Abstract
Dielectric measurements on a sample consisting of banana-shaped molecules were carried out in a frequency range between 0.1 Hz and 10 MHz. The sample exhibited B2 and B4 phases. As usual, two ranges of relaxation were detected in the B2 phase, the fast reorientation about the long axes of the molecules and a slow collective process. In the B4 phase, only one dielectric active process at low frequencies was found; this does not differ from the low frequency relaxation of the B2 modification. This relaxation is probably related to the dynamics of superstructures. Crystallization could be observed after keeping the sample for a longer time at higher temperature. Thus, it was possible to differentiate clearly between the crystalline and the B4 phases. AFM investigations prove the existence of focal-conic domains and periodic superstructures in the B4 phase; then do not appear in the crystalline state. For this reason the B4 phase is regarded as different from a classical crystalline phase.