Reasoning About the Behavior of the Layer Structure of the Thick Liquid Crystal Free-Standing Film

Abstract

The layer structure of the thick MHPOBC Free-Standing Film (FSF) was investigated by the transmission ellipsometry. The optical properties of the thick FSFs showd various unidentified behavior, which may be induced by its complicated helical structure. In case of the thin FSF the tilt direction of the Liquid Clystal (LC) director was strongly districted by the surface interaction. It is interpreted that the surface characteristics such as the tilt angle and the tilt direction may depend on the surface torque balance between the bulk elastic energy and surface tension while the bulk elastic energy would be dominant in case of the thick FSFs.