An object of the present invention is to provide a polymerizable liquid crystal composition which has excellent coating properties, is capable of suppressing film thickness unevenness, and has good coating properties for an upper layer coating liquid after being formed as an optically anisotropic layer, an anisotropic layer formed using the same; an optical laminate; a method for producing an optical laminate, and an image display device. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition of the embodiment of the present invention is a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable liquid crystal compound, a polymerization initiator, and a compound having a monovalent specific group including a cleavage group capable of decomposing by an action of at least one selected from the group consisting of light, heat, an acid, and a base to generate a polar group, in which the specific group has a fluorine atom or a silicon atom on a side closer to a terminal than the cleavage group.

A curved display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate facing the first substrate, a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first and second substrates, the liquid crystal layer including liquid crystal molecules, a first alignment layer including reactive mesogens which are polymerized with each other, the first alignment layer being disposed between the first substrate and the liquid crystal layer, and a second alignment layer disposed between the liquid crystal layer and the second substrate, where the reactive mesogens have a functional group having charges.

An optical waveplate is provided. The optical waveplate includes a plurality of liquid crystal (“LC”) layers stacked together. At least one of the plurality of LC layers includes LC molecules that are in-plane switchable by an external field to switch the optical waveplate between states of different phase retardances.

An optical device includes a first layer including a first birefringent material having a negative birefringence dispersion property. The optical device also includes a second layer including a second birefringent material having a positive birefringence dispersion property. The first layer and the second layer are structurally patterned to provide at least one predetermined optical function.

A light absorption anisotropic film, an optical film, and a liquid crystal display device, with less defects and a high alignment degree even when the concentration of a dichroic substance is increased. The light absorption anisotropic film is formed of a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystal compound, a dichroic substance represented by Formula (C-1), a dichroic substance represented by Formula (C-2), in which a total content of the dichroic substances represented by Formula (C-1) and Formula (C-2) is 4.5% by mass or greater with respect to a total mass of a solid content of the liquid crystal composition, and the liquid crystal compound is vertically aligned. When R.sup.a1 and R.sup.a2 represent the same group, —N(R.sup.b11)(R.sup.b12) and —N(R.sup.b21)(R.sup.b22) are groups different from each other. When R.sup.a1 and R.sup.a2 represent different groups, —N(R.sup.b11)(R.sup.b12) and —N(R.sup.b21)(R.sup.b22) may be groups that are the same as or different from each other.

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Provided are a phase retardation device, a preparation method therefor, and a display apparatus. The phase retardation device includes: a linear polarization layer, a first alignment layer, a first liquid crystal layer and a second liquid crystal layer; the linear polarization layer is located on one side of a light source; the first alignment layer is located on a side of the linear polarization layer away from the light source; the first liquid crystal layer is located on a side of the first alignment layer away from the light source; the second liquid crystal layer is located on a side of the first liquid crystal layer away from the first alignment layer, the second liquid crystal layer comprises a first subpart adjacent to the first liquid crystal layer, a second subpart and a third subpart.

The present invention provides a composition to form an optically anisotropic film exhibiting excellent reverse wavelength dispersibility, an optically anisotropic film, a circularly polarizing plate; a display device; and a near-infrared absorbing coloring agent. The composition includes a liquid crystal compound or a polymer, and a near-infrared absorbing coloring agent having a structural moiety including a coloring agent skeleton and a mesogenic group that is bonded to the coloring agent skeleton, in which the near-infrared absorbing coloring agent satisfies Condition 1 where an absolute value λ1 of a square root of a first eigenvalue and an absolute value λ2 of a square root of a second eigenvalue satisfy a relationship of Formula (A) λ2/λ1≤0.60; and Condition 2: An angle between a direction of a transition moment of absorption of the infrared absorbing coloring agent and a direction of an eigenvector of the first eigenvalue is 75.0° or more.

Provided are a phase difference film that has a small change in tint in a case where the phase difference film is combined with a polarizer and then applied as a circularly polarizing plate to a display device, and the display device is observed from an oblique direction at all azimuthal angles; as well as a circularly polarizing plate and a display device. The phase difference film includes a first optically anisotropic layer, a second optically anisotropic layer, a third optically anisotropic layer, and a fourth optically anisotropic layer in this order, in which the first optically anisotropic layer is a C-plate, the second optically anisotropic layer is an A-plate, the third optically anisotropic layer is a layer formed by fixing a liquid crystal compound twist-aligned along a helical axis extending in a thickness direction, and the first, second, third, and fourth optically anisotropic layers have a predetermined configuration.

A device for modulation of light (16) having a wavelength, comprising: a first substrate (10) with a first face (81) and a second opposite face (82), and comprising a first electrode (11); a second substrate (20) adjacent to the second face (82) and defining a gap between the first and second substrate (10, 20), the second substrate (20) comprising a second electrode (21); a responsive liquid crystal layer (15) disposed in the gap, wherein the responsive liquid crystal layer (15) has a flexoelectro-optic chiral nematic phase, and is birefringent with an optic axis that tilts in response to an applied electric field between the first and second electrode (11, 21); and a mirror adjacent to the second substrate (20), the mirror configured to reflect incident circular polarised light while preserving its handedness.

An optical composite film includes a reflection grating film layer, an optically-uniaxial optical film layer, and a substrate layer. The optically-uniaxial optical film layer includes a plate-shaped portion and a plurality of refraction portions, where the plate-shaped portion is stacked on the reflection grating film layer, the plurality of refraction portions is disposed on a side of the plate-shaped portion away from the reflection grating film layer, and the plurality of refraction portions is selected from one type of camber columns and quadrangular prisms; and the substrate layer is stacked on a side of the plate-shaped portion close to the refraction portion, where the plurality of refraction portions is accommodated in the substrate layer, and a refractive index of the substrate layer is less than an extraordinary light refractive index of the optically-uniaxial optical film layer.