Experimental and theoretical study of the influence of a bias electric field on the dielectric properties of the chiral smectic A* phase

Abstract

Abstract The influence of a bias electric field on the temperature and frequency dependence of the soft mode part of the complex dielectric constant of the chiral smectic A* phase has been studied experimentally. It was found that only close to T S*CS*A does the bias field have any influence on the experimentally determined quantities. Here the relaxation frequency increased with increasing bias field, while the corresponding dielectric strength decreases. We also present a theoretical calculation of the influence of a bias field on the complex dielectric constant of the chiral smectic A* phase which, apart from minor details, is in accordance with the observed behaviour. Finally we discuss how the nature of the electroclinic effect can be correlated with the influence of the bias field on the smectic A* dielectric constant.