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Measuring Magnetically-Tuned Ferroelectric Polarization in Liquid Crystals

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Colloidal inclusions in smectic films with spontaneous bend.

C Bohley¹, R Stannarius

¹Institute of Experimental Physics, Nonlinear Phenomena, Universitätsplatz 2, D-39016 Magdeburg, Germany. christian.bohley@physik.uni-magdeburg.de

The European Physical Journal. E, Soft Matter

|May 19, 2007

Summary

In chiral smectic liquid crystals, dipolar director configurations around inclusions can be energetically favorable over quadrupolar arrangements. This finding, driven by a spontaneous-bend term, allows estimation of the spontaneous-bend constant.

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Area of Science:

Liquid crystal physics
Soft matter science
Materials science

Background:

Inclusions in free-standing smectic films serve as models for 2D anisotropic dispersions.
Elastic distortions around inclusions lead to quadrupolar and dipolar defect configurations.
These configurations dictate interactions between inclusions, with quadrupolar often preferred.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the energetic favorability of dipolar director configurations over quadrupolar ones in chiral smectics.
To explore the influence of a spontaneous-bend term on defect configurations.
To determine if inclusion size can be used to estimate the spontaneous-bend constant.

Main Methods:

Theoretical analysis of elastic distortions in chiral smectic films with inclusions.
Formulation of elastic energy including a spontaneous-bend term.
Investigation of c-director fields around inclusions of varying diameters.

Main Results:

Dipolar director configurations can be energetically favorable compared to quadrupolar arrangements in chiral smectics.
The spontaneous-bend term in elastic energy is responsible for this preference.
Inclusion size influences the selection of deformation types.

Conclusions:

Dipolar configurations are not only possible but can be energetically superior in chiral smectics.
The spontaneous-bend constant can be estimated by analyzing director fields around inclusions of different sizes.
This work provides insights into the behavior of anisotropic dispersions and defect interactions in liquid crystals.