Wetting and Anchoring of a Nematic Liquid Crystal on a Rough Surface

Ellipsometric measurements of a nematic drop spreading on a rough surface are reported. The thickness profile of the drop shows two typical lengths belonging to the microscopic and to the mesoscopic scales (a few tens and some hundreds of □, respectively). No intermediate thicknesses are observed du...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 1996-09, Vol.77 (10), p.1994-1997
Main Authors: Valignat, MP, Villette, S, Li, J, Barberi, R, Bartolino, R, Dubois-Violette, E, Cazabat, AM
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Condensed Matter
Physics
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Summary:Ellipsometric measurements of a nematic drop spreading on a rough surface are reported. The thickness profile of the drop shows two typical lengths belonging to the microscopic and to the mesoscopic scales (a few tens and some hundreds of □, respectively). No intermediate thicknesses are observed during the spreading. A simple model involving the balance among elastic, anchoring, and spreading energies is used to interpret the results.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.1994