An optical study of the interfacial region of a surface-aligned nematic liquid crystal

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Abstract
The optical reflectivity from the interfacial region of a nematic/solid wall boundary has been measured as a function of incident angle and temperature for 7CB. Considerable deviation from Fresnel reflectivity occurs for the E-ray whereas reflectivities for the 0-ray are similar to Fresnel. To fit the experimental data an interfacial region having a density — 1 1/2 % greater than bulk as well as an increase of order parameter by 10-20 % is required. The skindepth of the region obtained is ∼ 850 A. It is postulated that a quasi-smectic layer exists near to the boundary wall