Surface-induced ordering effect in one antiferroelectric liquid crystal compound.
Null transmission ellipsometer was employed to study the surface-induced tilt transition of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal compound in the bulk smectic- A (SmA) temperature range. The data of the surface tilt transition can be fitted with an extended mean-field model. These results indicate the transition is near a mean-field tricritical point. The surface layers' tilt directions are found to be in different planes several degrees above the bulk SmA-SmC_{alpha};{ *} transition.
Pan
Lidong
L
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Wang
Shun
S
Hsu
C S
CS
Huang
C C
CC