Uniform alignment of chiral smectic C elastomers induced by mechanical shear field

Up to now, liquid crystalline elastomers;have been strenuously studied to o btain high orientation induced by mechanical fields. It is known that a uni axial mechanical field is sufficient to obtain macroscopically uniform alig nment for nematic and smectic A liquid crystalline elastomers having uniaxi al symmetry. Here the orientation mechanism of biaxial smectic C* elastomer s; in mechanical shear fields has been investigated, A significant influenc e of a shear field on the orientation of the smectic C* elastomer is confir med. In addition, we succeeded in obtaining a monodomain sample of the smec tic C* elastomer by this process.