Stability of thin nematic films

We discuss the peculiarity of thin nematic films on solid substrates with a free surface, underlining the differences with what is usually seen in dewetting. We review the thermodynamic basis of the coupled phase/thickness separation that has previously been shown experimentally. We give new experimental evidences for the origin of the coupling force chosen in our previous theoretical model. This additional information contributes to the discussion raised by the article of Ziherl and Zumer in this issue [19].Received: 3 December 2003PACS: 68.15. + e Liquid thin films - 64.70.Md Transitions in liquid crystals - 61.30 Surface phenomena in liquid crystals including anchoring, anchoring transitions, surface-induced layering, surface-induced ordering, wetting, prewetting transitions and wetting transitions     

Density functional theory for chiral nematic liquid crystals

ABSTRACT

In this note, the density functional theory for chiral nematic liquid crystals is expressed in terms of rotational invariant expansion coefficients of the pair-excluded area at fixed separation. This modification from the standard approach, without making any additional assumptions, yields a more efficient procedure for minimising the free energy, as well as providing insight into the origins of the effect away from the long-pitch limit.     

Ordering and phase transitions in liquid crystals

Structures and properties of different types of liquid crystals are discussed from a uniform point of view. Apart from the traditional mesophases (nematics, cholesterics, smectics), some new examples, including polymeric, metalloorganic and ferromagnetic liquid crystals, are also investigated. Systems with several macroscopic scales on which the type of ordering may differ, are described and analysed. Phase transitions and certain types of critical behaviour in different liquid crystals are studied.     

Morphology and structure of thin liquid-crystalline films at nematic-isotropic transition

We review the main features of very thin nematic liquid-crystalline films on solid substrates, focusing on 5CB on oxidized silicon wafers. By discussing the theoretical aspects of the observed structures, we show that the phenomena at work include isotropic capillary condensation and that the coexistence of isotropic and nematic terraces in thin films is a result of the interplay of several mechanisms. Further theoretical as well as experimental efforts are needed to completely understand the wetting behavior of these systems.Received: 1 August 2003PACS: 68.08.Bc Wetting - 68.15. + e Liquid thin films - 61.30.Hn Surface phenomena in liquid crystals including anchoring, anchoring transitions, surface-induced layering, surface-induced ordering, wetting, prewetting transitions, and wetting transitions     

Random anisotropy nematic model: Connection with experimental systems

We study theoretically the phase behavior of the continuum Random Anisotropy Nematic model. A domain-type pattern is assumed to appear in a distorted nematic liquid crystal (LC) phase. We map the model parameters to physical quantities characterizing LCs confined to Controlled-Pore Glasses and LC-aerosil dispersions. The domain size dependence on the disorder strength is obtained in accordance with the Imry-Ma prediction. The model estimates for temperature shifts of the paranematic-nematic phase transition and for the critical point, where this transition ceases to exist, are compared to the available experimental results.Received: 28 March 2004, Published online: 29 June 2004PACS: 61.30.-v Liquid crystals - 61.30.Dk Continuum models and theories of liquid crystal structure - 61.30.Gd Orientational order of liquid crystals; electric and magnetic field effects on order - 61.30.Hn Surface phenomena: alignment, anchoring, anchoring transitions, surface-induced layering, surface-induced ordering, wetting, prewetting transitions, and wetting transitions     

Dynamical behaviour of holographic gratings with a nematic film --Polymer slice sequence structure

We have studied the dynamical response of a new kind of holographic grating to a pulsed electric field. The structure, named POLICRYPS, consists of a sequence of homogeneous polymer slices separated by liquid-crystal films. We have found that both the rise and fall response times depend on the pulse duration and amplitude of the applied electric field. We propose a phenomenological explanation for this behaviour, outlining the possibility of getting response times of the order of 100 s by properly choosing the pulse shape. Results are very interesting for developments in which POLICRYPS gratings could be proposed as basic elements in photonic devices for telecom applications, and induce to a deeper analysis of the microscopic interaction between liquid crystal and polymer interfaces in these samples.Received: 5 February 2004, Published online: 14 September 2004PACS: 61.30.Pq Microconfined liquid crystals: droplets, cylinders, randomly confined liquid crystals, polymer dispersed liquid crystals, and porous systems - 42.40.Eq Holographic optical elements; holographic gratings - 61.30.Hn Surface phenomena: alignment, anchoring, anchoring transitions, surface-induced layering, surface-induced ordering, wetting, prewetting transitions, and wetting transitions     

Static and dynamic electro-optic properties of a SmC* phase in surface stabilized geometry and dispersed in the polymer matrix

