Evolution of Subphases in a Prototype Binary Mixture System as Observed by Electric-Field-Induced Birefringence and Helical Pitch

Abstract

We have constructed the E–T phase diagrams by drawing the field-induced birefringence contours in the prototype MHPOCBC and MHPOOCBC binary mixture system. The obtained subphase evolution in the diagrams clearly indicate that there exist some additional biaxial subphases other than the ordinary ones with three- and four-layer superstructures, and that the field-induced deformation of uniaxial in MHPOCBC occurs quite differently in the high and low temperature regions. We have discussed the origin and structures of the additional subphases and different types of the field-induced deformations in terms of the extended Emelyanenko-Osipov model together with the Devil's staircase character of field-induced unwinding process of the short-pitch helical structure published by Yamashita et al. in these Proceedings.

Keywords:

• anti ferroelectric and ferroelectric liquid crystals
• chiral smectics
• mixtures of chiral smectics
• temperature driven and electric field induced subphases

Acknowledgments

The authors thank M. Yamashita (Mie University, Japan) for the discussions. SFI and IRCEST are thanking for a partial funding of the work. K. L. Sandhya thanks the IRCEST for the award of a post-doctoral fellowship.