Meniscus-Induced Thinning of Smectic Nanofilms

A new mechanism of thinning of smectic nanofilms is discovered, differing from that previously described in experimental and theoretical works. The size and shape of a meniscus change at a temperature above the temperature of the Smectic-A–isotropic liquid bulk phase transition. Near the temperature of instability of nanofilms, the boundary of the meniscus penetrates deeper into a nanofilm and the thickness of the meniscus becomes about and smaller than the thickness of the nanofilm. A thinner region of the film that is formed in the meniscus near the boundary with the film induces the thinning of the entire nanofilm.