A liquid crystal display includes a light source, lower and upper substrates facing each other and on the light source, a liquid crystal layer between the lower and upper substrates, an upper polarization layer between the upper substrate and the liquid crystal layer, an upper phase difference layer between the liquid crystal layer and the upper polarization layer and having refractive indexes satisfying the following inequation: n.sub.x1n.sub.y1>n.sub.z1, a lower polarization layer disposed between the light source and the lower substrate, and a lower phase difference layer disposed between the light source and the lower substrate and having refractive indexes satisfying the following inequation: n.sub.x2>n.sub.y2 and n.sub.x2>n.sub.z2, where a thickness direction retardation of the upper phase difference layer satisfies the following inequation:
(0.6R.sub.th,cell+60)n.sub.avg210R.sub.th1(0.6R.sub.th,cell+260)n.sub.avg420.

A liquid-crystal based color switch for use with an image sensor having sub-diffraction-limited (SDL) pixels. The color switch may switch between a first mode where green light is passed (and blue and red light is blocked) and a second mode where blue and red light is passed (and green light is blocked). The color switch may include an achromatic switch (such as a liquid crystal switch) and retarder stack filter that are both sandwiched between a first and a second polarizer. The SDL pixels may be distributed so that green subpixels are never adjacent to other green subpixels in the same row or column, so that red subpixels are always adjacent to green subpixels in the same row or column, and so that blue subpixels are always adjacent to green subpixels in the same row or column.

A liquid crystal display panel includes a first base, a second base disposed opposite to the first base, a liquid crystal layer and a first optical compensation layer that are disposed between the first base and the second base, and a second optical compensation layer disposed on a side of the first base away from the liquid crystal layer or on a side of the second base away from the liquid crystal layer. An orthogonal projection of an optic axis of the first optical compensation layer on the first base is parallel to orthogonal projections of optic axes of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer on the first base. An orthogonal projection of an optic axis of the second optical compensation layer on the first base is perpendicular to the orthogonal projection of the optic axis of the first optical compensation layer on the first base.

The present invention relates to: a polymerizable compound represented by a formula (I); a polymerizable composition comprising the polymerizable compound and an initiator; a polymer obtained by polymerizing the polymerizable compound or the polymerizable composition; and an optically anisotropic article comprising the polymer [in the formula, Y.sup.1 to Y.sup.8 are a chemical single bond, O, OC(O), C(O)O, or the like; G.sup.1 and G.sup.2 are a divalent aliphatic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, or the like; Z.sup.1 and Z.sup.2 are an alkenyl group having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, or the like; A.sup.1 is a tetravalent aromatic group, or the like; A.sup.2 and A.sup.3 are a divalent alicyclic hydrocarbon group having 3 to 30 carbon atoms, or the like; A.sup.4 and A.sup.5 are a divalent aromatic group having 4 to 30 carbon atoms, or the like; A.sup.x1 and A.sup.x2 are an organic group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms that includes an aromatic ring, or the like; A.sup.y1 and A.sup.y2 are a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or the like; Q.sup.1 and Q.sup.2 are a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or the like; and m and n are 0 or 1]. According to the present invention, a polymerizable compound, a polymerizable composition, and a polymer that have a practical low melting point, exhibit excellent solubility in a general-purpose solvent, can be produced at low cost, and can produce an optical film that achieves uniform conversion of polarized light over a wide wavelength band, and also provide an optically anisotropic article. ##STR00001##

Provided are a liquid crystal grating and a display device. The liquid crystal grating is configured to modulate incident light beams of multiple colors. The light beams include first color light. The liquid crystal grating includes a first substrate, a liquid crystal layer and a second substrate. The liquid crystal layer is located between the first substrate and the second substrate and includes multiple liquid crystal molecules. The liquid crystal grating satisfies that ?n.sub.1?d<?.sub.1, where ?n.sub.1 denotes a refractive index difference of birefringence of the liquid crystal molecules corresponding to the first color light, d denotes the thickness of the liquid crystal layer along the direction perpendicular to a plane on which the first substrate is located, and ?.sub.1 denotes the center wavelength of the first color light.

A liquid crystal display includes a lower substrate and an upper substrate facing each other, a liquid crystal layer disposed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate, a color conversion layer disposed on the liquid crystal layer, a first polarizing layer and a first phase difference layer disposed between the liquid crystal layer and the color conversion layer, and a second polarizing layer and a second phase difference layer disposed between a light source and the lower substrate, wherein the first phase difference layer has a refractive index satisfying Inequality 1 and the second phase difference layer has refractive indexes satisfying Inequality 2.
n.sub.x1n.sub.y1n.sub.z1[Inequality 1]
n.sub.x2>n.sub.z2>n.sub.y2[Inequality 2]
In Inequalities 1 and 2, n.sub.x1, n.sub.x2, n.sub.y1, n.sub.y2, n.sub.z1, and n.sub.z2 are the same in the detailed description.

A long-length circularly polarizing plate including: a polarizing film; a ?/2 plate having a slow axis in a direction forming an angle of 22.5??10? relative to an absorption axis of the polarizing film; and a plate having a slow axis in a direction forming an angle of 90??20? relative to an absorption axis of the polarizing film, in this order, wherein the ?/2 plate and the ?/4 plate have different wavelength dispersions, and an NZ factor of the ?/4 plate NZq satisfies NZq?0.0.

An optically anisotropic layer including a polymer and a compound having a mesogen skeleton, wherein the polymer has a property such that a film of the polymer that is formed by a coating method using a solution of the polymer satisfies nz(P)>nx(P)?ny(P), wherein nx(P) is a refractive index in a direction which, among in-plane directions of the film, gives a maximum refractive index, ny(P) is a refractive index in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of nx(P) among the in-plane directions of the film, and nz(P) a refractive index in a thickness direction of the film, and the compound having a mesogen skeleton shows an in-plane retardation with reverse wavelength distribution under specific conditions.

A liquid crystal display includes a lower substrate and an upper substrate facing each other, a liquid crystal layer disposed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate, a color conversion layer disposed on the liquid crystal layer, a first polarizing layer and a first phase difference layer disposed between the liquid crystal layer and the color conversion layer, and a second polarizing layer and a second phase difference layer disposed between a light source and the lower substrate, wherein the first phase difference layer has a refractive index satisfying Inequality 1 and the second phase difference layer has refractive indexes satisfying Inequality 2.

n.sub.x1n.sub.y1>n.sub.z1 [Inequality 1]

n.sub.x2>n.sub.z2>n.sub.y2 [Inequality 2]

In Inequalities 1 and 2, n.sub.x1, n.sub.x2, n.sub.y1, n.sub.y2, n.sub.z1, and n.sub.z2 are the same in the detailed description.

A liquid crystal composition including a polymerizable liquid crystal compound capable of expressing birefringence with reverse wavelength distribution and a surfactant containing a fluorine atom, a 1-octanol/water partition coefficient of the surfactant being less than 5.0.