Molecular Relaxation in a Liquid Crystal After Switching Off the Acoustic Action

Abstract The work experimentally investigated the influence of an electric field on the direct flexoelectric effect that occurs under the influence of an acoustic field in liquid crystals. Thin layers of nematics 10-100 μm thick were studied. In this case, the liquid crystal sample was exposed to the piston method with an acoustic wave with a frequency of 1 kHz. The dependences of the first and second harmonics for different NLCs on the bias voltage value, shear amplitude, and crystal thickness were obtained. It was revealed that the flexosignal harmonics depend on the direction of the electric field; when a positive potential is applied to the movable plate, they take on smaller values than when negative. It was found that in low fields the magnitude of the flexosignal increases due to an increase in the amplitude of the director deviation, but at a critical value of the field it is suppressed, since the layer is stabilized by a constant electric field.

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Dual field effect on liquid crystal molecular relaxation

10.1364/cleo.1985.tug4 ◽

1985 ◽

Author(s):

SHIN-TSON WU

Keyword(s):

Liquid Crystal ◽

Field Effect ◽

Molecular Relaxation

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Freeze-fracture TEM of the helical smectic A* phase

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010012179x ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 278-279

Author(s):

K.J. Ihn ◽

R. Pindak ◽

J. A. N. Zasadzinski

Keyword(s):

Liquid Crystal ◽

Grain Boundary ◽

Grain Boundaries ◽

Freeze Fracture ◽

Smectic Phase ◽

Layer Spacing ◽

Screw Dislocations ◽

Smectic A ◽

Smectic Phases ◽

Discrete Amount

A new liquid crystal (called the smectic-A* phase) that combines cholesteric twist and smectic layering was a surprise as smectic phases preclude twist distortions. However, the twist grain boundary (TGB) model of Renn and Lubensky predicted a defect-mediated smectic phase that incorporates cholesteric twist by a lattice of screw dislocations. The TGB model for the liquid crystal analog of the Abrikosov phase of superconductors consists of regularly spaced grain boundaries of screw dislocations, parallel to each other within the grain boundary, but rotated by a fixed angle with respect to adjacent grain boundaries. The dislocations divide the layers into blocks which rotate by a discrete amount, Δθ, given by the ratio of the layer spacing, d, to the distance between grain boundaries, lb; Δθ ≈ d/lb (Fig. 1).

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Attractive mode force microscopy of chiral liquid crystal surfaces

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100121740 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 268-269

Author(s):

B.D. Terris ◽

R. J. Twieg ◽

C. Nguyen ◽

G. Sigaud ◽

H. T. Nguyen

Keyword(s):

Liquid Crystal ◽

Crystal Surfaces ◽

Free Surfaces ◽

Control Range ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Liquid Crystal Films ◽

Chiral Liquid Crystal ◽

Crystal Films ◽

Electrostatic Charging ◽

And Shifts

We have used a force microscope in the attractive, or noncontact, mode to image a variety of surfaces. In this mode, the microscope tip is oscillated near its resonant frequency and shifts in this frequency due to changes in the surface-tip force gradient are detected. We have used this technique in a variety of applications to polymers, including electrostatic charging, phase separation of ionomer surfaces, and crazing of glassy films.Most recently, we have applied the force microscope to imaging the free surfaces of chiral liquid crystal films. The compounds used (Table 1) have been chosen for their polymorphic variety of fluid mesophases, all of which exist within the temperature control range of our force microscope.

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