To provide a liquid crystal composition having at least one or a suitable balance regarding two of characteristics such as high maximum or low minimum temperature of a nematic phase, small viscosity, suitable optical anisotropy, large dielectric anisotropy, large specific resistance, high stability to ultraviolet light or heat and a large elastic constant; and an AM device including the composition and having a short response time, a large voltage holding ratio, low threshold voltage, a large contrast ratio, a long service life and so forth. The liquid crystal composition contains a quencher as an additive component and a specific compound having large positive dielectric anisotropy as a first component, and a liquid crystal display device includes the composition. The composition may contain a specific compound having high maximum temperature or small viscosity as a second component, or a specific compound having negative dielectric anisotropy as a third component.

Provided is a polar compound having high chemical stability, high capability of aligning liquid crystal molecules, high solubility in a liquid crystal composition, and a large voltage holding ratio when used in a liquid crystal display device. The compound is represented by formula (1):

##STR00001##

in which, for example, R.sup.1 is alkyl having 1 to 15 carbons; MES is a mesogen group having at least one ring; Sp.sup.1 is a single bond or alkylene having 1 to 10 carbons; M.sup.1 and M.sup.2 are hydrogen; and R.sup.2 is a group represented by formulas (1a) to (1c):

##STR00002##

in which, Sp.sup.2 and Sp.sup.a are a single bond or alkylene having 1 to 10 carbons; S.sup.1 is >CH—; S.sup.2 is >C<; and X.sup.1 is —OH.

The present invention relates to polymerisable compounds, to processes and intermediates for the preparation thereof, to liquid-crystal (LC) media comprising them, and to the use of the polymerisable compounds and LC media for optical, electro-optical and electronic purposes, in particular in LC displays, especially in LC displays of the polymer sustained alignment (PS, PSA) and self-aligning (SA) type.

There is provided a liquid crystal composition including at least one compound represented by General Formula (i) and at least one compound represented by General Formula (N). The total amount of the compound represented by General Formula (i) is 10% by mass or greater. In the liquid crystal composition and the liquid crystal display element using the composition, the liquid crystal composition has a positive Δ∈ and a flat transmission characteristic curve. Therefore, gradation characteristics are easily controlled. Furthermore, display defects due to burn-in, dropping marks, and the like can be suppressed, and therefore excellent display quality is exhibited. The liquid crystal display element using this liquid crystal composition can be also provided.

Disclosed is a novel stabilizer represented by formula I,

##STR00001##

Further disclosed is a liquid crystal composition comprising a compound of formula I. The liquid crystal composition disclosed in the present invention has a low viscosity γ.sub.1, a moderate dielectric anisotropy Δ∈, a moderate optical anisotropy Δn, and most principally a high reliability, and can achieve a quick response of liquid crystal display.

The present invention relates to an LC medium comprising two or more polymerizable compounds, at least one of which contains a substituent comprising a tertiary OH group, to its use for optical, electro-optical and electronic purposes, in particular in LC displays, especially in LC displays of the PSA (polymer sustained alignment) or SA (self-aligning) mode, to an LC display of the PSA or SA mode comprising the LC medium, and to a process of manufacturing the LC display using the LC medium, especially an energy-saving LC display and energy-saving LC display production process.

The present invention belongs to the technical field of liquid crystal materials, and in particular relates to a liquid crystal composition and a liquid crystal display element or liquid crystal display containing the liquid crystal composition. The liquid crystal composition of the present invention is characterized in that the liquid crystal composition comprises more than or equal to 30% of a compound represented by Formula I, and also comprises one or more compounds represented by Formula II and one or more compounds represented by Formula III. The liquid crystal composition of the present invention has a high refractive index, a high clearing point and also a low rotational viscosity, and is mainly used for the display of a projector with a relatively high working temperature and a low cell thickness.

##STR00001##

The invention relates to a light modulation element comprising a cholesteric liquid crystalline medium sandwiched between two substrates, each provided with an electrode structure, wherein at least one of the substrates is additionally provided with an alignment layer which is provided with a photoresist pattern consisting of periodic substantially parallel stripes. The invention is further related to a method of production of said light modulation element and to the use of said light modulation element in various types of optical and electro-optical devices, such as electro-optical displays, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), non-linear optic (NLO) devices, and optical information storage devices.

There is provided a liquid crystal composition containing any one or two or more of compounds represented by general formula (i) below and any one or two or more of compounds represented by general formula (ii) below. ##STR00001##

The present invention relates to the technical field of liquid crystal displays, and particularly relates to a liquid crystal composition containing a 2-methyl-3,4,5-trifluorobenzene liquid crystal compound and use thereof, wherein the liquid crystal composition of the present invention comprises, in percentages by weight, 1-50% of one or more compounds represented by general formula I and 10-70% of one or more compounds represented by general formula II, and may further comprise 0-30% of compounds represented by general formula III and/or 6-45% of one or more compounds represented by general formulas IV to XIII The liquid crystal composition provided by the present invention has a low rotational viscosity and a large elastic constant, is presented as having a shorter response time, and can significantly improve the display effect of a liquid crystal display when applied to TN, IPS and FFS mode displays.