Unusual thickness-dependent thermal behavior and anticlinic coupling in chiral smectic free-standing liquid-crystal films.
We observe, in free-standing films of a chiral smectic liquid crystal, a series of discrete transitions in the relative orientation of the tilt of the interior and surface layers. These transitions include a remarkable reentrant synclinic-anticlinic-synclinic ordering sequence of the film surfaces in the presence of an electric field upon cooling. The profiles of the associated heat-capacity anomalies are found to be strongly thickness dependent and exhibit a novel crossover behavior in reduced dimensions. We measure the anticlinic coupling between tilted surface layers in the smectic- A phase.
Chao
C Y
CY
Department of Physics and Astronomy, National Central University, Chung-Li 32054, Taiwan, Republic of China. cychao@phy.ncu.edu.tw
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Wu
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Liu
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Maclennan
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Clark
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Huang
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