We investigate theoretically, and numerically, the shape of a droplet of an isotropic fluid immersed in a nematic liquid crystal in the presence of an interfacial layer of surfactant; the droplet size is assumed to be small compared to the extrapolation length of the nematic and homeotropic alignment is favored by the anchoring energy at the nematic-isotropic interface. In a certain range of droplet sizes, the droplets are found to be lens shaped with the rotation axis aligned along the imposed director field and the aspect ratio dependent upon the ratio of anchoring strength and surface tension coefficients. For anchoring strengths large compared to the surface tension, the curvature of the edge of lens is controlled by the bending rigidity of surfactant.

• Received 11 March 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.70.011702