An investigation into the director structure in the electroclinic effect at the S-A-S-c* transition

The director structure in the electroclinic effect has been investigated ar ound the Smectic A-Smectic C phase transition in the material SCE13. The ex perimental method used utilises the wavelength dependence of light transmis sion through a liquid crystal cell, and the effects of a non-uniform struct ure on this dependence, The results suggest that some non-uniformity is pre sent, and the structure observed at a temperature of 0.5 degrees C above th e Smectic A Smectic C* phase transition can be approximated to a boundary l ayer profile with boundary layers of 25 nm. It is suggested that an elastic model with infinite anchoring might describe the behaviour observed, and a n elastic constant is determined to be K = 2 pN.