Approximate elastic model of the stripe texture in free-standing cheral smectic C films

Abstract

In Ref. [4] (E. Górecka et al.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 75 4047 (1995) the modulations of the director inside smectic layers of chiral smectic C freestanding film have been identified as a periodic system of domain walls on which the director orientation changes by π. Domain walls are terminated in the film bulk. An improved approximate model, which takes into account the system of ± π-disclinations on which domain walls are terminated, is proposed. Reasons, why the walls are terminated in the film bulk, are outlined. Model parameters are estimated from the experimental dependence of the periodicity d of the system of walls and the film thickness D.

Key Words:

• ferroelectric liquid crystals
• free-standing films
• defects