Tilted smectic layers of a liquid crystal between homeotropically treated plates

We investigated SmC^* films sandwiched between silane coated glass plates and observed formation of textures exhibiting a uniform tilt of the smectic layers with respect to the boundary plates. The layer tilt angle increases from zero to as the sample is cooled from the smectic A phase to room temperature. These films show linear electro-optical effects because the permanent polarization can be aligned so that it has a component parallel to the applied field without changing the layer structure. Our analysis indicates that mainly two effects determine the layer tilt. On the one hand, the surface tension tends to minimise the layer tilt. On the other hand, the surface energy promotes the director to be normal to the boundary plates. Received 17 July 1998     

Helically modulated electroclinical effects in twist grain boundary liquid crystals

We report the first observation of an electroclinical effect at the TGB-TGB transition induced by an external DC electric field applied perpendicular to the pitch direction. Upon increasing the field, the smectic layers rather than the director field tilt over relative to the helical axis, allowing to detect the effect by X-ray scattering from well aligned samples. The observations are qualitatively interpreted in the frame of a mean field phenomenological model of a helically modulated electroclinical effect. Received: 24 April 1998 / Revised: 22 June 1998 / Accepted: 31 July 1998     

Quasi-two-dimensional conductivity and magnetoconductivity of graphite-like nanosize crystallites

The temperature dependence of electrical conductivity and magnetoconductivity of new type of carbon films composed of nanosize thin graphite-like crystallites were investigated at temperature interval of 4.2-300 K and in the magnetic field range of 0-12 kG at 4.2 K, respectively. The crystallites consist of several (5-50) graphene layers which have predominant orientation perpendicularly to a film surface. At temperature ≤30 K the logarithmic conductivity decreases linearly with temperature. The positive magnetoconductivity of the films was observed in a magnetic field directed perpendicularly to the film surface in all intervals of field values. In magnetic field B≥4 kG the logarithmic asymptotic of conductivity from magnetic field was observed. That is characteristic of the systems with two-dimensional quantum corrections to magnetoconductivity. In a magnetic field directed along a film surface, the crossover from negative to positive magnetoresistivity is observed at B≥8 kG.     

Nonlinearities in tilt and layer displacements of planar lipid bilayers

A novel continuum model is proposed to describe the deformations of a planar lipid bilayer suspended across a circular pore. The model is derived within a new theoretical framework for smectic A liquid crystals in which the usual director n , which defines the average orientation of the molecules, is not constrained to be normal to the layers. The free energy is defined by considering the elastic splay of the director, the bending and compression of the lipid bilayer, the cost of tilting the director with respect to the layer normal, the surface tension, and the weak anchoring of the director. Variational methods are used to derive the equilibrium equations and boundary conditions. The resulting boundary value problem is then solved numerically to compute the fully nonlinear displacement of the layers and tilt of the lipid molecules. A parametric study shows that an increase in surface tension produces a decrease in the deformation of the lipid bilayers while an opposite effect is obtained when increasing the anchoring strength.     

Angular dependent linewidths for a spin probe dissolved in a liquid crystal

A spin probe dissolved in the mesophase of a nematic or smectic liquid crystal behaves, in many ways, as if it were encorporated in a uniaxial single crystal. For example the positions of the lines in the electron resonance spectrum of the probe depend on the orientation of the liquid crystal with respect to the magnetic field. In addition the widths of the spectral lines might also be expected to be angular dependent. The form of this angular dependence is readily calculated provided the dominant spin relaxation process results from molecular reorientation with respect to the director in the mesophase. In this paper we develop a theory for the angular dependence of the linewidths and show how it could be used, with some advantage, to investigate molecular reorientation in a macroscopically anisotropic system. The observed angular dependence of the linewidths for a nitroxide spin probe dissolved in the mesophase of a smectic A liquid crystal confirms certain aspects of the theory.     

Elastic model of the primary stripe texture in free-standing chiral smectic C films

In paper E. Górecka et al.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 75 (1995) 4047 the modulations of the director inside smectic layers of chiral smectic C free-standing film were identified as a periodic system of domain walls on which the director orientation changes by . Domain walls were terminated in the film bulk. An improved model, in which domain walls are terminated by (±)-disclinations, is proposed. The model is an extension of the model of Meyer and Pershan [Solid State Commun. 13 (1973) 989] for the case of chiral smectic C films. The experimental dependence of the periodicity of the system on the film thickness is used to estimate the model parameters.     

