 and $\pi$ depending on the resistance of intermetallic interfaces and temperature. The effect is due to a nontrivial interplay between the proximity induced enhancement of the local conductivity and the proximity induced suppression of the density of states at low energies.