1C17 The E-T phase diagrams in Antiferroelectric Liquid Crystals

Abstract

By using a photoelastic modulator (PEM) we have made E (Electric field) -T (Temperature) phase diagrams of antiferroelectric liquid crystals. PEM has a merit that we can quickly measure both the birefigence and the tilted angle of index ellipsoid at the same time. In this study, we clearly observed a tricritical point between SmA and SmC_α^*. Besides, we found other small changes in SmC_α^* and SmC_A^* phase, which may be brought about by local structure change or deformation of helix.