Fujifilm Corporation

Fumitake Mitobe

Jun Takeda

Naoya Nishimura

Yukito Saitoh

Katsumi Sasata

Yasukazu Kuwayama

Yuzo Fujiki

Hiroshi Sato

Shinya Watanabe

Akiko Watano

Naoyoshi Yamada

Naoya Shibata

Shinichi Yoshinari

Katsufumi Ohmuro

Yujiro Yanai

Wataru Hoshino

Hiroshi Matsuyama

Keisuke Kodama

Ryuji Saneto

Takashi Katou

Yuya Hamaguchi

Yumi Katou

Jun Ishiyama

A light absorption anisotropic layer which has high contrast and can suppress hue change of an image reflected by surroundings relative to an original image when used in a viewing angle control system, an optical film using the light absorption anisotropic layer, a viewing angle control system, and an image display device. The light absorption anisotropic layer is formed of a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystalline compound, a dichroic substance, and an alignment agent. The liquid crystalline compound is in a liquid crystal state of a smectic phase, a content of the dichroic substance is 5.0% by mass or more with respect to a total solid content mass of the liquid crystal composition, and an angle θ between a transmittance central axis of the light absorption anisotropic layer and a normal direction of a surface of the light absorption anisotropic layer is between 0° and 45°.

Light absorption anisotropic layer, optical film, viewing angle control system, and image display device

An optical film that, when being used in an image display device, it is possible to suppress a change in redness with respect to an original image in images reflected in surroundings, a manufacturing method of a light absorption anisotropic layer, and an image display device. The optical film includes a light absorption anisotropic layer which contains a liquid crystalline compound and a dichroic substance, in which an angle θ between a transmittance central axis of the light absorption anisotropic layer and a normal direction of a surface of the light absorption anisotropic layer is 0° or more and 45° or less, and a haze value of the optical film is more than 1% and 20% or less.

Optical film, manufacturing method of light absorption anisotropic layer, and image display device

An optical element includes a light guide plate, an incidence portion, and an emission portion, in which the incidence/emission portion includes an Λdiffraction element having a diffraction period Λ, an Λdiffraction element having a diffraction period Λ, and an Λdiffraction element having a diffraction period Λ=1:1√2±0.015:1/2±0.015' is satisfied, an angle between periodic directions of the Λdiffraction element and the Λdiffraction element and an angle between periodic directions of the Λdiffraction element and the Λdiffraction element is 45° or 135° (±0.5°), and an angle between the periodic directions of the Λdiffraction elements in the incidence portion and the emission portion is any one of 0°, 90°, 180°, or 270° (±0.5°).

Optical element and image display apparatus

A light absorption anisotropic film that, in a case of being applied to an image display device, it is possible to suppress redness of an image originating from the image display device, which is reflected on surrounding members arranged around the image display device; and an optical film and an image display device. The light absorption anisotropic film is formed of a composition containing a liquid crystal compound and a dichroic substance, in which the light absorption anisotropic film has two main surfaces facing each other, an angle between a normal direction of the main surface of the light absorption anisotropic film and a transmittance central axis of the light absorption anisotropic film is 0° to 45°, and predetermined requirements are satisfied depending on the angle.

Light absorption anisotropic film, optical film, and image display device

Provided is a polarizing element which has an excellent antireflection function as being applied to an image display device; and a circularly polarizing plate and an image display device, each of which has the polarizing element. The polarizing element has an alignment film and an anisotropic light-absorbing film formed using a dichroic substance, in which a degree S of alignment of the anisotropic light-absorbing film is 0.92 or more, and an average refractive index nat a wavelength of 400 to 700 nm of the alignment film is 1.55 to 2.0.

Polarizing element, circularly polarizing plate, and image display device

Provided are a method of forming a photo-alignment film having a large size that can appropriately align a liquid crystal compound can be formed and a method of forming a liquid crystal layer having a large size in which alignment defects of a liquid crystal compound can be suppressed. The method of forming a photo-alignment film includes: an exposure step of irradiating a surface of a photo-alignment film including a photo-alignment material that is formed on a support with interference light formed by intersection of two light components such that the surface of the photo-alignment film is exposed to form, on the photo-alignment film, an alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction; and a moving step of moving the support by a distance D in a direction parallel to the surface of the support and parallel to a straight line formed by optical axes of the two beams, in which the photo-alignment film is exposed by alternately repeating the exposure step and the moving step. Here, the distance D is represented by λ/{2×sin(α/2)}×N−λ/8<D<λ/{2×sin(α/2)}×N+λ/8.

Method of forming photo-alignment film and method of forming liquid crystal layer

Provided are a backlight unit and a liquid crystal display device including the backlight unit, the backlight unit being capable of switching between viewing angles in the liquid crystal display device and having a configuration in which the brightness values of emitted light on the '+' side and the “−” side at a polar angle with respect to the normal line are symmetric to each other. The backlight unit includes: a light guide plate; a first light source that guides light into the light guide plate from a long side or a short side of the light guide plate; a second light source that guides light into the light guide plate from a side of the light guide plate different from that of the first light source; a first diffraction element that is provided on one main surface of the light guide plate and diffracts only light emitted from one of the first light source or the second light source; a second diffraction element that is provided on another main surface of the light guide plate and diffracts only light emitted from another one of the first light source or the second light source; and a reflection plate that is provided on a surface of the light guide plate opposite to a light emission surface.

