Abstract
Several unique optical properties have been obtained from freestanding films of a bent-core compound. Our experimental results indicate the existence of the antiferroelectric biaxial smectic- phase. The critical exponent associated with the biaxiality through the uniaxial–antiferroelectric biaxial transition has been measured to be , which is in good agreement with our theoretical calculation. Our theoretical advances further demonstrate that the critical behavior of the optical biaxiality with the order parameter being a vector is described by the secondary-order parameter of the three-dimensional model. We also observe a remarkable even–odd layering effect exhibited by the surface layers of freestanding films under an applied electric field in the film plane.
1 More- Received 25 September 2003
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.70.061705
©2004 American Physical Society