Dic Corporation

Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Kyoto University

Kyushu University

Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Incorporated

Tokyo Institute of Technology

Isa Nishiyama

Martin Schadt

Haruyoshi Takatsu

Yasuhiro Kuwana

Kazuaki Hatsusaka

Yutaka Nagashima

Sayaka Nose

Hiroshi Hasebe

Toru Fujisawa

Kiyoshi Minoura

Vladimir Grigorievich Chigrinov

Kazunori Maruyama

Masanao Hayashi

Masayuki Iwakubo

Hirotsugu Kikuchi

Hidenari Akiyama

Jun Yamamoto

Yasushi Okumura

Waki Sakatsuji

Koichi Miyachi

Koji Murata

Hoi Sing Kwok

Yoshinori Iwashita

Kiyofumi Takeuchi

Hoi-Sing Kwok

Joji Kawamura

Shunsuke Kobayashi

Katsunori Shimada

Yoshiyuki Ono

Yasuyuki Suzuki

Hidetoshi Nakata

Kunihiko Kotani

Yutaka Kadomoto

Yasuyuki Watanabe

Masanao Takashima

Hitoshi Hayakawa

Fumiaki Kodera

Motoi Kinoshita

Keisuke Fujisawa

Atsushi Shishido

Hiroyuki Itou

Kazuki Obi

Hiroya Nishikawa

Yoshitaka Saitou

Hiroki Higuchi

Yuuichirou Tani

Jyoji Kawamura

Takeaki Araki

Seiji Fanakura

Koki Takamoto

Koichi Endo

Gimpei Machida

Yudai Kawashima

Takahito Kanzaki

Rijeesh Kizhakidathazhath

Shogo Kato

Yoichi Takanishi

Masumi Yamashita

Koji Fujikawa

Yu Fukunaga

Hoi Song Kwok

An optical device () includes a first substrate () and a second substrate () facing each other, a liquid crystal component () between the first substrate () and the second substrate (), a first electrode () and a second electrode () located on the first substrate () on the second substrate () side, and a first alignment layer () that is located on the first substrate () on the second substrate () side and controls the alignment state of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal component (), wherein an interface between the liquid crystal component () and the first alignment layer () forms a non-glide weak anchoring interface ().

Optical device and refresh driving method for optical device

A complex () includes a liquid crystal component () and a support () of the liquid crystal component (), in which a lubricating interface derivation region () is formed between the liquid crystal component () and the support (). An optical element includes a pair of substrates () having electrodes () on at least one substrate (), and a liquid crystal component () with which a space between the pair of substrates () is filled, in which a lubricating interface derivation region () is formed between the pair of substrates () and the liquid crystal component (). It is preferable that the lubricating interface deriving agent () is present in the lubricating interface derivation region.

Complex and optical element

A photo-alignment material in which an alignment film can be formed parallel to a vibration direction of light and a tilt angle of the alignment film is easily controlled and a photo-alignment method using the photo-alignment material are provided. A photo-alignment material of the present invention contains a photo-responsive substance having a threshold value of responding light intensity.

Photo-alignment material and photo-alignment method

Provided is a liquid crystal alignment layer of which a constituent member is a compound represented by the general formula (I). 

Cinnamic acid derivative, polymer thereof, and liquid crystal alignment layer comprising cured product thereof

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device that includes a particular color filter containing a material containing chiral liquid crystals and a particular dye and/or pigment. The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device that can prevent a decrease in the voltage holding ratio (VHR) of a liquid crystal layer and solve the problem of display defects, such as white spots, variations in alignment, and burn-in. Because liquid crystal display devices according to the present invention characteristically prevent a decrease in the voltage holding ratio (VHR) of a liquid crystal layer and reduces the occurrence of display defects, such as burn-in, the liquid crystal display devices are particularly useful as liquid crystal display devices in IPS mode and FFS mode for active-matrix driving and can be applied to household electrical appliances, automobiles, production facilities, measuring and analytical instruments, and communication devices.

Liquid crystal display device

There is provided a liquid crystal composition which enables a significant reduction in crystallization temperature as compared with addition of a homolog while having a similar skeleton structure, which has an excellent compatibility, and which enables an increase in the absolute value of negative dielectric anisotropy (&#x394;&#x2208;). The liquid crystal composition contains two or more compounds which each have two to four ring structures between two side chains. At least one of the ring structures is a 2,3-difluorobenzene skeleton. The two side chains are bonded to different ring structures. The positions of the 2,3-difluorobenzene skeletons are different from each other, and the number of the ring structures are the same as each other.

