Sharp Display Technology Corporation

Akira Sakai

Yuichi Kawahira

Masahiro Hasegawa

Ryosuke Saigusa

Takashi Satoh

Akira Hirai

Koji Murata

Kiyoshi Minoura

Takahiro Sasaki

Jianeng Xu

Hiroshi Tsuchiya

Hiromi Matsumoto

Shinji Shimada

Shugo Yagi

Junichi Masuda

Hiroyuki Hakoi

Mariko Honda

Takako Koide

Nobuhiro Waka

Seiji Maeda

Provided are an active retarder for 3D image display with an improved balance of display quality between the left and right eyes and with sufficiently reduced crosstalk, and a display device using the same. The active retarder for 3D image display, the active retarder including: an optical laminate that includes: a pair of substrates; a pair of electrodes disposed between the pair of substrates; a liquid crystal layer formed from a liquid crystal material containing liquid crystal molecules; columnar spacers; and light-blocking components each shielding the corresponding columnar spacer from light limitedly.

Active retarder for 3D image display and display device

Provided are an optical element that has a high diffraction efficiency and can be produced through a simple procedure, a method of producing the optical element, and a mask set for use in production of the optical element. The optical element of the present invention includes an optically anisotropic layer containing anisotropic molecules. The optically anisotropic layer includes a first region that is a region where the anisotropic molecules are not twist-aligned in a film thickness direction of the optically anisotropic layer, and a second region that is a region where the anisotropic molecules are twist-aligned in the film thickness direction of the optically anisotropic layer.

Optical element, and method of producing optical element

Provided is a liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal panel including in the following order an active matrix substrate, a liquid crystal layer, and a counter substrate. The active matrix substrate includes in the following order a first electrode and a second electrode including a first linear electrode portion extending in a first direction. The counter substrate includes a third electrode including second linear electrode portions extending in a second direction crossing the first direction, and a fourth electrode including an island-shaped electrode portion as a floating electrode. The island-shaped electrode portion is disposed between the second linear electrode portions in a plan view, overlaps an optical aperture of one of two pixels adjacent to each other along the second direction, and does not overlap an optical aperture of the other of the two pixels.

Liquid crystal display device

A color filter includes a frame portion in which the reflectance of light incident from the transparent substrate side is less than the reflectance of light incident from the overcoat layer side and an opening portion in which the reflectance of light incident from the transparent substrate side is greater than the reflectance of light incident from the overcoat layer side. The color filter satisfies n×d<α×A+β×A+γ, where nis the refractive index of the transparent base coat layer, dnm is the film thickness of the transparent base coat layer, and A is the opening ratio of the color filter, and where A, α, β, and γ respectively satisfy A=(area of the opening portion)/(area of an active area), α=436.7×n−837.2, β=−315.8×n+523.7, and γ=−358.3×n+771.8.

Color filter and liquid crystal display device

Provided is a display device in which warping of a display panel is sufficiently reduced or prevented. The display device includes: a display panel; and a polarizer, the polarizer being provided with at least one notch that extends inward from an outer edge of the polarizer.

Display device

Provided is an optical element including, sequentially from a viewing surface side toward a back surface side: a first polarizer; a negative C plate; a phase difference layer; and a second polarizer. A transmission axis of the first polarizer is parallel to a transmission axis of the second polarizer. The phase difference layer contains anisotropic molecules. In the phase difference layer, a tilt angle of the anisotropic molecules on a viewing surface side in the phase difference layer and a tilt angle of the anisotropic molecules on a back surface side in the phase difference layer are the same as each other and greater than 0°. A slow axis of the phase difference layer, in a case of lying in a tilt direction of the anisotropic molecules, is parallel to or perpendicular to the transmission axis of the first polarizer.

Optical element and display device

There is provided a liquid crystal panel provided with a display region and a frame region and including a first substrate and a second substrate disposed facing the first substrate. In the display region, a liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. In the frame region, a sealing portion is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate includes a first support substrate and a first substrate-side insulating layer contacting the first support substrate in order toward the liquid crystal layer side. The second substrate includes a protrusion protruding to the liquid crystal layer side. The first substrate-side insulating layer includes a first thickness portion having a flat surface on the liquid crystal layer side, and a second thickness portion protruding to the liquid crystal layer side relative to the first thickness portion and disposed to face the protrusion.

Liquid crystal panel and three-dimensional display device

A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer. Each pixel includes a reflective region and a transmissive region. The first substrate includes a reflective layer, an interlayer insulating layer provided to cover the reflective layer, and a pixel electrode provided on the interlayer insulating layer in each pixel. The interlayer insulating layer has a recess portion which is defined by a bottom surface and an inclined side surface and at least a part of which is located in the transmissive region. A depth of the recess portion of the interlayer insulating layer is 0.5 μm or more, and an inclination angle of the inclined side surface of the recess portion is 25° or less.

