Influence of Boundaries on the Phase Transition Point in Ferroelectric Smectics

Abstract

The influence of boundary conditions on the smectic A-C^* phase transition has been studied. From a consideration of the free energy under the anchoring condition with planar orientation of moelcules on two boundaries, it is shown that the phase transition temperature from the smectic-A to smectic-C phases decreases with decreasing layer thickness. This is confirmed by experiment.