Preliminary communication Dispersion of the optical axes in smectic C* liquid crystals

Abstract

Abstract Optical axes dispersion denotes the dependence of the orientation of the indicatrix and the optical axes on the wavelength of light. Theory predicts optical axes dispersion in optically biaxial phases with low crystallographic symmetry, like the C 2h-symmetry of SmC or the C2 symmetry of SmC* phases. The magnitude of this axes dispersion was measured electrooptically for two liquid crystal materials exhibiting SmC* phases using several wavelengths of light. Far below the phase transition temperature, the wavelength dispersion of the optical tilt is about 1-2 (5-10% of the total tilt) over the range of visible wavelengths.