Sony Corporation

Seiichi Arakawa

Junetsu Seto

Masataka Matsute

Nobutoshi Asai

Hirofumi Kondo

Keiichi Nito

Eriko Matsui

Nobuyuki Matsuzawa

Shinichiro Tamura

Noriyuki Kishii

Koichi Kawasumi

Mayumi Miyashita

Yasutoshi Kawate

Eriko Koseki

The present invention provides a liquid crystal composition suitable for low-voltage driving of a guest-host liquid crystal display device. The guest-host liquid crystal display device has a pair of substrates bonded with a predetermined gap therebetween, a guest-host liquid crystal containing a dichroic dye and held in the gap, and a counter electrode and a reflecting electrode respectively provided on the substrates, for applying a voltage to the guest-host liquid crystal. The guest-host liquid crystal mainly comprises a nematic liquid crystal composition having a value of dielectric anisotropy within the range of &minus;2 to &minus;10, The molecules of the nematic liquid crystal are aligned vertically with respect to the upper and lower substrates.

Guest-host liquid crystal display device

A liquid crystal display device in which low power consumption and bright white color display are enabled to achieve high contrast as well as a response speed and picture quality compatible with a moving picture. A transparent substrate having a transparent electrode and a polarizing plate and a facing side substrate having plural pixel electrodes formed of a light reflective material and plural switching elements driving these pixel electrodes are arranged at a predetermined separation so that the transparent electrode and the pixel electrodes face each other. A liquid crystal layer formed of a nematic liquid crystal is interposed between the transparent substrate and the facing side substrate. The nematic liquid crystal is preferably a negative type nematic liquid crystal having negative anisotropy. The surfaces of the plural pixel electrodes towards the liquid crystal layer preferably present surface irregularities. If the surfaces of the pixel electrodes towards the liquid crystal are not irregular surfaces, the transparent substrate preferably has a light-scattering layer. A color filter is preferably provided on the transparent substrate or on the facing side substrate.

Reflection type liquid crystal display device in which pixel electrodes have surface irregularities due to disposal over switching elements

A guest-host liquid crystal display device comprises a pair of substrates opposing each other with a space therebetween, a guest-host liquid crystal held in the space, the guest-host liquid crystal containing a dichroic dye mixture exhibiting a black color as a whole, and electrodes provided on the substrates for applying a voltage to the guest-host liquid crystal. The dichroic dye mixture comprises a bis-azo blue dye having a thienothiazole ring represented by the following chemical formula (1) and a tris-azo bluish purple dye having a benzothiazole ring represented by the following chemical formula (2): ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is a hydrogen or halogen atom, C.sub.n H.sub.2n+1, COC.sub.n H.sub.2n+1, OCOC.sub.n H.sub.2n+1, COOC.sub.n H.sub.2n+1, or CH.sub.2 COOC.sub.n H.sub.2n+1, wherein n is an integer from 1 to 8; each of R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 is a hydrogen atom or C.sub.n H.sub.2n+1 ; R.sub.3 may be ##STR2## or ##STR3## and a combination of R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 may form ##STR4## wherein n is an integer from 1 to 8, and m is an integer from 1 to 5; and R.sub.4 is a hydrogen or halogen atom, or C.sub.n H.sub.2n+1, wherein n is an integer from 1 to 8.

Guest-host liquid crystal display device and guest-host liquid crystal

Disclosed herein is an optically active compound and a ferroelectric liquid crystal composition produced therefrom. The optically active compound has a fluorine atom introduced into the core nucleus so that it does not take on the smectic phase of a high order except for the smectic A phase and smectic C phase and which has carbonyl groups (for dipole) at adequate positions so that it exihibits greater spontaneous polarization. The ferroelectric liquid crystal composition is composed of a chiral component (including the optically active compound) and a non-chiral component, and hence it is superior in response performance.

Optically active compound and ferroelectric liquid crystal composition

A liquid crystal display device having fast response characteristics and enabling analog gray-scale display is provided. The liquid crystal display device is formed of a liquid crystal material having the chiral smectic C phase. The projection component on the substrates of the axial direction of a cone delineated by a liquid crystal molecule, and the projection component on the substrates of the axial direction of the liquid crystal molecule itself, are adapted to be coincident with the processing direction for uniaxial orientation of the substrates, this state being monostabilized as the initial state. On application of an electrical field, the liquid crystal molecule is rotated along the cone and the apparent tilt angle as viewed on the substrate surface is continuously changed in accordance with the strength of the applied electrical field. The intensity of the transmitted light is increased continuously with increasing tilt angle to obtain the continuous gray-scale or analog gray-scale.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal display device having monostabilized state

An optical recording medium is disclosed, in which an optical recording layer and a reflective layer are formed on a transparent substrate. The recording layer contains a first compound having absorption or a recording laser light having a predetermined wavelength, and a second compound having substantially no absorption for a laser light having the predetermined wavelength and decomposable upon heat generation by the laser light in the optical recording layer.

Optical recording medium

An optical recording medium including a substrate and a photosensitive layer thereon, the photosensitive layer containing as its major ingredients, the combination of a polymeric binder resin and an indolinospirobenzothiopyran compound represented by the general formula (I): ##STR1## where R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are each a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group containing from 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group containing from 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkoxymethyl group containing from 1 to 5 carbon atoms in the alkoxy group, a hydroxymethyl group or an alkylaminomethyl group containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms in the alkyl group. The optical recording medium has a colored image which is very stable against heat and visible light.

Novel photochromic compounds are disclosed, which compounds are represented by the general formula ##STR1## in which R.sub.1 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a halogen atom, a nitro group, a cyano group or a dimethylamino group, and R.sub.6, R.sub.7 and R.sub.8 independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, or a halogen atom, and correspondingly 97 to 50 wt % of a film-forming polymer. Photosensitive compositions and materials comprising the compounds are also described.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Seiichi Arakawa