Anticlinic Smectic-CSurfaces on Smectic-AFreely Suspended Liquid-Crystal Films

Abstract
Freely suspended liquid-crystal films in the (orthogonal) smectic- A phase often have tilted, smectic- C–like surfaces. We report experimental evidence of anticlinic ordering of such surfaces in smectic- A films of both chiral and racemic TFMHPOBC, materials with both synclinic and anticlinic bulk phases, as well as chiral DOBAMBC, which has only synclinic bulk phases. In the chiral materials, the surfaces can be switched into the synclinic orientation by applying an electric field above a critical value.