Liquid-crystal composition

The liquid crystal light modulator includes a first substrate () and a second substrate () disposed between two polarizers, and a pair of electrode structures (). The substrates include homeotropic alignment films () and (), and at least one of the substrates has a function of aligning C-directors of liquid crystal molecules along one direction. The one direction forms an azimuth angle in the range of 35 to 55 degrees with the direction of the electric field generated by the pair of electrode structures (). A liquid crystal composition layer () contains a ferroelectric liquid crystal composition having a chiral smectic C phase or a liquid crystal composition that has an achiral smectic C phase and negative dielectric anisotropy. Light transmittance is modulated by the electric field generated by the electrode structures () changing the birefringence index of the liquid crystal composition layer ().

Liquid-crystal optical modulation element

An object of the present invention is to provide a photoalignment layer with a more reliable absorption anisotropy parameter as a photoalignment layer that allows for reduced AC image-sticking. Specifically, provided is a photoalignment layer, obtained by exposure to polarized UV radiation, that has a maximum &#x394;A (=A1&#x2212;A2, where A1 is the absorbance in a direction parallel to a vibration direction of the polarized UV radiation, and A2 is the absorbance in a direction parallel to the vibration direction of the polarized UV radiation) of 0.35 or more per micrometer of layer thickness in a range of 230 to 380 nm.

Liquid crystal alignment layer

Provided is a liquid crystal alignment layer of which a constituent member is a polymer represented by the general formula (I). 

Copolymer, and liquid crystal alignment layer including cured product thereof

The present invention relates to a polymerizable composition useful as a liquid crystal device, a display, an optical member, a coloring agent, a security marking, and a laser light emitting member and a thin film obtained from the polymerizable composition. The present invention provides a polymerizable liquid crystal composition having excellent solubility into a solvent, exhibiting good adhesion to a base material, and being capable of realizing a thin film having low haze and no variations and, in addition, provides a thin film having excellent appearance by using the polymerizable liquid crystal composition. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition according to the present invention is used and, thereby, a composition and a thin film having low haze and no variations and, at the same time, having excellent adhesion to a base material can be obtained at a low cost.

Polymerizable liquid crystal composition and thin film using same

There are provided a liquid crystal-polymer composite material including a nematic liquid crystal composition containing at least two types of achiral liquid crystal compounds, at least one type of chiral compound, and a polymer formed by polymerization of at least one type of polymerizable compound; a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal-polymer composite material in which polymerization of a polymerizable compound-containing liquid crystal composition including a nematic liquid crystal composition containing at least two types of achiral liquid crystal compounds, at least one type of chiral compound, and at least one type of polymerizable compound is started for curing in a temperature range in which the polymerizable compound-containing liquid crystal composition exhibits a blue phase III; and a liquid crystal optical element which uses the liquid crystal-polymer composite material.

Liquid crystal-polymer composite material

The present invention relates to materials used for aligning liquid crystals of liquid crystal display elements and to a polymer for use in liquid crystal vertical alignment layer used in producing a liquid crystal vertical alignment layer. The polymer for use in a liquid crystal vertical alignment layer includes (a) a moiety that is photochemically isomerizable but not photochemically crosslinked, (b) a moiety that is photochemically crosslinkable, and (c) a moiety that stabilizes a vertical alignment. The polymer can be used to produce a vertical alignment layer that has a liquid crystal alignment property enabling control of alignment at a low UV dose and that offers a large pretilt angle and superior optical stability.

Polymer for use in liquid crystal alignment layer

The present invention provides a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing polymerizable liquid crystal compounds and a photoinitiator, wherein the photoinitiator has a light absorption band in a wavelength range of 280 to 400 nm; and at least one of the polymerizable liquid crystal compounds has a light absorption band in a wavelength range of 320 to 400 nm or a light-absorbing agent having a light absorption band in a wavelength range of 280 to 400 nm is contained. Thus, there is provided a material that can be cured in the air without replacing the atmosphere with an inert gas during irradiation with ultraviolet rays and that can achieve the characteristics required for a biaxial film, such as a sufficiently large front phase difference.

Polymerizable liquid crystal composition

Growing community of inventors

Kita-adachi-gun, Japan

Isa Nishiyama