The invention relates to novel polymers containing repeating units based on benzodithiophene or derivatives thereof, monomers and methods for their preparation, their use as semiconductors in organic electronic (OE) devices, especially in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, and to OE and OPV devices comprising these polymers.

An optical film includes a liquid crystal layer derived from a smectic phase, wherein an Nz factor of the liquid crystal layer is from 0.2 to 0.8. A display device that includes the optical film, and a method of producing an optical film is also provided.

Provided are a dye compound, a composition comprising the dye compound, and a display device using the dye compound. The dye compound is represented by Formula 1.

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An object of the present invention is to provide an optical film having an optically anisotropic layer having excellent durability, and a polarizing plate and an image display device using the same. An optical film of the present invention includes an optically anisotropic layer, an overcoat layer, and a pressure sensitive adhesive layer in this order, in which the optically anisotropic layer is a layer obtained by polymerizing a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystal compound having a polymerizable group and a polymerization initiator, the overcoat layer is a layer obtained by curing a polyfunctional polymerizable monomer having two or more polymerizable groups, and a molecular weight per polymerizable group in the polyfunctional polymerizable monomer is 140 or less.

A polymerizable composition excellent in solubility and having high storage stability with no crystal precipitation or the like; a polymerizable composition capable of being formed into a polymer excellent in alignment performance and leveling performance, hardly having defects, cissing and unevenness and hardly causing appearance failure owing to surfactant offset; and a polymer, an optically anisotropic body, a display element, a light-emitting element and the like using the polymerizable composition are provided. Specifically, the invention provides a polymerizable composition containing a) one or two or more polymerizable compounds each having one polymerizable group or two or more polymerizable groups and satisfying a formula (I) Re(450 nm)/Re(550 nm)<1.0 (I), and b) one or two or more compounds represented by the general formula (B). In addition, the invention provides a polymer, an optically anisotropic body, a display element, a light-emitting element and the like using the polymerizable composition.

An optically anisotropic layer is formed by a liquid crystal compound represented by General Formula 1, in which the long axes of the molecules are oriented.

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wherein L.sub.1 and L.sub.2 independently represent a linking group having a carbonyl group; F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a halogen atom; n and m independently represent an integer from 0 to 4; a and b independently represent an integer from 1 to 4; T.sub.1 and T.sub.2 independently represent a spacer portion including a straight chain or branched alkylene or alkylene oxide group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms; and Ar represents a divalent group having at least one aromatic ring selected from a group consisting of aromatic hydrocarbon rings and aromatic heterocycles, the number of electrons in the Ar group being 8 or greater.

The present application relates to novel compounds and to devices which contain these compounds. The application also relates to a device for regulating the passage of energy from an outside space into an inside space, to a window containing the said device, and to uses of the said devices and compounds.

The polymerizable composition includes a compound which is reverse wavelength dispersive or low wavelength dispersive and has at least one mesogenic group, the mixture satisfying Expression (1). In the expression (1), YI represents a yellowness index of the compound and n represents a refractive index anisotropy at a wavelength of 550 nm in the case of being formed into a film: 0.5YI/n500 Expression (1).

There is provided a polymerizable composition, by which discoloration or alignment defects are less likely to occur when a filmy polymer, which is obtained by adding a polymerizable compound to the polymerizable composition and polymerizing this composition, is irradiated with ultraviolet light. There are also provided a polymer obtained by polymerizing the polymerizable composition, and an optically anisotropic body using the polymer. The present invention provides a polymerizable low-wavelength dispersive or polymerizable reverse-wavelength dispersive compound having a partial structure represented by Formula (Z-0). Further, the present invention provides a composition containing the compound; a polymer obtained by polymerizing the composition; and an optically anisotropic body obtained by using the polymer.

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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.