An object of the present invention is to provide a phase difference plate for an organic EL display device having excellent light resistance, an organic EL display device, and a method for producing a phase difference plate. The phase difference plate for an organic EL display device of an embodiment of the present invention has a phase difference layer formed from a composition containing a polymer having a repeating unit A including a photo-alignment group and a polymerizable liquid crystal compound having reciprocal wavelength dispersion, in which the photo-alignment group includes a double bond structure of CC or CN.

An object is to provide a polymerizable liquid crystal compound, a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing the compound and liquid crystal polymerization film-kind capable of controlling chromatic dispersion characteristics and having low positive chromatic dispersion characteristics. An aspect can be exemplified in which the polymerizable liquid crystal compound is represented by formula (1): ##STR00001## in which, in formula (1), G is a group composed of a quinoline skeleton, an isoquinoline skeleton, a quinoxaline skeleton or a quinazoline skeleton, A.sup.1 is 1,4-phenylene or 1,4-cyclohexylene, Z.sup.1 is a connecting group, m is an integer from 0 to 3, and R.sup.1 is a group containing a polymerizable group.

New classes of thiadiazole and oxadiazole compounds for use in LC mixtures are disclosed. In an embodiment, the new classes of thiadiazoles and oxadiazoles comprise at least one phenyl ring attached to the heterocyclic ring, where no alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl tails are attached to the phenyl ring, but one alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl tail is attached to the other end of the molecule, and a fluoro or cyano group appears in the para position of the phenyl ring. These compounds are disclosed as being effective at inducing smectic A phases in liquid crystal mixtures, particularly in liquid crystal mixtures also possessing a smectic C phase, more particularly in materials possessing a chiral smectic C (ferroelectric) phase.

Provided is a polymerizable composition that is capable of forming an optical film, etc. having excellent reverse wavelength dispersibility, can be prepared at relatively low temperature, and has excellent stability around room temperature. A mixture comprises a polymerizable compound represented by the following Formula (I) and a polymerizable compound represented by the following Formula (II):

##STR00001##

A liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal compound capable of expressing a birefringence with reverse wavelength distribution, a (meth)acrylic acid ester compound other than the liquid crystal compound, and a surfactant containing a fluorine atom, wherein a ratio Mw/Np of a molecular weight Mw of the (meth)acrylic acid ester compound relative to a number of electrons Np of the (meth)acrylic acid ester compound is 17 or more and 70 or less, and an amount of the surfactant relative to 100 parts by weight of a total of the liquid crystal compound and the (meth)acrylic acid ester compound is 0.11 part by weight or more and 0.29 part by weight or less.

An object of the invention is to provide an anisotropic light absorption film having both a high alignment degree and high light resistance, and a laminate provided using the anisotropic light absorption film. An anisotropic light absorption film according to the embodiment of the invention is formed from a composition having a first dichroic azo dye, a second dichroic azo dye, and a compound represented by Formula (I) or a polymer thereof, the first dichroic azo dye has a solution absorption maximum wavelength of 400 nm or greater and less than 550 nm, the second dichroic azo dye has a solution absorption maximum wavelength of 550 nm or greater and 750 nm or less, and the film has an arrangement structure of the first dichroic azo dye or an arrangement structure of the second dichroic azo dye therein.

Described herein are liquid crystal compositions containing a five-member heterocyclic ring that can allow for the adjustment of their refractive indices under the application of an electric field. In addition, selectively dimmable reverse-mode polymer dispersed liquid crystal elements and devices using the aforementioned compositions are also described, which are transparent when no voltage is applied and opaque when a voltage is applied.

A liquid crystal composition including: a polymerizable liquid crystal compound capable of expressing birefringence with inverse wavelength dispersion; a surfactant containing a fluorine atom; and a solvent, wherein the surfactant contains a fluorine atom at a ratio of 30% by weight or less in a molecule of the surfactant.

A method for producing a liquid crystal cured film including a liquid crystal cured layer formed of a cured product of a liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal compound capable of expressing a birefringence with reverse wavelength distribution and a polymerization initiator, the method including: a step of forming a layer of the liquid crystal composition; a step of giving orientation to the liquid crystal compound contained in the layer of the liquid crystal composition; and a step of curing the layer of the liquid crystal composition, wherein a residue content viscosity of a test composition is 800 cP or less under a condition of a temperature that is the same as a temperature of the layer in the step of giving orientation to the liquid crystal compound, the test composition being the liquid crystal composition from which the polymerization initiator is omitted.

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.