Photoacoustic depth profiling of the thermal conductivity of an inhomogeneously aligned liquid crystal at a free surface

Some approaches, both old and new, to the inverse calculation of continuous inhomogeneous thermal conductivity profiles from photoacoustic data are compared. The liquid crystal 8CB in its nematic phase and subject to a magnetic field is chosen as a starting point, since it allows easy control of the conductivity profile. In particular, a new modified multilayer approach seems capable of reliable profile reconstruction.