Weak Anchoring Effects in Electrically Driven Freedericksz Transitions

We study the equilibrium configurations of a nematic liquid crystal confined between two parallel plates, when an electric field is applied. We take into account the mutual interaction of the field and the material. We also analyse the effects of two possibly different weak anchoring potentials at the plates. We use asymptotic methods to study in detail two different regimes of the applied voltage. The former concerns applied voltages close to the Freedericksz and the saturation critical thresholds; the latter is the case of high applied potentials. We discuss the new effects that arise with respect to the partial electric coupling and the strong anchoring cases.