We have performed the first measurements on surface-aligned samples of the blue phase III of chiral liquid crystals and have tested proposed icosahedral, cubic-domain, and double-twist structures for blue phase III. Angular-reflection studies on surface-aligned samples show no evidence of expected icosahedral structure; uv reflection measurements on unaligned samples show no evidence of expected cubic-domain structure; and attempts to observe Cano fringes show no evidence for any spatial periodicity.

• Received 6 July 1988

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.2685