Mesomorphic properties and orientational order parameter of 4-pentyl cyclohexyl-4-(4-propyl cyclohexyl) benzoate from X-ray diffraction studies

The mesogen 4-pentyI cyclohexyl-4-(4-propyl cyclohexyl) benzoate, molecular formula C₂₇H₄₂O₂, has been investigated at different temperatures using X-ray and texture studies. For X-ray studies an arrangement for taking X-ray photographs at different temperatures has been designed and fabricated. In addition to the nematic phase the mesogen exhibits two smectic phases. On the basis of microscopic investigation and X-ray studies the two smectic phases exhibited have been identified as the SmE and SmB phases. From X-ray patterns, the average intermolecular distances and apparent molecular length/layer thickness for the different mesomorphic phases have been determined as a function of temperature. Orientational order parameters (P2) and (P4) of the sample ordered by a magnetic field have been determined in the SmB phase.     

Orientational defects in freely suspended smectic <Emphasis Type="Italic">C</Emphasis> films

Linear orientational defects (2π and π walls) in freely suspended thin smectic C films exposed to a magnetic field were studied. The bend and splay elastic constants, as well as the orientational viscosity of a two-dimensional c-director field, were determined. It was established that a change in the polar and azimuthal angles of magnetic-field orientation in a sample cardinally transforms the wall structure. This is caused by the anisotropy of orientational elasticity of the c director.     

Evidence for triclinic symmetry in smectic liquid crystals of bent-shape molecules.

The first experimental evidence for triclinic symmetry of bulk smectic liquid-crystal samples of achiral banana-shaped molecules is presented. This phase corresponds to the so-called Sm-CG phase consisting of biaxial molecules and characterized by two tilt directions with respect to the layer normal: tilt of the molecular plane (clinic) and tilt of the molecular kink direction (leaning). Each smectic layer has a polarization component normal to the smectic layers (C1 symmetry). The observations suggest that the phase tentatively labeled as B7 is identical with the Sm-CG phase.     

The effect of uniaxial static pressure on the behavior of an aluminum acceptor impurity in silicon

The effect of uniaxial compression on the behavior of shallow aluminum acceptor centers in silicon has been studied. The _μAl impurity atoms were created by implanting negative muons into silicon single crystals doped with phosphorus to 1.6×10¹³ cm^?3 (sample 1) and 1.9×10¹³ cm^?3 (sample 2). The muon polarization was studied in the temperature range 10–300 K. Measurements were performed in a magnetic field of 2.5 kG oriented perpendicularly to the muon spin. The samples were oriented so that the selected crystal axis ([111] and [100] in samples 1 and 2, respectively), the magnetic field, and the initial muon-spin polarization were mutually perpendicular. External pressure applied to the sample along the indicated crystal axis changed both the absolute value of the acceptor magnetic-moment relaxation rate and the character of its temperature dependence.     

Some superconducting properties of 25%Nb–75%Zr alloy

The manner of preparation of superconducting 25% wt Nb–75% wt Zr wires is described. Short samples of these wires were measured in static magnetic fields up to 80·5 kG and the authors describe the method of these measurements. The paper gives the results of measuring the critical current density dependence on the external perpendicular magnetic field for both cold-worked wires with different deformations and heat-treated wires. The dependence of the critical current density on the heat treatment temperature after wire deformation for different magnetic fields was obtained. The optimum heat treatment temperature (vacuum better than 10^–3 torr, 1 hour) is 450–600C for magnetic fields 0–80·5 kG. The values ofi _c of these wires in magnetic fields up to 60 kG are the same or higher than those of 75% Nb-25% Zr wires, and in fields above 60 kG they are much higher.     

Studies of thin smectic C films by X-ray reflectivity

The smectic order in thin and ultra thin films (150–600Å) of the chiral ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture ZLI-3654 is studied using the X-ray reflectivity technique. The spin cast films on various substrates (float glass, Si wafer, polymer coated glass, etc.) order spontaneously with smectic layering parallel to the substrate surface. A simple model which assumes a sinusoidal density modulation can describe well the experimental reflectivity profiles. The X-ray reflectivity provides a method to evaluate the phases of the structure factor. We demonstrate, for the first time, that is possible to extract the molecular tilt angle, , in ferroelectric liquid crystals from X-ray reflectivity measurements of ultra thin films. The temperature dependence of the tilt angle in the smectic C^* phase are almost independent of the film thickness (down to 200 Å) and are similar to those in the bulk.     

Electric and magnetic properties of the synthetic metal-copper subrodanide Cu(SCN)13

The temperature dependence of the resistance and magnetic susceptibility of the copper subrodanide Cu(SCN)_{$\text{1}\text{3}$} samples were measured at the magnetic field up to 7.3 kG and the temperature range 4.2–400 K. The resistance of the pressed pellet samples linearly increases with the temperature increasing and at 100–150 K the ?(T) line slope smoothly changes. The magnetic susceptibility at zero field linearly decreases with decreasing of the temperature, showing unusual exponential field dependence, which is rather strong at the room temperature and disappears at T → 0. It was concluded that a copper subrodanide is a synthetic metal.     

