STUDY OF LANGMUIR AND LANGMUIR-BLODGETT-FILMS OF FERROELECTRIC LIQUID-CRYSTALS BY FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED AND POLARIZATION MODULATED INFRARED REFLECTION-ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPIES

Monolayer and multilayers of ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC) obtai ned by the Langmuir-Blodgett (L-B) technique on the water subphase wer e characterized by surface pressure measurements and by polarization m odulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS). The s pecific surface selection rules on the water surface and the high sens itivity of the PM-IRRAS method allow the estimation of the microscopic molecular organization of Langmuir films. Moreover, five layers of FL C were successfully transferred onto CaF2 and gold solid substrates an d were studied by conventional Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and by the PM-IRRAS method. Finally, the influence of the temperature on the structural arrangement of L-B films has been discussed.