A reliable method for detecting phase transitions in liquid crystals with polar order

摘要

We present a method for detecting phase transition in liquid crystal based on the analysis of the second harmonic component of electro-optic response spectra. The effectiveness of the method is shown using the well-known prototype antiferroelectric liquid crystal material, 4-(1-methyl-heptyloxy carbonyl) phenyl 4'-octyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate (MHPOBC). In contrast to the usual procedures, the temperatures of the phase transitions are determined in simple way during one experiment, even for phases of low thermal stability