Estimation of molecular orientations in disordered samples by a proton-NMR-based method

We introduce a procedure on the basis of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for investigation of the orientation state of disordered samples like amorphous or nematic polymers. Advantageous features of this method are the following: (i) disorder of the sample is not a problem (other than in the case of X-ray); (ii) the method works faster than multidimensional NMR techniques; (iii) this procedure can be implemented also at more simple and inexpensive NMR spectrometers; and (iv) for the data evaluation it will be not necessary to know the molecular geometry. The latter is possible by introducing the expressions “relative orientation distribution” and “relative orientation degree” which characterize the difference of the orientation of the current sample in comparison to a reference sample. Contrary to the absolute orientation degrees the relative ones are easily available from wide-line proton NMR spectra. The method is demonstrated by applying it to monitor the qualitatively different behavior of the director fields of two liquid-crystalline polymer samples with different molecular weights which are exposed to a suddenly switched magnetic field. A temporary asymmetry of the orientation distribution could be detected and quantified.     

Light scattering study of a twist grain boundary liquid crystal

Dynamic light scattering is used to probe the fluctuation modes of a liquid crystal exhibiting twist grain boundary (TGB) structure. At the chiral nematic to proposed "chiral line liquid" phase transition, anomalous temperature dependence in the fluctuation spectrum and an instability in the helicoidal director structure signify developing TGB order. At lower temperatures, the behavior of the smectic layer-director fluctuations ("soft" mode) indicates that the previously identified commensurate TGB(A) phase may in fact be a TGB(C) phase with an unusually small tilt angle.     

Nonlinear repolarization processes in ferroelectric liquid-crystal thin films

The dynamics of spontaneous polarization switching of the ferroelectric smectic C* in a variable electric field are examined theoretically and experimentally with the help of polarized light scattering. The observed effect of quasiresonant scattering both in freely suspended smectic films and in ordinary electro-optical cells is interpreted within the framework of the nonlinear model of isolated movable kinks in the director orientation distribution. It is shown that the maximum of the scattering intensity at the characteristic frequency of the applied electric field disappears at low temperatures and for small thicknesses of the smectic film. The dependence of the “resonant” frequency on the electric field amplitude, the proximity to the phase transition temperature, the film thickness and thickness of the ferroelectric domains, and also various material parameters is found. Estimates are made of such important characteristics as the dielectric anisotropy, viscosity, and elasticity of the smectic films. The effect of film thickness on the density distribution of the polar anisotropy energy in the film and on the corresponding shape of the moving orientation front within the film are discussed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 919–937 (March 1997)     

Unusual thickness-dependent thermal behavior and anticlinic coupling in chiral smectic free-standing liquid-crystal films

We observe, in free-standing films of a chiral smectic liquid crystal, a series of discrete transitions in the relative orientation of the tilt of the interior and surface layers. These transitions include a remarkable reentrant synclinic-anticlinic-synclinic ordering sequence of the film surfaces in the presence of an electric field upon cooling. The profiles of the associated heat-capacity anomalies are found to be strongly thickness dependent and exhibit a novel crossover behavior in reduced dimensions. We measure the anticlinic coupling between tilted surface layers in the smectic- A phase.     

High field magneto-optical study of yttrium iron garnet (YIG)

The temperature (5–300 K) and field (0–100 kG) variation of the Faraday rotation of yttrium iron garnet single crystals has been measured at selected wavelengths in the range 0.8–1.6 μm. Above the magnetic saturation field of a few kG the Faraday rotation is found to decrease with increasing field for all temperatures and wavelengths. It is shown that a field dependence of the magneto-optical coefficients causes this surprizing effect.     

Direct observation of diffuse cone behavior in de Vries smectic-A and -C phases of organosiloxane mesogens

Simultaneous and direct x-ray measurements of the smectic layer spacing, molecular tilt, and orientational order in the de Vries smectic A (SmA) and C (SmC) phases of two organosiloxane mesogens reveal that (i) the SmC (tilt) order parameter exponent β=0.26±0.01 for 2nd order SmA-SmC transition--in excellent agreement with the tricritical behavior, (ii) the siloxane and hydrocarbon parts of the molecules are segregated and oriented parallel to the director with very different degree of orientational order, and (iii) thermal evolution of the effective molecular length is different in the two phases.     

Observation of anomalous transmission modes in nickel at microwave frequencies

A study has been made of the transmission of energy through nickel crystals in magnetic fields up to 13 kG using incident microwave power at 9.37 GHz. The transmission spectrum has been studied as a function of temperature and magnetic field orientation relative to the sample surface. A new set of anomalous transmission modes has been observed with the field perpendicular to the sample plane; these modes cannot be explained within the framework of existing theoretical models describing the resonance excitation of sound in ferromagnetic metals by electromagnetic waves.