| Autor: |
Chen X; Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309., Martinez V; Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309., Nacke P; Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany., Korblova E; Department of Chemistry and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309., Manabe A; Electronics Division, Merck KGaA, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany., Klasen-Memmer M; Electronics Division, Merck KGaA, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany., Freychet G; National Synchrotron Light Source-II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973., Zhernenkov M; National Synchrotron Light Source-II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973., Glaser MA; Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309., Radzihovsky L; Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309., Maclennan JE; Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309., Walba DM; Department of Chemistry and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309., Bremer M; Electronics Division, Merck KGaA, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany., Giesselmann F; Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany., Clark NA; Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309. |
| Abstrakt: |
We report the observation of the smectic A F , a liquid crystal phase of the ferroelectric nematic realm. The smectic A F is a phase of small polar, rod-shaped molecules that form two-dimensional fluid layers spaced by approximately the mean molecular length. The phase is uniaxial, with the molecular director, the local average long-axis orientation, normal to the layer planes, and ferroelectric, with a spontaneous electric polarization parallel to the director. Polarization measurements indicate almost complete polar ordering of the ∼10 Debye longitudinal molecular dipoles, and hysteretic polarization reversal with a coercive field ∼2 × 10 5 V / m is observed. The SmA F phase appears upon cooling in two binary mixtures of partially fluorinated mesogens: 2N/DIO, exhibiting a nematic (N)-smectic Z A (SmZ A )-ferroelectric nematic (N F )-SmA F phase sequence, and 7N/DIO, exhibiting an N-SmZ A -SmA F phase sequence. The latter presents an opportunity to study a transition between two smectic phases having orthogonal systems of layers. |
