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Abstract:
Ellipsometric measurements of freely suspended films of a chiral liquid-crystal compound possessing the phase sequence smectic-A–smectic-C*α–smectic-C* have been conducted in order to elucidate the structure of the smectic-C*α phase. The measured ellipsometric quantities Δ and Ψ are compared with values, which were calculated for model films using the 4×4 matrix method. Our results confirm, for the compound under investigation, predictions of a phenomenological model [M. Čepič and B. Žekš, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 263, 61 (1995)] according to which the smectic-C*α phase is characterized by a short-pitch helical structure.
