Abstract
We describe the unusual electro-optic response of a biaxial bent-core liquid crystal molecule that exhibits an anticlinic, antiferroelectric smectic phase (Sm-) with a molecular tilt angle close to 45°. In the ground state, the sample shows very low birefringence. A weak applied electric field distorts the antiferroelectric ground state, inducing a small azimuthal reorientation of the molecules on the tilt cone. This results in only a modest increase in the birefringence but an anomalously large (∼40°) analog rotation of the extinction direction. This unusual electro-optic response is shown to be a consequence of the molecular biaxiality.
- Received 10 December 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.031704
©2012 American Physical Society