ELECTRIC-FIELD EFFECTS ON NEMATIC DROPLETS WITH NEGATIVE DIELECTRIC ANISOTROPY

Using polarization microscopy, we have investigated the director configurations of droplets of a nematic liquid crystal with negative dielectric anisotropy and perpendicular boundary conditions subjected to electric fields. The droplets were suspended in liquid poly(dimethyl siloxane) and electric fields were applied both parallel and perpendicular to the viewing direction. The resulting director pattern is deduced by comparing the experimental transmission patterns with patterns calculated from various director models. For low fields, we observe a director field which is essentially radial, but with some azimuthal twist superimposed and a radial point (hedgehog) defect at the center. At intermediate fields, the hedgehog defect moves away from the center along the electric-field direction, while at the highest fields a line defect appears which lies along the diameter parallel to the field. Comparison of the transmission patterns with model calculations yields good agreement for the low- and intermediate-field cases, and reasonable agreement for the high-field case.