Abstract
Calorimetric and optical reflectivity studies on free-standing partially fluorinated liquid-crystal films have revealed novel melting phenomena. The smectic-A-isotropic transition occurs through a series of layer-thinning transitions, causing the films to thin in a stepwise manner as the temperature is increased. The temperature dependence of the film thickness has been found to be well fitted by a simple power law. These results are discussed in the context of present theory and the effects of fluorination are addressed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1384-1387 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Physical review letters |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1994 |