A viewing angle control liquid crystal panel includes: a first polarizer having a first absorption axis; a first liquid crystal panel including a first substrate, a first liquid crystal layer, and a second substrate; a second liquid crystal panel including a third substrate, a second liquid crystal layer, and a fourth substrate; and a third liquid crystal panel including a fifth substrate, a third liquid crystal layer, and a sixth substrate. The following equations are satisfied, where φP1 is an azimuth angle of the first absorption axis and φ1, φ2, φ3, φ4, φ5, and φ6 are azimuth angles of directors of liquid crystal molecules on first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth substrate sides:0°≤|φ1−φ2|≤5°0°≤|φ1−φ1|≤5°0°≤|φ3−φ4|≤5°0°≤|φ5−φ6|≤5°.

Viewing angle control liquid crystal panel and display device

Provided is an optical element including a phase difference layer. The phase difference layer is a laminate of n first phase difference layers and m second phase difference layers. The n first phase difference layers each contain first anisotropic molecules with tilt angles different between a viewing surface side and a back surface side. The m second phase difference layers each contain second anisotropic molecules with tilt angles different between a viewing surface side and a back surface side. Slow axes of the n first phase difference layers are in a same orientation. Slow axes of the m second phase difference layers are in a same orientation. The slow axes of the n first phase difference layers and the slow axes of the m second phase difference layers are anti-parallel to each other and are parallel to or perpendicular to the transmission axis of the first polarizer.

A viewing angle-controlling liquid crystal panel sequentially includes a first polarizing plate; a first liquid crystal panel; a second polarizing plate; a second liquid crystal panel; and a third polarizing plate, wherein an azimuthal angle φP1 of the absorption axis of the first polarizing plate, an azimuthal angle φ1 of a director of liquid crystal molecules near the first substrate and an azimuthal angle φ2 of a director of liquid crystal molecules near the second substrate in the first liquid crystal panel, an azimuthal angle φP2 of the absorption axis of the second polarizing plate, an azimuthal angle φ3 of a director of liquid crystal molecules near the third substrate and an azimuthal angle φ4 of a director of liquid crystal molecules near the fourth substrate in the second liquid crystal panel, and an azimuthal angle φP3 of the absorption axis of the third polarizing plate satisfy specific formulas.

Viewing angle-controlling liquid crystal panel and display device

An optical element includes, sequentially from a viewing surface side toward a back surface side: a viewing-surface-side polarizer; a retarder; and a back-surface-side polarizer, a transmission axis of the viewing-surface-side polarizer and a transmission axis of the back-surface-side polarizer being parallel to each other, the optical element having an average angle θ between an angle θand an angle θof greater than 0° and smaller than 90°, wherein the angle θrepresents an angle formed by an optical axis of the retarder on a surface close to the back surface with the surface close to the back surface; and the angle θrepresents an angle formed by an optical axis of the retarder on a surface close to the viewing surface with the surface close to the viewing surface.

Optical element and liquid crystal display device including the same

Provided are 3D glasses capable of reducing crosstalk when disposed on the viewer side of a liquid crystal panel that is time-divisionally driven; an optical device including the 3D glasses; and a three-dimensional image display device including the optical device. The 3D glasses include a right-eye polarizer and a left-eye polarizer, the right-eye polarizer and the left-eye polarizer each including a polarizing plate and a first λ/4 plate, at least one of the right-eye polarizer or the left-eye polarizer including a phase difference layer on or behind a back surface side of the polarizing plate, wherein a phase difference introduced by the right-eye polarizer in a thickness direction at a wavelength of 550 nm is different from a phase difference introduced by the left-eye polarizer in the thickness direction at a wavelength of 550 nm.

3D glasses, optical device, and three-dimensional image display device

Provided is a liquid crystal display device having high luminance and high CR in a front direction and especially useful as a head-mounted liquid crystal display device, for example. The liquid crystal display device includes: a liquid crystal panel; an optical element; and a backlight, arranged in this order from a viewing surface side. The optical element includes a first polarizer, a retardation layer, and a second polarizer. The first polarizer, the retardation layer, and the second polarizer are arranged in this order from the viewing surface side. The first polarizer and the second polarizer are reflection polarizers. A reflection axis of the first polarizer and a reflection axis of the second polarizer are parallel to each other. In oblique directions at azimuths of 0°, 45°, and 90° at a polar angle of 60°, a polarization state of light incident on the first polarizer is elliptical polarization.

Provided are an optical element that can achieve both color difference control and luminance reduction at an oblique viewing angle, and a liquid crystal display device including the optical element and having excellent display quality. The optical element includes: a first polarizer; a first phase difference layer; a second phase difference layer; and a second polarizer, the first polarizer, the first phase difference layer, the second phase difference layer, and the second polarizer being arranged in the stated order, the first phase difference layer satisfying the formula nx>ny≈nz, the second phase difference layer satisfying the formula nz>nx≈ny, the first polarizer and the second polarizer being linear polarizers, transmission axes of the first polarizer and the second polarizer being parallel to each other, a slow axis of the first phase difference layer being orthogonal to a polarization axis of the first polarizer.

Growing community of inventors

Mie, Japan

Akira Sakai