Freedericksz transition in confined liquid crystals: Concentration and microgeometry effects

The Freedericksz transition in dispersions of liquid-crystal droplets is st udied analytically by balancing the electrostatic energy of the droplets wi th a strong anchoring elastic energy. Explicit dependence of the transition threshold field on the liquid-crystal volume fraction and the spatial arra ngement of the droplets is obtained for the first time. As a result of the confined geometry, this threshold field does not depend on the thickness of the sample and splitting of the transition occurs in some situations.