Comparative electro-optical measurements have been made on a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) in surface stabilized geometry and confined to an ellipsoidal cavity within a polymer matrix. The static and dynamic electro-optical characteristics were measured for both systems and show qualitatively similar behaviours. A fast switching and important bistability were observed and characterized as a function of the applied electric field strength. The switching time between the two stable states of the surface stabilized cell was found to be longer than that found for the composite films. We argue that the faster switching dynamic of the FLC in cavities is due to the enhance of the rotational mobility of the molecules, probably (and partly) because of the soft anchoring character of the molecules at the cavity walls. Using a collective switching model in the high field regime, which assume a linear coupling between the spontaneous polarization and the local cavity electric field, we give an estimate of the rotational viscosity of the FLC molecules in the droplets.Received: 5 October 2003, Published online: 5 February 2004PACS: 61.30.Pq Microconfined liquid crystals: droplets, cylinders, randomly confined liquid crystals, polymer dispersed liquid crystals, and porous systems - 61.30.Hn Surface phenomena: alignment, anchoring, anchoring transitions, surface-induced layering, surface-induced ordering, wetting, prewetting transitions, and wetting transitions - 77.80.Fm Switching phenomena     

Enhancement of optical nonlinearity in a guest-host system by nematic ordering

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) has been studied for understanding the enhancement mechanism for the second-order optical nonlinearity by the nematic (or axial) ordering in a liquid crystal doped with one-dimensional nonlinear optical (NLO) organic molecules. An extended version of the Maier-Saupe mean-field theory for nematic liquid crystals was developed to obtain analytical expressions for the second-order NLO coefficients in terms of the axial order, the polar order and the effective nematic potential. From the SHG data in a guest-host system composed ofN,N'-dimethylaminonitrostilbene molecules (0.5% by weight) and a liquid crystal, the enhancement of the second-order NLO coefficient,d ₃₃, by nematic ordering becomes almost 3, which agrees well with our theoretical predictions.     

Jahn-Teller transitions in Yb<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>=V,P) stimulated by a strong magnetic field

The effect of an external magnetic field directed along various symmetry axes of a crystal on Jahn-Teller-type structural phase transitions (quadrupole ordering) is studied in YbPO₄ and YbVO₄ crystals with zircon structure. In the absence of a magnetic field, the crystals are in a precritical state and do not exhibit a spontaneous quadrupole ordering. It is shown that, in a field H ∥ [110], the strain susceptibility χ_γ increases with the field and, at a sufficiently high field strength, an orthorhombic lattice deformation along the [100] axis arises in the crystals under study; i.e., a stimulated Jahn-Teller phase transition of γ symmetry occurs. Using interaction constants determined from independent experiments, we calculated phase diagrams and anomalies in the magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of the YbPO₄ and YbVO₄ crystals near the stimulated phase transitions, investigated the effect of various pairwise interactions on them, and analyzed possible experimental observations of the predicted effects.     

Structural and magnetic phase transitions in KMnF<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The dielectric and magnetic measurements of the KMnF₃ crystals obtained by the Czochralski and Bridgman methods have been performed. Three structural transitions have been observed in the crystals. The mutual arrangement of the temperature of magnetic ordering and the temperature of the lower structural transition determines the number and type of magnetic transitions in these crystals.     

Continuous paranematic-to-nematic ordering transitions of liquid crystals in tubular silica nanochannels

The optical birefringence of rodlike nematogens (7CB, 8CB), imbibed in parallel silica channels with 10 nm diameter and 300 microm length, is measured and compared to the thermotropic bulk behavior. The orientational order of the confined liquid crystals, quantified by the uniaxial nematic ordering parameter, evolves continuously between paranematic and nematic states, in contrast to the discontinuous isotropic-to-nematic bulk phase transitions. A Landau-de Gennes model reveals that the strength of the orientational ordering fields, imposed by the silica walls, is beyond a critical threshold, that separates discontinuous from continuous paranematic-to-nematic behavior. Quenched disorder effects, attributable to wall irregularities, leave the transition temperatures affected only marginally, despite the strong ordering fields in the channels.     

The applications of single crystals

The word ‘crystal’ comes from a Greek word meaning clear ice which was also applied to rock crystal (clear, transparent quartz). It was not until about the 17th century that the word was extended to other naturally occurring, transparent minerals which showed a regularity of outward form. It was appreciated at this time that this regularity resulted from an inner symmetry of atomic arrangement and it has since been realized that almost all solid materials are, to some extent at least, crystalline although this is often not apparent from their outward appearance. Indeed most materials of practical importance are polycrystalline-they consist of an aggregate of randomly-arranged small crystals-although single crystals have been used for special purposes for some considerable time, e.g. the crystals of calcite that are used to make Nicol prisms, and the crystals of galena (lead sulphide) that were used in early ‘crystal’ wireless receivers. But in recent years increasing use has been made of single crystals for a wide variety of purposes and the demand for single crystals of particular materials is such that large quantities of single crystals of materials such as ethylene diamine tartrate or terphenyl are now grown artificially by one of several techniques now available for the growing of single crystals.     

