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The recent discovery of the ferroelectric nematic phase has opened the door to experimental investigation of one of the most searched liquid crystal phases in decades, with high expectations for future applications. However, at this moment, there are more questions than answers. In this work, we examine the formation and structure of large polar nematic domains of the ferroelectric nematic material RM734 in planar liquid crystals cells with different aligning agents and specifications. We observe that confining surfaces have a strong influence over the formation of different types of domains, resulting in various twisted structures of the nematic director. For those cells predominantly showing mm-scale domains, we investigate the optical and second harmonic generation switching behaviour under applications of electric fields with a special focus on inplane fields perpendicular to the confinement media rubbing direction. In order to characterise the underlying structure, the polar optical switching behaviour is reproduced using a simplified model together with Berreman calculations.

AbstractsThe theory of the Renner effect in X2Y2 and X2YZ linear molecules is considered.The Renner equations are obtained with the help of the Born-Oppenheimer method. It is shown that these equations contain two Renner parameters for an X2Y2 molecule and three Renner parameters for an X,YZ molecules. Assuming these parameters to be small enough, an approximate solution of the Renner equations is obtained with the help of perturbation theory. Some general qualitative results are obtained in the first order of the perturbation theory; the second order calculations are made for some specific cases. The theoretical results are used to consider experimental data concerning the vibrational structure of the lIT, -' C t electronic transition in C,H2 and C,D2 molecules.

We present a compact, room temperature, and narrowband terahertz source, based on difference-frequency generation in the organic nonlinear optical crystals OH1 (2-[3-(4-hydroxystyryl)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enylidene]malononitrile). The system employs a specific dual-wavelength infrared laser that emits coaxial, synchronous 10-ns pulses of similar energy and duration at wavelengths of 1064 nm and 1030 nm by using Nd:YAG and Yb:YAG crystals within the split laser cavity. The common part of the laser cavity comprises an acousto-optic Q-switch and an output coupler. The output is frequency-mixed in a stack of several OH1 crystals in a quasi-phase-matching configuration, which is determined on the basis of refractive index and absorption measurements in the 1–11 THz range. The system generates terahertz radiation in pulse trains with 1.0 μW average power and a near-Gaussian intensity profile.

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