A bilayer model for the chevron structures in surface-stabilised antiferroelectric liquid crystals

Abstract

We propose a bilayer model to describe the chevron structures in the surface-stabilized antiferroelectric liquid-crystalline phase or in the anticlinic smectic C (SmCA) phase. We show that i) the chevron structures in the SmCA phase can have three arms as has been observed in some experiments in contrast to the two-arm chevron structures usually found in synclinic smectic C (SmC) phase; ii) surface interactions can stabilize the SmC phase even for compounds which do not exhibit SmC phase in the bulk. For such compounds, we compute the phase diagram in the temperature vs. cell thickness parameter plane and predict a triple point where smectic A phase, SmCA phase and surface-induced SmC phase can coexist.