title: Second-harmonic dielectric response of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal under dc electric fields.
abstract: Second-harmonic dielectric response under dc fields in an antiferroelectric liquid-crystal 4-(1-methyl-heptyloxycarbonyl)phenyl 4-octylcarbonyloxybiphenyl- 4-carboxylate (MHPOCBC) has been investigated. The second-harmonic response from the amplitude mode in the smectic- Calpha* phase was observed due to the symmetry breaking by the application of dc electric fields. A Landau theory was developed in order to analyze experimentally obtained frequency dispersions. From the analysis we found a softening of the amplitude mode with increasing the dc field at a temperature close to the smectic- Calpha*-smectic- A phase transition point. It was turned out that the relaxation frequency of the amplitude mode decreases linearly with the applied electric field.
authors.affiliation: PTBIN-BATAN, Kawasan Puspiptek Serpong, Tangerang 15314, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Andika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fajar
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Orihara
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008280:Magnetics; D008956:Models, Chemical