A switchable privacy display comprises a spatial light modulator (SLM), a first switchable liquid crystal (LC) retarder and first passive retarder between a first pair of polarisers and a second switchable LC retarder and second passive retarder between a second pair of polarisers. The first switchable LC retarder comprises two homeotropic alignment layers and the second switchable LC retarder comprises two homogeneous alignment layers. In privacy mode, on-axis light from the SLM is directed without loss, whereas off-axis light has reduced luminance to reduce visibility to off-axis snoopers. The display may achieve privacy operation in landscape and portrait orientations. Further, display reflectivity may be reduced for on-axis reflections of ambient light, while reflectivity may be increased for off-axis light to achieve increased visual security. In public mode, the LC retardance is adjusted so that off-axis luminance and reflectivity are unmodified. The display may switch between day-time and night-time operation.

A liquid crystal display panel is described. In an embodiment, the liquid crystal panel display includes: a first linear polarizer; a second linear polarizer; a first quarter-wave plate disposed between a first substrate and the first linear polarizer, an angle between a slow axis of the first quarter-wave plate and an absorption axis of the first linear polarizer being 45° or 135′; a second quarter-wave plate disposed between a liquid crystal layer and the first substrate, slow axes of the first quarter-wave plate and the second quarter-wave plate being perpendicular, and absorption axes of the first linear polarizer and the second linear polarizer being perpendicular; a first retardation film disposed between the first quarter-wave plate and the second quarter-wave plate; and a second retardation film disposed at a side of the first quarter-wave plate facing away from the first retardation film, or disposed between the second linear polarizer and the liquid crystal layer.

A reflective-type liquid crystal display device includes: a first substrate including a light-reflective first electrode; a second substrate including a light-transmissive second electrode; a liquid crystal layer that is provided between the first electrode and the second electrode and takes a generally vertical alignment during black display; a polarizing layer provided on a viewer side of the second substrate; and a first retardation layer, a second retardation layer and a third retardation layer that are arranged in this order from a side of the polarizing layer, wherein 40°≤|θ3−2×θ2+2×θ1|≤50°, 130°≤|θ3−2×θ2+2×θ1|≤140°, 220°≤|θ3−2×θ2+2×θ1|≤230° or 310°≤|θ3−2×θ2+2×θ1|≤320° is satisfied, where θ1 denotes an angle formed between an absorption axis or a transmission axis of the polarizing layer and a slow axis of the first retardation layer, θ2 an angle formed between the absorption axis or the transmission axis of the polarizing layer and the slow axis of second retardation layer, and θ3 an angle formed between the absorption axis or the transmission axis of the polarizing layer and the slow axis of the third retardation layer.

An optical element is provided. The optical element includes a positive-C film including a liquid crystal (“LC”) layer. The optical element also includes a positive-A film. The optical element also includes a negative biaxial retardation film disposed between the positive-A film and the positive-C film.

An improvement in contrast is achieved by suitably offsetting a phase difference produced by oblique light in a liquid-crystal panel.

An optical compensation apparatus includes a negative C-plate and two O-plates, an amount of a composite phase difference between the two O-plates and the negative C-plate in a tilt-direction cross section is substantially same as an amount of a phase difference produced by light having each of incident angles in a predetermined incident-angle range in the liquid-crystal panel, and a sign of the composite phase difference is opposite to a sign of the phase difference, the tilt-direction cross section being a cross section parallel to a tilt direction of the liquid crystal in a vertical-alignment-type liquid-crystal panel.

This application relates to a laminate comprising: a first half wave plate; a second half wave plate; and a positive C plate provided between the first half wave plate and the second half wave plate and a liquid crystal display comprising the same.

Techniques are described for operating an optical system. In some embodiments, light associated with a world object is received at the optical system. Virtual image light is projected onto an eyepiece of the optical system. A portion of a system field of view of the optical system to be at least partially dimmed is determined based on information detected by the optical system. A plurality of spatially-resolved dimming values for the portion of the system field of view may be determined based on the detected information. The detected information may include light information, gaze information, and/or image information. A dimmer of the optical system may be adjusted to reduce an intensity of light associated with the world object in the portion of the system field of view according to the plurality of dimming values.

The present application relates to a liquid crystal display comprising: an upper polarizer; a lower polarizer; and a liquid crystal panel provided between the upper polarizer and the lower polarizer, in which the upper polarizer and the lower polarizer are provided such that the absorption axes thereof are parallel to each other, a wavelength plate is comprised between the upper polarizer and the liquid crystal panel which rotates linear polarized light at 85 to 90 degrees, and the liquid crystal panel is a horizontally aligned liquid crystal mode.

This application relates to a liquid crystal display which comprises: an upper polarizer; a lower polarizer; and a liquid crystal panel provided between the upper polarizer and the lower polarizer, in which the upper polarizer and the lower polarizer are provided so that absorption axes of the upper and lower polarizers are parallel to each other, a first half wave plate, a positive C plate, and a second half wave plate are sequentially comprised between the upper polarizer and the liquid crystal panel, and the liquid crystal panel is a vertical alignment liquid crystal mode.

The optical element is an optical element including a first optically anisotropic layer which is a cured layer of a liquid crystal composition containing a rod-like liquid crystal compound and a second optically anisotropic layer which is laminated on the first optically anisotropic layer and is a cured layer of a liquid crystal composition containing a disk-like liquid crystal compound, wherein each of the first optically anisotropic layer and the second optically anisotropic layer, has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which an optical axis of the rod-like liquid crystal compound and an optical axis of the disk-like liquid crystal compound are respectively parallel to a surface of the optically anisotropic layer and oriented along at least one in-plane direction, orientation of the optical axis changes continuously and rotationally, and the orientation of the optical axis rotates by 180 with a period of 0.5 m to 5 m.