"Chevron" Local Layer Structure in Surface-Stabilized Ferroelectric Smectic-<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>C</mml:mi></mml:math>Cells

Abstract

High-resolution x-ray scattering studies of thin smectic-$C$ ($\mathrm{Sm}C$) samples prepared between solid plates by cooling from the smectic-$A$ phase reveal a surprising "chevron" structure of tilted layers. This structure is formed as a response to the shrinking of the $\mathrm{Sm}C$ layers while anchored to the solid plates. The layer tilt is independent of surface treatment. Our results provide fundamental new information on the structure and surface interactions of SmC layers and provide evidence for a new SmC defect.