Planar anchoring and surface melting in the smectic-A phase

Journal Article · Mon Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2007 · Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVE.76.041702· OSTI ID:21076245

Lacaze, Emmanuelle; Goldmann, Michel ^[1]; Michel, Jean-Philippe ^[2]; Alba, Michel ^[3]

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1. INSP, CNRS UMR-7588, Universites Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, 140 Rue de Lourmel, F-75015 Paris (France)
2. CRPP, CNRS UPR-8641, avenue Paul Schweitzer, F-33600 Pessac (France)
3. LLB, UMR12 CEA-CNRS, CEA-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)

We study ultrathin films of 8CB in planar anchoring on a MoS{sub 2} inorganic substrate. We evidence an anchoring breakage for 60-nm-thick films, in favor of the homeotropic anchoring at the air interface. This allows one to determine the 8CB-MoS{sub 2} smectic anchoring energy. We then demonstrate for films thinner than 60 nm that, under the homeotropic bulk, an intermediate film remains in planar anchoring, associated with a melting of the smectic layers close to the substrate. Such a melting could be general for planar or tilted anchorings and we show that, for strong anchorings, the anchoring energy can be driven by the deformations of this intermediate nematic film.

• OSTI ID: 21076245
• Journal Information: Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics, Vol. 76, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041702; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1063-651X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
AIR
LAYERS
LIQUID CRYSTALS
MELTING
MOLYBDENUM SULFIDES
SUBSTRATES
THIN FILMS