Dynamical and Structural Studies of Liquid Crystal Phases

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This project is aimed at the study and potential of freely suspended liquid crystal films. Freely suspended films are structures of fundamental interest in condensed matter science. They are the thinnest known stable condensed phase structures and have the largest surface-to-volume ratio of any condensed phase preparation, making them ideal for studies of dimensionality, fluctuation, and interface effects. The focus will be on (i) studies of the polarization structure of tilted smectic films including effects of longitudinal polarization (ferroelectric ordering in the tilt plane) and transverse polarization (ferroelectric ordering normal to the tilt plane); (ii) investigation of films and filaments of smectic phases formed from banana or bow-shaped molecules; (iii) study of topological defect annihilation and orientational dynamics in 2D XY systems; (iv) orientation dynamics in tilted smectic films; (v) electron microscopy of films transferred to solid substrates. In addition the structure of smectic liquid crystals will also be studied by probing the structure and interactions of smectic. A focal defects in a novel three dimensional geometry, and by investigating the x-ray diffraction and video microscopic of the tubules formed by the diacetylenic lipids, pursuing recent findings that the tubules formed by the diacetylenic lipids, pursuing recent findings that the tubule formation process is achiral.%%%The topics explored in this project will have a significant scientific and technological imput on new technologies such as flat panel display, liquid crystal composites, and photonic band gap structures.