Backlight unit and liquid crystal display device

An optical element includes a light guide plate, an incidence portion, and an emission portion, in which each of the incidence portion and the emission portion includes diffraction portions, the diffraction portion includes diffraction elements, the diffraction element includes a liquid crystal diffraction layer in which a direction of an optical axis of a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in one in-plane direction, and in a case where the direction in which the direction of the optical axis changes is set as an in-plane rotation direction and a length over which the optical axis rotates by 180° is set as an in-plane period, in-plane rotation directions of liquid crystal diffraction layers of incidence diffraction elements in at least two of a plurality of the incidence diffraction portions are different from each other.

Provided is an optical laminate, an image display device, and a glass composite which are capable of sufficiently shielding light emitted in a direction oblique to a normal direction of a film without occurrence of moire even in a case of being used in a combination with a high-definition image display device. The optical laminate includes, in order, at least a first light absorption anisotropic layer, a refractive index anisotropic layer formed of a one or more layers that contain a liquid crystal compound having a twisted structure, and a second light absorption anisotropic layer, in which the first light absorption anisotropic layer and the second light absorption anisotropic layer contain an anisotropic absorbing material and each have an absorption axis that is aligned at an angle of 60° to 90° with respect to a film surface.

Optical laminate comprising a twisted angle of a refractive index anisotropic layer having a twisted structure, image display device, and glass composite

Provided are an optical filter, an optical device, and a head-mounted display which have a high light transmittance in a front direction and a wide real field of view. The optical filter includes a first anisotropic absorption layer, a first retardation layer, and a second anisotropic absorption layer in this order, each of the first anisotropic absorption layer and the second anisotropic absorption layer contains a dichroic colorant, an absorption axis of the dichroic colorant is perpendicular to a main surface, and the first retardation layer has polar angle dependence of retardation that has asymmetry about a normal direction with respect to incident light hitting at least one incident surface including a normal of a layer surface of the first retardation layer.

Optical filter, optical device, and head-mounted display

A light guide element includes: a light guide plate; and a diffraction element that is disposed on a main surface of the light guide plate, in which the diffraction element includes a liquid crystal layer that is formed of a liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal compound and has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction, a refractive index of the light guide plate is 1.70 or higher, and in a case where the refractive index of the light guide plate is represented by nand a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer is represented by n, n−n≥0 is satisfied.

Light guide element comprising a diffraction element having a cholesteric liquid crystal layer with a pitch gradient

The present invention provides a polarizing element which has an excellent antireflection function as being applied to an image display device; and a circularly polarizing plate and an image display device, each of which has a polarizing element. The polarizing element has an alignment film and an anisotropic light-absorbing film formed using a dichroic substance, in which a degree S of alignment of the anisotropic light-absorbing film is 0.92 or more, an average refractive index nat a wavelength of 400 to 700 nm of the alignment film is 1.55 or more and less than 1.78, an in-plane refractive index anisotropy &#x394;n at a wavelength of 550 nm of the alignment film is less than 0.10.

Provided is a viewing angle control polarizing plate that has asymmetric transmission characteristics, does not cause moire even in a case of being used in combination with a high-definition image display device, and is capable of easily following a curved surface and a viewing angle control system with high productivity. The viewing angle control system includes at least a first polarizer and an optically anisotropic layer, in which an absorption axis of the first polarizer forms an angle of 45&#xb0; or greater with respect to an in-plane direction, and a main axis of a refractive index of the optically anisotropic layer is tilted in the in-plane direction.

Viewing angle control system and image display device

Provided is a light absorption anisotropic layer including a dichroic substance, in which a transmittance as viewed from a front direction is high and a transmittance as viewed from an oblique direction can be lowered, a laminate, an optical film, an image display device, and a backlight module. The light absorption anisotropic layer includes a liquid crystalline compound and at least one dichroic substance, in which the dichroic substance is aligned perpendicular to the film surface, and an alignment degree of the light absorption anisotropic layer at a wavelength of 550 nm is 0.95 or more.

Light absorption anisotropic layer, laminate, optical film, image display device, and backlight module

An object of the present invention is to provide a laminate in which the coloring of reflected light is reduced. The laminate includes an optical film having a light absorption anisotropic film formed using a composition including a dichroic substance and having a transmittance of more than 50%, a &#x3bb;/4 plate, and a metal electrode in this order, in which in a case where a degree (%) of polarization at a wavelength of &#x3bb; of the optical film is defined as P(&#x3bb;) and a reflectance (%) at the wavelength of &#x3bb; of the metal electrode is defined as R(&#x3bb;), a ratio of a minimum value of R/P to a maximum value of R/P at wavelengths of 450 nm, 550 nm, and 650 nm is more than 85%.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Fumitake Mitobe