Complex birefringent medium, polarizing plate, and liquid crystal device

Abstract

The present invention provides a complex birefringent medium, which has the so-called inverse wavelength dispersibility, that is, a wavelength dispersibility capable of giving an optimum phase difference to a light of a wide visible wavelength range, has a wide viewing angle, can be produced by a convenient method and is excellent in a degree of adjusting freedom of inverse wavelength dispersibility and in mass productivity, a polarizing plate and a liquid crystal display device. The complex birefringent medium of the present invention is a complex birefringent medium having a structure in which a plurality of birefringent layers are laminated, wherein in the complex birefringent medium, a phase difference exhibits inverse wavelength dispersibility as the whole of the complex birefringent medium, and wherein when a principal refractive index having the maximum absolute value of a difference from an average value of three principal refractive indexes at a wavelength λ (nm) is designated as a first principal refractive index n1(λ), a normal line of the birefringent layer and a principal axis corresponding to the first principal refractive index n1(550) of the birefringent layer are in the same plane.