The present invention describes a liquid crystal composite tunable device for fast polarisation-independent modulation of an incident light beam comprising: (a) two supporting and functional panels, at least one of them coated with a transparent conductive electrode layer and with optionally at least one additional layer selected from an alignment layer, antireflective coating layer, thermochromic or electrochromic layer, photoconductive or photosensitive layer, and (b) a composite structure sandwiched between said two panels and made of a liquid crystal and porous microparticles infiltrated with said liquid crystal. The porous microparticles have an average refractive index approximately equals to one of the liquid crystal principal refractive indices, matching that of the liquid crystal at one orientational state (for example, parallel n.sub.∥), and exhibiting large mismatch at another orientational state (for example, perpendicular n.sub.⊥). This refractive index mismatch between said microparticles and said liquid crystal is tuned by applying an external electric or magnetic field, thermally or optically.

The present invention describes a liquid crystal composite tunable device for fast polarisation-independent modulation of an incident light beam comprising: (a) two supporting and functional panels, at least one of them coated with a transparent conductive electrode layer and with optionally at least one additional layer selected from an alignment layer, antireflective coating layer, thermochromic or electrochromic layer, photoconductive or photosensitive layer, and (b) a composite structure sandwiched between said two panels and made of a liquid crystal and porous microparticles infiltrated with said liquid crystal. The porous microparticles have an average refractive index approximately equals to one of the liquid crystal principal refractive indices, matching that of the liquid crystal at one orientational state (for example, parallel n.sub.∥), and exhibiting large mismatch at another orientational state (for example, perpendicular n.sub.⊥). This refractive index mismatch between said microparticles and said liquid crystal is tuned by applying an external electric or magnetic field, thermally or optically.

A waveplate is provided. The waveplate includes a first liquid crystal (“LC”) layer including LC molecules that are in-plane switchable by an external field to switch the waveplate between states of different phase retardances. The waveplate includes a second LC layer and a third LC layer sandwiching the first LC layer. Azimuthal angles of effective refractive index ellipsoids of the second LC layer and the third LC layer are different.

An electro-optical device includes: a liquid crystal panel; a particle aligned type anisotropic conductive film having a plurality of electrically conductive particles that are arranged in a state of being aligned along a first direction and a second direction intersecting with the first direction; and a printed circuit board coupled to a connection terminal portion of the liquid crystal panel via the particle aligned type anisotropic conductive film, wherein the connection terminal portion includes a plurality of connection terminals, a plurality of recessed portions that are arranged in a state of being aligned along a third direction and a fourth direction intersecting with the third direction are formed on a surface of the connection terminal, and at least one of the first direction and the second direction along which the electrically conductive particles are arranged is different in arrangement direction from both the third direction and the fourth direction.

An electro-optical device includes: a liquid crystal panel; a particle aligned type anisotropic conductive film having a plurality of electrically conductive particles that are arranged in a state of being aligned along a first direction and a second direction intersecting with the first direction; and a printed circuit board coupled to a connection terminal portion of the liquid crystal panel via the particle aligned type anisotropic conductive film, wherein the connection terminal portion includes a plurality of connection terminals, a plurality of recessed portions that are arranged in a state of being aligned along a third direction and a fourth direction intersecting with the third direction are formed on a surface of the connection terminal, and at least one of the first direction and the second direction along which the electrically conductive particles are arranged is different in arrangement direction from both the third direction and the fourth direction.

The invention relates to a light modulation device having pixels. Essentially, the one half of the pixels are reflective and the other half of the pixels are transmissive. The reflective pixels are arranged in alternation with the transmissive pixels in the same substrate plane. The light modulation device also has a backplane, which has transistors and data lines for conducting signals to the pixels. Each pixel is assigned at least one transistor and at least two data lines. The transistors and the data lines of each adjacent pair of a reflective pixel and a transmissive pixel are arranged under the reflective pixel.

Provide are an optical element that can improve a utilization efficiency of light while increasing an optical path length, an image display unit, and a head-mounted display. The optical element includes, in the following order: a first absorptive linearly polarizing plate; a first reflective linearly polarizing plate; a first retardation plate; a partially reflecting mirror that allows transmission of a part of incident light and reflects a part of the incident light; a second retardation plate; and a second reflective linearly polarizing plate, in which a turning direction of circularly polarized light that is reflected from the first reflective linearly polarizing plate in a case where light transmits through the first retardation plate and is incident into the first reflective linearly polarizing plate is opposite to a turning direction of circularly polarized light that is reflected from the second reflective linearly polarizing plate in a case where light transmits through the second retardation plate and is incident into the second reflective linearly polarizing plate.

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical laminate in which optically anisotropic layers exhibiting reverse wavelength dispersibility have excellent moisture-heat resistance, and the adhesiveness between a first optically anisotropic layer and a second optically anisotropic layer is excellent; and a polarizing plate and an image display device, each using the optical laminate. The optical laminate according to an embodiment of the present invention is an optical laminate having a first optically anisotropic layer and a second optically anisotropic layer, in which both of the first optically anisotropic layer and the second optically anisotropic layer are directly laminated and consist of a liquid crystal layer, at least one of the first optically anisotropic layer or the second optically anisotropic layer exhibits reverse wavelength dispersibility, a photo-alignment polymer having a photo-alignment group and a fluorine atom or a silicon atom is present on a surface of the second optically anisotropic layer on a side in contact with the first optically anisotropic layer, and an element ratio of fluorine or silicon on the surface of the second optically anisotropic layer on the side in contact with the first optically anisotropic layer is 0.05% to 15.00% by atom.

A polymerizable liquid crystal compound represented by the following general formula (1): ##STR00001##
(the symbols in the general formula (1) are as described in the DESCRIPTION.)

A display apparatus includes display unit and an optical compensation film. The display unit includes an upper polarizer. The optical compensation film is located at a side of the upper polarizer facing an external environment. The optical compensation film includes a linear polarizer. An absolute value of an axial angle difference between the linear polarizer and the upper polarizer is in a range from 0 degrees to 10 degrees.