Freedericksz transition and anchoring effects in the oblique configuration of a nematic liquid crystal

Abstract

The following is theoretically shown: (1) The Freedericksz transition for nematic liquid crystals (NLC) can be defined in a clear-cut way for cases where NLC is initially aligned uniformly in an arbitrary direction α0 and is weakly anchored to cell walls; (2) the critical magnetic field for the transition varies according to the anchoring stiffness. These transition phenomena will make it possible to estimate the anchoring stiffness at the wall.