https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/e2004-00031-6
Collective behavior of light-induced droplets in smectic membranes
1
Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences 142432 Moscow Region, Chernogolovka, Russia
2
Institute of Chemical Reactants and Especially Pure Substances IREA, Bogorodsky val 3, 107076, Moscow, Russia
3
Chemistry Department, University of Padernborn, 33095, Padernborn, Germany
* e-mail: pauldol@issp.ac.ru
Collective behavior and organization of droplets in thin smectic membranes were investigated using polarized light microscopy. Droplets were nucleated in membranes by light illumination. We observed the formation of periodic hexagonal and square lattice structures from droplets at large droplet concentration. Nearly linear dependence between period of structure and droplet size was found. We observed that droplets are nucleated on dislocations and periodic chain of droplets may be formed along a dislocation.
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, and Springer-Verlag, 2003
