WETTING AND ANCHORING OF A NEMATIC LIQUID-CRYSTAL ON A ROUGH-SURFACE

Authors
VALIGNAT MP VILLETTE S LI J BARBERI R BARTOLINO R DUBOISVIOLETTE E CAZABAT AM
Citation
Mp. Valignat et al., WETTING AND ANCHORING OF A NEMATIC LIQUID-CRYSTAL ON A ROUGH-SURFACE, Physical review letters, 77(10), 1996, pp. 1994-1997
Citations number
18
Categorie Soggetti
Physics
Journal title
Physical review letters → ACNP
ISSN journal
00319007
Volume
77
Issue
10
Year of publication
1996
Pages
1994 - 1997
Database
ISI
SICI code
0031-9007(1996)77:10<1994:WAAOAN>2.0.ZU;2-6
Abstract
Ellipsometric measurements of a nematic drop spreading on a rough surf ace are reported. The thickness profile of the drop shows two typical lengths belonging to the microscopic and to the mesoscopic scales (a f ew tens and some hundreds of Angstrom, respectively). No intermediate thicknesses are observed during the spreading. A simple model involvin g the balance among elastic, anchoring,and spreading energies is used to interpret the results.