Anticlinic smectic-C surfaces on smectic-A freely suspended liquid-crystalfilms

Freely suspended liquid-crystal films in the (orthogonal) smectic-A phase o ften have tilted, smectic-C-like surfaces. We report experimental evidence of anticlinic ordering of such surfaces in smectic-A films of both chiral a nd racemic TFMHPOBC, materials with both synclinic and anticlinic bulk phas es, as well as chiral DOBAMBC, which has only synclinic bulk phases. In the chiral materials, the surfaces can be switched into the synclinic orientat ion by applying an electric field above a critical value.