GENERAL TREATMENT OF FIRST- AND SECOND-ORDER FREEDERICKSZ TRANSITIONS IN NEMATIC LIQUID CRYSTALS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF COMBINED STATIC AND OPTICAL ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS.

In the simple static case, the Freedericksz transition in a nematic liquid crystal is always second-order. However, with an additional optical field, the transition can become first-order and bistable. Unfortunately, the required optical intensity is too high for display applications.