Electroclinic liquid crystals with large induced tilt angle and small layer contraction

Phys Rev E Stat Phys Plasmas Fluids Relat Interdiscip Topics. 2000 Feb;61(2):1579-84. doi: 10.1103/physreve.61.1579.

Abstract

Optical and x-ray scattering studies of a chiral, organosiloxane smectic-A liquid crystal indicate a large field induced optical tilt of up to 31 degrees accompanied by a very small contraction of the smectic layers. This result suggests that the molecules have a nonzero tilt even with no applied field, and that the primary effect of the field is to induce long range order in the direction of the molecular tilt.