An apparatus and method for measuring a pretilt angle of a liquid crystal (LC) are disclosed. The method includes irradiating polarized light on an LC cell including a first substrate, a second substrate facing the first substrate, and an LC layer between the first substrate and the second substrate. At least one of the first substrate and the second substrate includes a minute branch electrode. Irradiated light is scanned within a predetermined angle range in a direction not parallel to the minute branch electrode, an intensity of light that is transmitted through the LC cell is detected, and a pretilt angle of the LC is obtained by using a light intensity detection signal corresponding to the transmitted light.

An array substrate and a display panel are provided. The array substrate includes a substrate, a thin film transistor layer disposed on the substrate, and a pixel electrode layer disposed on the thin film transistor layer. The pixel electrode layer includes a plurality of pixel regions, and the pixel regions include a first pixel region and a second pixel region. A pixel electrode in the second pixel region is disposed along an outer boundary of the first pixel region, or a pixel electrode in the first pixel region is disposed along an outer boundary of the second pixel region.

A display panel and a method for manufacturing a display device are provided. The display panel includes an array substrate, a color film substrate assembled with the array substrate, and liquid crystal molecules sealed between the array substrate and the color film substrate. The array substrate comprises a pixel electrode and a common electrode, orthographic projections of the pixel electrode and the common electrode on the base substrate of the array substrate have an overlapping region, and the liquid crystal molecules have an azimuth angle of 90 degree. As a result, the display panel can have a faster response speed and is applicable to scenarios that require fast and frequent image switching.

The present invention relates to a polymer composition which contains (A) a photosensitive side-chain polymer that exhibits liquid crystallinity in a predetermined temperature range and has a repeating unit comprising a vertically aligning group, and (B) an organic solvent. The present invention provides: a liquid crystal alignment film which has excellent tilt angle characteristics, while being provided with alignment controllability with high efficiency; a polymer composition which enables the achievement of this liquid crystal alignment film; a twisted nematic liquid crystal display element; and a vertical field switching mode liquid crystal display element.

Provided is a liquid crystal display device including: a liquid crystal panel; and a control circuit. The liquid crystal panel sequentially includes an active matrix substrate, a first alignment film, a liquid crystal layer containing liquid crystal molecules having a negative anisotropy of dielectric constant, a second alignment film aligning the liquid crystal molecules at an angle of 10° or greater and 30° or smaller, and a counter substrate. The active matrix substrate includes a first substrate, and a first electrode and a second electrode that are stacked via a first insulating layer or that face each other on the first substrate. The counter substrate sequentially includes a second substrate, a third electrode, a second insulating layer, and a fourth electrode. The control circuit is configured to switch between application of alternating voltage and application of constant voltage to the third and/or fourth electrode according to a display mode.

A display device comprising a spatial light modulator having a display polariser arranged on one side of the spatial light modulator is provided with an additional polariser arranged on the same side as the display polariser and polar control retarders between the additional polariser and the display polariser. The polar control retarders include a liquid crystal retarder having two surface alignment layers disposed adjacent to a layer of liquid crystal material on opposite sides. The surface alignment layers provide alignment in the adjacent liquid crystal material with an in-plane component, wherein the angle of said in-plane component changes monotonically along a predetermined axis across the display device, providing reduction of luminance in directions that are offset from a viewing axis, increasing uniformity in the reduction of luminance in directions that are offset from a viewing axis.

According to one embodiment, a liquid crystal element includes a first transparent substrate, a second transparent substrate, and a first liquid crystal layer cured. The first liquid crystal layer contains first cholesteric liquid crystal and has a reflective surface which reflects first circularly polarized light having a first wavelength. A first helical axis of the first cholesteric liquid crystal is tilted in a uniform direction over an entire area of the first liquid crystal layer. Each of a first outer surface of the first transparent substrate and a second outer surface of the second transparent substrate forms an interface which totally reflects the first circularly polarized light reflected in the first liquid crystal layer.

Each pixel of the liquid crystal display device includes a first, second, third, and fourth domains arranged in two rows and two columns, and reference alignment directions of the respective domains are first, second, third, and fourth directions. The first direction and the second direction form an angle of approximately 180°, and the first domain and the second domain are adjacent to each other in an oblique direction. The pixel electrode includes a plurality of first slits formed in a region corresponding to the first domain and extending approximately parallel to the first direction, and a plurality of second slits formed in a region corresponding to the second domain and extending approximately parallel to the second direction, and has no slits in a region corresponding to the third domain and no slits in a region corresponding to the fourth domain.

An array substrate and a display panel are provided. The array substrate includes a substrate, a thin film transistor layer disposed on the substrate, and a pixel electrode layer disposed on the thin film transistor layer. The pixel electrode layer includes a plurality of pixel regions, and the pixel regions include a first pixel region and a second pixel region. A pixel electrode in the second pixel region is disposed along an outer boundary of the first pixel region, or a pixel electrode in the first pixel region is disposed along an outer boundary of the second pixel region.

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°.