A polarizer, a display panel and a display device including the polarizer are provided. The polarizer includes: a first polarizing layer, a first protective film and a first pressure-sensitive adhesive layer. The first polarizing layer includes a first hollow portion and a first polarizing portion surrounding the first hollow portion. The first protective film covers the first hollow portion and the first polarizing portion. The first pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is located at a side of the first polarizing layer facing away from the first protective film. With the display panel and the display device including the polarizer, since the first hollow portion is disposed in the first polarizing portion, an image collecting device such as a camera can be disposed in the polarizing region, thereby improving utilization of the surface area of the polarizer provided by the embodiments of the disclosure, and increasing the screen-to-body ratio.

Described herein are embodiments of squarylium compounds for use as filters in light-emitting and/or display devices. One problem of known quarylium dyes is that strong nucleophiles can attack the electron-deficient cyclobutene ring which can lead to a loss of the dye's colour. Another potential drawback with squaraine dyes can be their tendency to form aggregates, which can lead to a substantial broadening of their absorption bands. Use of the present compounds in filters address these problems. The squarylium compounds of the present invention have the following formulas: ##STR00001##

Provided are a novel optical element that can be used as a sensor or the like and a sensor including the same optical element. The optical element includes a cholesteric liquid crystal layer, in which the cholesteric liquid crystal layer has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction, and in a case where a cross-section taken in a thickness direction conforming the in-plane direction in which the direction of the optical axis rotates is observed using a scanning electron microscope, a portion where a bright line and a dark line derived from the cholesteric liquid crystalline phase are discontinuous is provided in the cholesteric liquid crystal layer in the in-plane direction in which the direction of the optical axis rotates.

Provided are an optical member in which emission of stray light to the outside can be suppressed and an image display apparatus. The optical member includes: a light guide element including a light guide plate and an incidence diffraction element and an emission diffraction element that are disposed on a main surface of the light guide plate; and a polarization element that blocks transmission of light leaking to a side of the emission diffraction element opposite to an emission side, wherein the emission diffraction element is a polarization diffraction element, the polarization element is disposed on the side of the emission diffraction element opposite to the emission side, and the polarization element is disposed at a position overlapping the emission diffraction element in a plane direction of the main surface of the light guide plate.

A two-dimensional waveguide light multiplexer is described herein that can efficiently multiplex and distribute a light signal in two dimensions. An example of a two-dimensional waveguide light multiplexer can include a waveguide, a first diffraction grating, and a second diffraction grating disposed above the first diffraction grating and arranged such that the grating direction of the first diffraction grating is perpendicular to the grating direction of the second diffraction grating. Methods of fabricating a two-dimensional waveguide light multiplexer are also disclosed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a polarizing element which has an excellent antireflection function as being applied to an image display device; and a circularly polarizing plate and an image display device, each of which has the polarizing element. The polarizing element of an embodiment of the present invention has an alignment film and an anisotropic light-absorbing film formed using a dichroic substance, in which a degree S of alignment of the anisotropic light-absorbing film is 0.92 or more, and an average refractive index n.sub.ave at a wavelength of 400 to 700 nm of the alignment film is 1.55 to 2.0.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an optical laminate in which an alignment defect is less likely to occur in a light-absorbing anisotropic layer even in a case where a surface of a photo-alignment layer is rubbed; an optical laminate; and an image display device. The method for manufacturing an optical laminate according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an optical laminate in which an optical laminate including a photo-alignment layer and a light-absorbing anisotropic layer and having a front transmittance of 60% or less is produced and which includes a photo-alignment layer formation step of forming a photo-alignment layer on a polymer film, and a light-absorbing anisotropic layer formation step of applying a liquid crystal composition containing a dichroic substance and a high-molecular liquid crystalline compound onto the photo-alignment layer to form a light-absorbing anisotropic layer.

The display device includes a mirror display element, a display, an optical element array, an external light reflection suppression layer, and a driving unit. The mirror display element reflects a part of external light and transmits a part of the external light. A display is disposed on an opposite side of an outer surface of the mirror display element, in which a plurality of pixels are two-dimensionally arranged. An optical element array is disposed between the mirror display element and the display in parallel with a light emission surface of the display, in which a plurality of optical elements corresponding to a predetermined unit of pixels among the plurality of pixels are arranged. An external light reflection suppression layer is disposed between the mirror display element and the display to suppress reflection of the external light. The driving unit drives the display to turn on a predetermined pixel among the plurality of pixels.

A display medium comprising: a multilayered substrate including a polarized light separation layer and a phase difference layer; and a first reflective layer provided on a surface of the multilayered substrate on a side with the polarized light separation layer, wherein: the polarized light separation layer can reflect circularly polarized light which has one rotation direction D.sub.A, and can transmit circularly polarized light which has an opposite rotation direction to the rotation direction D.sub.A; the first reflective layer can reflect circularly polarized light which has one rotation direction D.sub.B1, and can transmit circularly polarized light which has an opposite rotation direction to the rotation direction D.sub.B1; and the rotation direction D.sub.A of the circularly polarized light that the polarized light separation layer can reflect and the rotation direction D.sub.B1 of the circularly polarized light that the first reflective layer can reflect are the same as each other.

A backlight unit includes a light guide plate; a light source provided on a side surface of the light guide plate, and configured to inject light into the light guide plate; a circular polarizing reflective layer provided on a front surface of the light guide plate, and configured to reflect a first polarizing component and transmit a second polarizing component among components of light emitted from the light guide plate; and a cholesteric liquid crystal layer provided on the front surface of the circular polarizing reflective layer and including a plurality of regions, and configured to reflect or transmit the second polarizing component that has passed through the circular polarizing reflective layer according to a voltage applied to each of the plurality of regions.