title: Electric-field-induced transition between the polarization-modulated and ferroelectric smectic- C(S) P(F)* liquid crystalline states studied using microbeam x-ray diffraction.
abstract: We report x-ray microbeam studies of a bent-core liquid crystalline material with chiral citronellyl tails. This material has an equilibrium polarization-modulated smectic- CP (PM-SmCP) state exhibiting the B7 texture upon slow cooing from the isotropic while a metastable chiral synclinic ferroelectric Sm-CP state (Sm- C(S) P(*)(F) ) is obtained on quenching from the isotropic. The polarization modulated phase PM-Sm C(S) P(*)(F) shows typical x-ray patterns having multiple satellite peaks around the first-order layer reflection, indicating undulated layers, while the metastable Sm- C(S) P(*)(F) state exhibits a single layering peak indicating flat layers. The Sm- C(S) P(*)(F) state is also induced by the application of an electric field larger than the threshold field ( E(th) ) and thermally returns to the polarization modulated PM-Sm C(S) P(*)(F) structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O-okayama 2-12-1, Meguro-Ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.
authors.forename: Michi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Darren R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Link
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takanishi
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahasi
authors.forename: Jirakorn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thisayukta
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Niwano
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Junji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Atsuo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iida
authors.forename: Noel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takezoe