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Science 24 June 1994:
Vol. 264. no. 5167, pp. 1915 - 1918
DOI: 10.1126/science.264.5167.1915
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Articles

The X-ray Surface Forces Apparatus: Structure of a Thin Smectic Liquid Crystal Film Under Confinement

Stefan H.J. Idziak 1, Cyrus R. Safinya 2, Robert S. Hill 3, Keith E. Kraiser 1, Marina Ruths 4, Heidi E. Warriner 2, Suzi Steinberg 3, Keng S. Liang 5, and Jacob N. Israelachvili 6

1 Materials Department and the Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
2 Physics Department, Materials Department, and the Material Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
3 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
4 Chemistry Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
5 Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, NJ 08801, USA.
6 Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials Department, and the Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.

An x-ray surface forces apparatus for simultaneously measuring forces and structures of confined complex fluids under static and flow conditions is described. This apparatus, combined with an intense synchrotron x-ray source, allows investigation of molecular orientations within a thin liquid crystal film confined between two shearing mica surfaces 3900 angstroms apart. The layer-forming smectic liquid crystal 8CB (4-cyano-4'-octylbiphenyl) adopted a series of distinct planar layer orientations, including the bulk flow-forbidden b orientation.

Submitted on November 23, 1993
Accepted on May 9, 1994


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Detection of Molecular Alignment in Confined Films.
F. Eisert, M. Gurka, A. Legant, M. Buck, and M. Grunze (2000)
Science 287, 468-470
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)