A retardation material-forming resin composition for providing an orientation material that has high photoreaction efficiency and with which a polymerizable crystal can be aligned in a highly sensitive manner. A retardation material-forming resin composition being thermally curable wherein including a resin (component (A)) having a photo-aligning group to which a thermally reactive moiety is bonded directly or connected via a linking group; an orientation material obtained by use of the composition, and a retardation material formed by use of a cured film obtained from the composition.

A privacy display comprises a spatial light modulator and a compensated switchable liquid crystal retarder arranged between first and second polarizers 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.

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.

An optical laminate includes two optically anisotropic layers, an A-plate and a C-plate, in which the adhesiveness between the layers, the liquid crystal alignment of the C-plate, and the adhesiveness between the A-plate and a pressure-sensitive adhesive, are excellent. The optical laminate includes first and second optically anisotropic layers which are A-plate and C-plate formed of a first and second liquid crystal compound, respectively, and a mixed layer disposed between the layers, including components derived from the first and second liquid crystal compounds, and an optical alignment compound, in which a surface energy of the first optically anisotropic layer on a side opposite to the mixed layer is 25 mN/m or more, and where a component in a depth direction is analyzed with time-of-flight type secondary ion mass spectrometry while irradiating ion beams from a surface of the optical laminate on the first, toward the second, optically anisotropic layer.

A retardation material-forming resin composition for providing an orientation material that has high photoreaction efficiency and with which a polymerizable liquid crystal can be aligned in a highly sensitive manner. A retardation material-forming resin composition being thermally curable wherein including a resin (component (A)) having a photo-aligning group to which a thermally reactive moiety is bonded directly or connected via a linking group; an orientation material obtained by use of the composition, and a retardation material formed by use of a cured film obtained from the composition.

Optical film stacks are described. More particularly, optical film stacks including a half-wave retardation layer are described. Achromatic half-wave retardation layers, including achromatic half-wave layers formed from a quarter-wave and a three-quarters-wave retardation layer, are described. Film stacks including reflective polarizers tuned to reduce wavelength dispersion of the half-wave retardation layer are also described.

An image display device including a polarizer and a first optical film, in which the first optical film is arranged on a visible side from the polarizer, the first optical film has Re(589) of 3,000 nm to 30,000 nm and Rth(589) of ?30,000 nm to ?3,000 nm, an angle ?.sub.1 between a slow axis of the first optical film and an absorption axis of the polarizer is 45??30?, and the image display device is a liquid crystal display device including a blue or ultraviolet LED, a fluorescent body, and a liquid crystal cell, or an organic EL display device, is able to suppress the occurrence of rainbow unevenness without darkening brightness at the time of being observed by mounting polarized sunglasses, and is able to suppress the occurrence of the rainbow unevenness without darkening the brightness at the time of being observed by mounting the polarized sunglasses even in a case where a film which has great optical anisotropy and is stretched in at least a monoaxial direction is further provided on the visible side of the image display device.

A liquid crystal display device includes, in this order from a light source side: a first polarizer; a liquid crystal cell in which an azimuth orientation direction of a liquid crystal substance is altered by an electric field parallel to a display surface; and a second polarizer. Absorption axes of the first and second polarizers are disposed in directions orthogonal to each other. The absorption axis of the first polarizer and an orientation axis of molecules of the liquid crystal substance are disposed in parallel to each other. The device further includes: a first substrate layer between the liquid crystal cell and the first polarizer; and no substrate layer or a second substrate layer as only one layer between the liquid crystal cell and the second polarizer. An in-plane direction of an optical axis of the first substrate layer is parallel to the absorption axis of the first polarizer.

An object is to provide a phase difference compensation element capable of improving the contrast of a liquid crystal display device while solving the problems of a high cost, an increase in the lead time, an increase in the mounting space, and the durability. A phase difference compensation element includes: a phase difference imparting and reflection preventing layer; a first birefringence layer and a second birefringence layer in which an angle of a corner formed by a main axis of refractive index anisotropy and a surface of a transparent substrate is not 90 degrees; a third birefringence layer in which an angle of a corner formed by a main axis of refractive index anisotropy and the surface of the transparent substrate is 0 degrees, wherein, when segments acquired when the main axes of the first, second, and third birefringence layers are projected onto the transparent substrate are respectively denoted by a segment A, a segment B, and a segment C, relations of the following (1) and (2) are satisfied. (1) The angle of the corner formed by the segment A and the segment B is 45 degrees or more and 70 degrees or less. (2) The segment A and the segment C are approximately parallel with each other, or the segment B and the segment C are approximately parallel with each other.

There is provided a polarizing plate including: a polarizer; and a light transmissive film with a birefringent property in a plane, disposed on one surface of the polarizer, wherein the light transmissive film satisfies a relationship of the following expression (1):
n.sub.x>N>n.sub.y(1) where a refractive index in a slow-axis direction which is a direction with a greatest refractive index in a plane of the light transmissive film is n.sub.x, a refractive index in a fast-axis direction which is a direction orthogonal to the slow-axis direction in the plane is n.sub.y, and an average refractive index of the light transmissive film is N; and wherein the polarizer and the light transmissive film are placed so that both fast-axis direction of the light transmissive film and absorption-axis direction of the polarizer are along a horizontal direction.