Abstract
The effect of regular wavy microrelief of a substrate surface on the formation of a smectic-A (SmA) surface structure in a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) near the nematic-smectic-A second-order phase transition temperature has been investigated theoretically. Within the framework of the Ginzburg-Landau model we have obtained the dependence of the surface smectic-order parameter and the penetration depth of a SmA surface structure into the NLC on the amplitude and period of the substrate microrelief. The effect of surface roughness on wetting by a SmA structure in the nematic phase of the liquid crystal is investigated. It is shown that the wetting of a rough surface by the smectic phase is always incomplete. It is also shown that sufficiently sharp microrelief of a substrate surface can suppress the SmA surface structure almost completely.
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Opticheski\(\overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\smile}$}}{l} \). Zhurnal 41, 341–347 (February 1999)
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Mirantsev, L.V., Zakharov, A.V. & Korsakov, V.G. The effect of surface roughness of a solid substrate on its wetting by a smectic-A structure in the nematic phase of a liquid crystal. Phys. Solid State 41, 306–312 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1131080
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1131080