Cell thickness dependence of liquid crystal parameters

Ferroelectric liquid crystal parameters, spontaneous polarization, and transition temperature were studied as a function of cell thickness. These parameters were found to increase with increasing cell thickness, but an exception was observed for the transition temperature in the case of a thin cell. A simple Landau model is presented to interpret the theoretical and experimental observations. The anomalous behavior is attributed to the electroclinic effect and is explained using the Landau model.