Undulation instabilities in the meniscus of smectic membranes
Soft Condensed Matter
2015-05-20 v1
Abstract
Using optical microscopy, phase shifting interferometry and atomic force microscopy, we demonstrate the existence of undulated structures in the meniscus of ferroelectric smectic-C* films. The meniscus is characterized by a periodic undulation of the smectic-air interface, which manifests itself in a striped pattern. The instability disappears in the untilted smectic-A phase. The modulation amplitude and wavelength both depend on meniscus thickness. We study the temperature evolution of the structure and propose a simple model that accounts for the observed undulations.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1012.1955,
title = {Undulation instabilities in the meniscus of smectic membranes},
author = {J. C. Loudet and P. V. Dolganov and P. Patrício and H. Saadaoui and P. Cluzeau},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1012.1955},
year = {2015}
}
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