A polymer liquid crystal compound with which a light absorption anisotropic film having a high alignment degree can be formed, a liquid crystalline composition, a light absorption anisotropic film which is formed of the liquid crystalline composition, a laminate, and an image display device. The liquid crystalline composition includes a polymer liquid crystal compound which contains a repeating unit represented by Formula (1) and a dichroic substance. In Formula (1), a difference between a log P value of P1, L1, and SP1 and a log P value of M1 is 4 or greater. In Formula (1), P1 represents a main chain of the repeating unit, L1 represents a single bond or a divalent linking group, SP1 represents a spacer group, M1 represents a mesogenic group, and T1 represents a terminal group. ##STR00001##

To suppress a phenomenon where an optical axis of the optically anisotropic layer is tilted when the optically anisotropic layer is produced by using a liquid crystalline compound showing smectic phase as a materials showing a higher level of orderliness. An optically anisotropic layer wherein a polymerizable composition, containing one or more polymerizable rod-like liquid crystal compound showing a smectic phase, is fixed in a state of smectic phase, and a direction of maximum refractive index of the optically anisotropic layer is inclined at 10° or smaller to the surface of the optically anisotropic layer, a method for manufacturing the same, a laminate and a method for manufacturing the same, a polarizing plate, a liquid crystal display device, and an organic EL display device.

The present invention relates to dibenzofuans and dibenzothiophenes thiophenes of formula I ##STR00001##
in which the occurring groups and parameters have the meanings as indicated in claim 1, to liquid-crystalline media comprising same and to high-frequency components comprising these media, especially microwave components for high-frequency devices, such as devices for shifting the phase of microwaves, in particular for microwave phased-array antennas.

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical laminate in which an optically anisotropic layer provided as an upper layer has good liquid crystal alignment properties, and a polarizing plate and an image display device using the optical laminate. An optical laminate of the present invention is an optical laminate including: a first optically anisotropic layer; and a second optically anisotropic layer, in which the first and second optically anisotropic layers are directly laminated, each of the first and second optically anisotropic layers consists of a liquid crystal layer, and a photo-alignment polymer having a photo-alignment group and at least one type of polar group selected from the group consisting of a hydroxyl group and a ketone group is present in a surface of the second optically anisotropic layer on a side in contact with the first optically anisotropic layer.

A polymerizable liquid crystal composition having excellent solubility, used for formation of an optically anisotropic film having excellent durability. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition contains a polymerizable liquid crystal compound P1 represented by Formula (1): A-Ar-A, a polymerizable liquid crystal compound P2 represented by Formula (2): A-Ar-B, and a polymerizable liquid crystal compound P3 represented by Formula (3): B-Ar-B. In Formulae (1) and (2), A's represent predetermined side chains, all of which exhibit the same C log P value, and in Formulae (2) and (3), B's represent predetermined side chains, all of which exhibit the same C log P value. It should be noted that A and B represent side chains having C log P values different from each other, in which the C log P value of A is larger than the C log P value of B and the C log P value of at least one of A or B is 3.3 or more.

Provided are a liquid crystal composition, a liquid crystal cured layer, an optical film, a polarizing plate, and an image display device, each of which suppresses streak defects and has excellent temporal stability. The liquid crystal composition includes a liquid crystal compound and a basic compound, in which a pKa of a conjugate acid of the basic compound is 4 to 10.

The invention relates to a liquid-crystalline medium having a nematic phase comprising one or more compounds of formula X

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wherein the parameters have the meaning given in the text,
to the use thereof in an electro-optical display, particularly in an active-matrix display based on the IPS or FFS effect, to displays of this type which contain a liquid-crystalline medium of this type and to the use of the compounds of formula X for improvement of the transmission and/or response times of a liquid-crystalline medium which comprises one or more additional mesogenic compounds, as well as to certain compounds of formula X, as specified in the text.

A liquid-crystalline medium which comprises at least one compound selected from the group of compounds of the formulae IA to IH,

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in which Z.sup.1 denotes a single bond, —CH.sub.2CH.sub.2—, —CH═CH—, —CH.sub.2O—, —OCH.sub.2—, —CF.sub.2O—, —OCF.sub.2—, —COO—, —OCO—, —C.sub.2F.sub.4—, —(CH.sub.2).sub.4—, —CHFCHF—, —CF.sub.2CH.sub.2—, —CH.sub.2CF.sub.2—, —C≡C—, —CF═CF—, —CH═CHCHO— or —CH.sub.2CF.sub.2O—,
and the use thereof for an active-matrix display, in particular based on the VA, PSA, PS-VA, PALC, FFS, PS-FFS, SA-VA, PS-IPS or IPS effect.

An optical element includes an optically-anisotropic layer that is formed of a liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal compound having a polymerizable group, in which a ratio of a bend elastic constant K33 to a splay elastic constant K11 in the liquid crystal composition satisfies 0.8≤K33/K11≤1.2 at any temperature of a nematic temperature range, and the optically-anisotropic layer 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.

Provided is a composition that is capable of forming a polarizer layer having an excellent degree of alignment and excellent adhesiveness to another layer in a case of being applied to a laminate, a polarizer layer, a laminate, and an image display device. The composition of the present invention is a composition including at least a polymer liquid crystal compound, a dichroic material, and a low-molecular-weight liquid crystal compound, in which the polymer liquid crystal compound is a copolymer having a repeating unit (1) represented by Formula (1), the low-molecular-weight liquid crystal compound is a compound represented by Formula (LC), and relationships represented by Expressions |log P(SP1)−log P(SPL1)|≤2.0 (11), |log P(MG1)−log P(SP1)|≥4.5 (12), and |log P(ML)−log P(SPL1)|≥4.0 (13) are satisfied.

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