The liquid crystal display device includes, sequentially from a viewing surface side to a back surface side: a linearly polarizing plate and a circularly polarizing plate including a first λ/4 retardation layer; a thin-film transistor substrate including a pair of electrodes disposed in a pixel region and a metal line disposed outside the pixel region; a liquid crystal layer containing liquid crystal molecules aligned parallel to the thin-film transistor substrate, alignment of the liquid crystal molecules varying in response to an electric field generated by application of voltage to the pair of electrodes; a color filter substrate including a color filter layer; and a backlight, the thin-film transistor substrate including a second λ/4 retardation layer, the color filter substrate including a reflective layer disposed outside the pixel region and configured to reflect incident light from the backlight toward the back surface.

Devices for the regulation of light transmission and in particular switchable windows, including window elements containing a switchable optical cell having a homeotropically aligned liquid crystal layer with a pretilt angle in the range of 77° to 88°.

A switchable window element (10) having a layer structure is proposed. The layer structure comprises a switchable layer (20), two polarizers and two optical retarders, wherein a first polarizer and a first optical retarder are arranged in an optical path (40) prior to the switchable layer (20) and a second polarizer and a second optical retarder are arranged in the optical path (40) after the switchable layer (20). Further, the switchable layer (20) is a vertically aligned liquid crystal layer comprising a liquid crystalline medium, wherein the product of the thickness d of the switchable layer (20) and the optical anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystalline medium is in the range of from 0.05 μm to 3.0 μm and the liquid crystalline medium has a clearing point of at least 70° C.

Further aspects of the invention relate to the use of the switchable window element as window for a building or a vehicle.

A liquid-crystalline media having a negative dielectric anisotropy and a high clearing point as specified herein, is suitable for use of in switchable optical cells in window elements, in particular laminated window elements.

To provide a vertical alignment liquid crystal display device capable of achieving a high-definition image display. Tilt directions of liquid crystal molecules when a voltage is applied are within a plane that is in parallel to a border between a first pixel and a second pixel, and are different by 180 degrees between the first and second pixels. The first pixel is constituted with three sub-pixels for R, G, and B arranged in a direction in parallel to the border. Similarly, the second pixel is constituted with three sub-pixels for R, G, and B. The tilt directions of the liquid crystal molecules when a voltage is applied are different by 180 degrees from each other between the sub-pixels for R of the first and second pixels, between the sub-pixels for G of the first and second pixels, and between the sub-pixels for B of the first and second pixels.

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.

The disclosure provides a flexible substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and a flexible display device. The flexible substrate includes a cell and a plurality of liquid crystal molecules disposed in the cell. The cell includes a plurality of sub-pixel display areas arranged in an array and a non-display area disposed outside the sub-pixel display areas. The liquid crystal molecules are disposed in each of the sub-pixel display areas and the non-display area, extending directions of the liquid crystal molecules in each of the sub-pixel display areas are perpendicular to a plane on which the flexible substrate is disposed, and extending directions of the liquid crystal molecules in the non-display area are parallel to the plane on which the flexible substrate is disposed. Risk of damage to electrically driven devices in the flexible display device having the flexible substrate can be reduced. As a result, reliability of products is improved.

An optically active structure and a display device are presented. The device utilized an optically active structure comprising liquid crystal material and a plurality of nanorods configured to emit light in one or more predetermined ranges in response to pumping light. Variation in orientation of the liquid crystal varies orientation of the nanorods and modulated light emission therefrom.

A liquid crystal cell, a manufacturing method thereof and a use thereof are provided in the present disclosure. The liquid crystal cell is in a normally transparent mode, and has excellent transmittance-variable characteristics in a transparent mode and a scattering mode and excellent haze characteristics in the scattering mode. Such liquid crystal cell may be applied to various light modulation devices, such as a smart window, a window protective film, a flexible display element, a light shielding plate for transparent displays, an active retarder for 3D image displays or a viewing angle control film.

Liquid crystal lenses of different apertures with suppressed chromatic aberration utilizing twisted vertical alignment configuration are demonstrated. A plurality of substrates are provided with electrodes, including a patterned electrode to generate a lens effect. The liquid crystal material is homeotropically aligned, such as via alignment layers. Setting the ratio between cell thickness and chiral pitch of the cholesteric liquid crystals provides correction of axial chromatic aberrations of electrically-tunable focal lengths in the device.