Stability of a Free-Standing Liquid-Crystal Film:
The Measurement of the Interaction between the Film Surfaces

P. V. Dolganov^a, H. T. Nguyen^b, G. Joly^c, E. I. Kats^d,e, V. K. Dolganov^a, and P. Cluzeau^b

^a Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Moscow oblast, 142432 Russia

^b Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, CNRS, Pessac, 33600 France

^c Laboratoire de Dynamique et des Matériaux Moléculaires, UMR CNRS 8024,
Université de Lille 1, Villeneuve d’Ascq, 59655 France

^d Laue–Langevin Institute, Grenoble, F-38042 France

^e Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Kosygina 2, Moscow, 117940 Russia

e-mail: kats@ill.fr

Received February 17, 2007

Abstract—The interaction energy of the surfaces of a free-standing liquid-crystal film has been determined.
The measurements are performed in a smectic phase below the melting temperature of a bulk sample T_C , in the
temperature range of structural instability of thin films at T > T_C , and in a quasi-smectic phase at T > T_C . Two
modes of smectic-layer motion in the film are detected: they lead to film thinning at T > T_C and film thickening
at a low temperature. The measurement results are discussed in terms of recent theoretical concepts.

PACS numbers: 61.30.-v, 61.30.Eb, 64.70.Md

DOI: 10.1134/S1063776107090257

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