A phenomenological model for the undulating twist grain boundary-C* phase

Abstract

We propose a simple phenomenological model which is able to account for the various twist grain boundary (TGB) phases, including the recently discovered undulating twist grain boundary-C* (UTGBC*) phase. In the UTGBC* phase, the smectic C* (SmC*)-like blocks and the grain boundaries separating them undulate to form a two-dimensional square lattice perpendicular to the TGB helix axis. We treat the grain boundaries separating adjacent smectic blocks as interfaces with an anisotropic interfacial tension. At moderate chiral strengths we find a TGBA-TGBC-SmC* sequence. As the chiral strength is increased this goes to the sequence TGBA-UTGBC*-SmC*. Such sequences have been observed experimentally.