TY - JOUR
T1 - Smectic-A Order at the Surface of a Nematic Liquid Crystal
T2 - Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction
AU - Als-Nielsen, Jens Aage
AU - Christensen, Finn Erland
AU - Pershan, P. S.
PY - 1982
Y1 - 1982
N2 - A novel geometry in which it is possible to do x-ray diffraction from a horizontal surface of fluids is applied to liquid crystals. A large-diameter drop of octyloxycyanobiphenyl (8OCB) on a glass plate treated for homeotropic alignment yields perfect alignment of the smectic-A layers at the top surface over an area of several square millimeters. The surface in the bulk nematic as well as in the isotropic phase was found to consist of smectic-A layers with a penetration depth equal to the longitudinal smectic-A correlation length ξ∥∼(T-TNA)-ν∥ determined previously.
AB - A novel geometry in which it is possible to do x-ray diffraction from a horizontal surface of fluids is applied to liquid crystals. A large-diameter drop of octyloxycyanobiphenyl (8OCB) on a glass plate treated for homeotropic alignment yields perfect alignment of the smectic-A layers at the top surface over an area of several square millimeters. The surface in the bulk nematic as well as in the isotropic phase was found to consist of smectic-A layers with a penetration depth equal to the longitudinal smectic-A correlation length ξ∥∼(T-TNA)-ν∥ determined previously.
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.48.1107
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.48.1107
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0031-9007
VL - 48
SP - 1107
EP - 1110
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
IS - 16
ER -