An improvement in image quality is achieved by compensating for a phase difference occurring in tilted light to achieve an improvement in contrast while suppressing luminance irregularity when in black display. An optical compensation device includes: a first optical compensation unit configured to generate a phase difference that has a substantially equal amount and a reverse sign in light with each incidence angle within a predetermined incidence angle range on a vertical alignment type liquid crystal panel with respect to a phase difference occurring from the liquid crystal panel; and a second optical compensation unit configured to generate a phase difference in an in-plane direction. The first optical compensation unit can appropriately compensate for a phase difference occurring in tilted light passing through a liquid crystal panel and the second optical compensation unit can suppress luminance irregularity when in black display.

A reflective display panel and a display device are provided. The reflective display includes: a first liquid crystal cell including a first substrate and a second substrate oppositely arranged to each other, and a first liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate; a plurality of pixel units on the first substrate, where each pixel unit includes a first sub-pixel unit and a second sub-pixel unit; an optical structure, arranged at a light-emitting side of the first liquid crystal cell and covering the pixel units.

A display panel and a display device are provided. The display panel includes a first base substrate; a second base substrate opposite to the first base substrate; a liquid crystal layer between the first and second base substrates; a first alignment film at a side of the first base substrate facing the liquid crystal layer; a second alignment film at a side of the second base substrate facing the liquid crystal layer; a polarizer at a side of the first base substrate away from the liquid crystal layer; and a quarter-wave plate between the polarizer and the first base substrate. An angle between a center line of an included angle between the first alignment direction of the first alignment film and the second alignment direction of the second alignment film and a slow axis of the quarter-wave plate is in a range from 75 to 105 degrees.

A privacy display comprises a spatial light modulator and a passive retarder arranged between first and second polarisers arranged in series with the spatial light modulator, On-axis light from the spatial light modulator is directed without loss, and off-axis light has reduced luminance. The visibility of the display to off-axis snoopers is reduced by means of luminance reduction over a wide polar field of view. Off-axis visibility of the display in an automotive vehicle can be reduced.

Provided is a liquid crystal display device having high luminance and high CR in a front direction and especially useful as a head-mounted liquid crystal display device, for example. The liquid crystal display device includes: a liquid crystal panel; an optical element; and a backlight, arranged in this order from a viewing surface side. The optical element includes a first polarizer, a retardation layer, and a second polarizer. The first polarizer, the retardation layer, and the second polarizer are arranged in this order from the viewing surface side. The first polarizer and the second polarizer are reflection polarizers. A reflection axis of the first polarizer and a reflection axis of the second polarizer are parallel to each other. In oblique directions at azimuths of 0°, 45°, and 90° at a polar angle of 60°, a polarization state of light incident on the first polarizer is elliptical polarization.

Provided are an optical element that can achieve both color difference control and luminance reduction at an oblique viewing angle, and a liquid crystal display device including the optical element and having excellent display quality. The optical element includes: a first polarizer; a first phase difference layer; a second phase difference layer; and a second polarizer, the first polarizer, the first phase difference layer, the second phase difference layer, and the second polarizer being arranged in the stated order, the first phase difference layer satisfying the formula nx>ny≈nz, the second phase difference layer satisfying the formula nz>nx≈ny, the first polarizer and the second polarizer being linear polarizers, transmission axes of the first polarizer and the second polarizer being parallel to each other, a slow axis of the first phase difference layer being orthogonal to a polarization axis of the first polarizer.

A privacy display comprises a spatial light modulator and a compensated switchable liquid crystal retarder arranged between first and second polarisers arranged in series with the spatial light modulator. In a privacy mode of operation, on-axis light from the spatial light modulator is directed without loss, whereas off-axis light has reduced luminance. The visibility of the display to off-axis snoopers is reduced by means of luminance reduction over a wide polar field. In a wide angle mode of operation, the switchable liquid crystal retardance is adjusted so that off-axis luminance is substantially unmodified.

A near eye display (NED) includes multiple PBP optical elements combined with one or more C-plates to improve optical angular performance. The PBP optical elements may be configured for beam steering or for focusing light to a point. A C-plate may reduce or eliminate an undesirable polarization phase shift introduced by the PBP optical elements to angular, off-axis light. Birefringence of the PBP optical elements produces such a polarization phase shift. A C-plate provides an additional polarization phase shift that is opposite to the extra polarization phase shift by the PBP optical elements. Thus, the additional polarization phase shift by the C-plate at least partially reduces the phase shift by the PBP element.

An optical composite film includes a reflection grating film layer, an optically-uniaxial optical film layer, and a substrate layer. The optically-uniaxial optical film layer includes a plate-shaped portion and a plurality of refraction portions, where the plate-shaped portion is stacked on the reflection grating film layer, the plurality of refraction portions is disposed on a side of the plate-shaped portion away from the reflection grating film layer, and the plurality of refraction portions is selected from one type of camber columns and quadrangular prisms; and the substrate layer is stacked on a side of the plate-shaped portion close to the refraction portion, where the plurality of refraction portions is accommodated in the substrate layer, and a refractive index of the substrate layer is less than an extraordinary light refractive index of the optically-uniaxial optical film layer.

A liquid crystal display apparatus having improved viewing angle characteristics in a region vertically asymmetrical. A liquid crystal display apparatus of the present invention includes: a liquid crystal cell including a liquid crystal layer containing liquid crystal molecules aligned in homogeneous alignment under a state in which an electric field is absent; a first polarizer arranged on a viewer side of the liquid crystal cell; a second polarizer arranged on a back surface side of the liquid crystal cell; a first optical compensation layer arranged between the liquid crystal cell and the first polarizer; and a second optical compensation layer arranged between the liquid crystal cell and the first optical compensation layer. A refractive index nz.sub.1 in a thickness direction of the first optical compensation layer is less than 1.5187, and a refractive index nz.sub.2 in a thickness direction of the second optical compensation layer is less than 1.5340.