AFM experimental observation and fractal characterization of an SiO-coated plate for nematic bistable anchoring

Abstract

We observe with an atomic force microscope (AFM) the surface of a rough substrate that gives bistable anchoring for typical nematic liquid crystals. This surface is obtained by oblique evaporation of a thin film of SiO (average thickness approximately 150 AA) on a smooth glass plate. It appears highly disordered and exhibits very small structures with a typical horizontal size of 500 AA and a typical vertical size of 200 AA. The fractal properties of the AFM data acquired indicate that the growth process of the substrate SiO structures is governed by a diffusion law. It is reasonable to expect a decrease of the surface order parameter for the interface layer of a liquid crystal close to this kind of substrate.