Formation of a smectic A phase from a strongly deformed planar nematic liquid crystal CBOOA

2014 The SmA phase is obtained after cooling of a strongly deformed planar nematic CBOOA. This phase first appears in the middle of the liquid crystal cell where the molecules are parallel to the applied electric field. The orientation of the smectic layers in the boundary regions depends on the strength of the electric field, on the rate of cooling and on the strength of the surface anchoring. At higher electric fields matching to the boundary conditions is made with a system of confocal domains with ellipses degenerated into circles and hyperbolae degenerated into straight lines. Filling of space is mainly random rather than Appolonian and stops when confocal domains have some critical circular radius which depends on the strength of the surface coupling. The surface energies in the smectic and nematic phases are also calculated. J. Physique 42 (1981) 307-315 FÉVRIER 1981, 1