Surface-frustrated periodic textures of smectic-A liquid crystals on crystalline surfaces

Using polarizing optical microscopy we studied thin films and droplets of smectic-A 4-cyano-4(')-n-octylbiphenyl (8CB) liquid crystal deposited in air on crystalline surfaces of muscovite mica that induce monostable planar anchoring. The competition with the homeotropic anchoring at the 8CB-air interface leads to the formation of one-dimensional (1D) patterns composed of straight, parallel defect domains that are organized in periodic arrays over areas as large as several mm(2). We have developed a simple model which identifies the arrays with self-assembled "oily streaks," comprising straight disclination lines and curvature walls. The model reproduces the observed monotonic increase of the period p with the film thickness h in the range p=1-4 mu m and h=0.8-17 mu m. For higher values of h we observed a sharp transition to a 2D lattice of fragmented focal conic domains. Despite the apparent generality of our model for hybrid planar-homeotropic anchoring conditions, periodic arrays of straight oily streaks have been observed so far only for 8CB on crystalline surfaces such as mica or MoS2. Our model indicates that this specificity is due to a particularly strong anchoring of the liquid crystal on such surfaces.