Deflection of Light at the Boundaries between Ferroelectric and Antiferroelectric States in Chiral Smectic Liquid Crystals

A light deflection phenomenon was observed at a field-induced phase transition point between an antiferroelectric state and ferroelectric one in antiferroelectric liquid crystals. The dependence of the angle of deflection on the angle of incidence was numerically analyzed, and it was concluded that the light deflection is due to refraction and reflection at the boundaries between the states coexisting at the field-induced phase transition point. A similar deflection phenomenon was also observed in the ferroelectric and ferrielectric phases at zero electric field. Possible phases or domains coexisting in this condition were discussed.