title: Surface and bulk uniaxial to biaxial smectic-A transition in a bent core liquid crystal.
abstract: A null transmission ellipsometer was employed to study the uniaxial to biaxial smectic-A phase transition of a bent core liquid crystal material. Free-standing films of thicknesses ranging from 5 molecular layers to more than 300 were prepared and studied. Critical exponents for both the surface and interior biaxiality were obtained. The results were discussed in the general framework of phase transition in lower dimensions.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: LiDong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weissflog
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Huang