Abstract
Deformation experiments on chiral smectic C elastomers show a significant influence of the layer structure. In contrast to nematic systems a deformation of the smectic polydomain does not lead to a uniform director orientation. Obviously, the smectic layers lock in the polydomain structure in a transient network. Therefore, on experimental time scale, no equilibrium conditions can be achieved during the deformation process in the smectic state. Reducing the influence of the smectic layers by swelling the sample with toluene offers the possibility to prepare samples with uniform director orientation. In these samples the smectic layers are distributed on a cone around the director, preventing ferroelectric properties. Further deformation experiments on these aligned samples show a strong interaction of the layer orientation with the mechanical field in the smectic state. Layers which enclose large angles with the mechanical field realign to layer orientations with small angles to the deformation direction. This orientation behaviour leads to an anisotropic distribution of the layer on the cone causing a nonβcentrosymmetric phase structure. This anisotropic alignment can be locked in by chemical crosslinking, leading to a highly transparent nonβcentrosymmetric bulk material.