Non-linear electro-optical effects in the study of the helical smectic liquid crystals
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Wojciech Kuczynski; K. Nowicka
- Source
- Phase Transitions. 89:376-382
- Subject
- 010302 applied physics
Phase transition
Materials science
Condensed matter physics
Component (thermodynamics)
business.industry
02 engineering and technology
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
01 natural sciences
Spectral line
Nonlinear system
Optics
Liquid crystal
Phase (matter)
0103 physical sciences
Harmonic
General Materials Science
Fext
0210 nano-technology
business
Instrumentation
- Language
- ISSN
- 1029-0338
0141-1594
Measurements of the non-linear electro-optical effects for the well-known prototype liquid crystal material (MHPOBC) are presented. The method to identify liquid crystalline phases and to determine temperatures of phase transitions based on the analysis of the second harmonic component of electro-optical response spectra is used. Applying that method, the values of the frequency (fext) at which the second harmonic electro-optic response (EOR) possesses an extremum are determined for each smectic phase. We suggest that this characteristic frequency correspond to the phase-type mode processes. Furthermore, we show that the usually neglected results on heating can be useful in discussions of dynamical behaviour of second harmonic EOR in case of smectic phases.