Growth of a SmA* phase in the microconfinement of a polymer network

The growth of a chiral smectic A (SmA*) phase after a temperature quench was investigated experimentally in the confinement of a stabilising polymer network. In contrast to the random orientation of batonnet domains observed for non-stabilised smectic growth, all the growing polymer-stabilised SmA* batonnets are aligned in the same direction, as a result of the interactions between the polymer network and the liquid crystal (LC). Interestingly, for each growing batonnet with long axis R, the early-time growth law changes from R ∼ t 1/2 to R ∼ t for increasing quench depth, as is also observed for non-stabilised batonnet growth. This indicates that the previously reported crossover of the growth exponent from n = 1/2 to n = 1 for increasing quench depth may be universal, independent of sample dimension and confinement conditions. The growth dynamics of the SmA* phase is independent of the presence of the polymer network, even though interactions between the LC and the polymer network lead to clear structural influences.