Fluid adsorption at the base of a cylinder

We consider the adsorption of fluid at a cylinder protruding from a flat substrate. For small contact angles θ, a liquid drop condenses at the base, the size of which is determined by macroscopic arguments. The adsorption exhibits scaling behavior related to a number of phase transitions and, for systems with short-ranged forces, shows a remarkable property: for small θ, the height and width of the drop are near identical to expressions for the thickness and parallel correlation length for microscopic wetting films. The only difference is that the bulk correlation length is replaced by the cylinder radius. This geometrical amplification of the microscopic lengths occurs for second-order, first-order, and complete wetting transitions, and is specific to three dimensions. Similar phenomena occurs for long-ranged forces, and shows crossover scaling behavior.     

Perturbation theory for fluids of rod-like molecules interacting via the Kihara potential

For systems of molecules interacting via the Kihara core potential a first-order perturbation theory is proposed. As a reference system soft convex bodies are employed with interactions given by the entire repulsive part of the original pair potential (i.e. for surface-to-surface distances smaller than that of the potential minimum). Their equilibrium behaviour is interpreted on the basis of the representative hard convex bodies-parallel convex bodies to the assumed cores with temperature-dependent thickness. The shape of the distribution function was approximated by the Verlet-Weis form. Theoretical expressions were used for the determination of the thermodynamic functions of the Kihara-molecule systems at several reduced temperatures and compared with experimental data for nitrogen.     

Theory of surface excess Miesowicz viscosities of planar nematic liquid crystal-isotropic fluid interfaces

An expression for the surface excess stress tensor for planar compressible interfaces between rod-like nematic liquid crystals and isotropic viscous fluids is derived using the classical surface excess theory formalism, adapted to capture the intrinsic anisotropy of the nematic orientational ordering. A required step in the theory is to find the actual stress tensor in the three-dimensional interfacial region, which is obtained by a decomposition of the kinematic fields (rate of deformation tensor and director Jaumann derivative) into tangential, normal, and mixed components with respect to the interface. The viscosity coefficients appearing in the surface excess stress tensor are expressed in terms of interfacial and bulk viscosities for planar, constant orientation, flows. The expressions are used to define the three fundamental surface excess Miesowicz shear viscosities, in analogy with the three bulk Miesowicz shear viscosities. The ordering in the magnitudes of the surface excess Miesowicz shear viscosities is shown to depend on the magnitude of the surface scalar nematic order parameter relative to that of the adjoining bulk nematic phase. When the surface scalar order parameter is greater than in the bulk, the classical ordering in terms of magnitudes of the three bulk Miesowicz shear viscosities is recovered. On the other hand, when the surface scalar order parameter is smaller than in the bulk, the classical ordering in terms of magnitudes of the three viscosities does not hold, and inequality transitions are predicted as the surface scalar order parameter increases towards the bulk value. Received 5 July 1999 and Received in final form 16 November 1999     

Magnetoelectric effects in gadolinium iron borate GdFe<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript>

Magnetoelectric interactions have been investigated in a single crystal of gadolinium iron borate GdFe₃(BO₃)₄, whose macroscopic symmetry is characterized by the crystal class 32. Using the results of this study, the interplay of magnetic and electric orderings occurring in the system has been experimentally revealed and theoretically substantiated. The electric polarization and magnetostriction of this material that arise in spin-reorientation transitions induced by a magnetic field have been investigated experimentally. For H ‖ c and H ⊥ c, H-T phase diagrams have been constructed, and a strict correlation between the changes in the magnetoelectric and magnetoelastic properties in the observed phase transitions has been ascertained. A mechanism of specific noncollinear antiferroelectric ordering at the structural phase transition point was proposed to interpret the magnetoelectric behavior of the system within the framework of the symmetry approach in the entire temperature range. This ordering provides the conservation of the crystal class of the system when the temperature decreases to the antiferroelectric ordering point. The expressions that have been obtained for the magnetoelectric and magnetoelastic energy describe reasonably well the behavior of gadolinium iron borate observed experimentally.     

Orientational Ordering of a Liquid-Crystal Suspension of Carbon Nanotubes in a Magnetic Field

A statistical theory is proposed to describe a suspension of carbon nanotubes in a nematic liquid crystal. The mean-field approach is used, and dispersion attraction, the excluded volume effects, the diamagnetism of liquid crystal molecules, and the strong diamagnetism of nanotubes are taken into account. The influence of the volume fraction of impurity, temperature, and magnetic field on the orientational ordering of a liquid crystal matrix and carbon nanotubes is studied. The concentration and temperature phase transitions in the suspension are investigated for various magnetic fields. The concentration and field shifts of the point of the phase transition between nematic and isotropic or paranematic phases are studied.