SMECTIC LAYER ORIENTATION IN CONFINED GEOMETRIES

The orientation of the smectic-A and -C* layers, inside 25 mum pores of glass capillary arrays, has been studied by high-resolution x-ray diffraction. The pores were coated with lecithin in order to ensure perpendicular anchoring of molecules at the surface. A chevron-like layer structure was seen in the smectic-A phase of 8CB, while a uniform structure was found in the smectic-C* phase of, both, ZLI-3041 and CBC.