A method of making an optical article having a gradient tint and a gradient polarization. The method includes providing an optical element including a coating having at least one alignment zone. A dye composition is contacted with the coating. The dye composition includes at least one of: a dichroic dye, a photochromic-dichroic dye, or a combination thereof to diffuse at least a portion of the dye composition into the coating at a predetermined concentration gradient along at least a portion of the coating to provide the gradient tint and the gradient polarization. A kit for making an optical article having a gradient tint and a gradient polarization. An optical article prepared from a method for making an optical article having a gradient tint and a gradient polarization.

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.

A method for producing a polarizing lens having a high luminous transmittance and degree of polarization with astigmatism kept low, and a polarizing film and a polarizing lens. The method for producing a polarizing lens includes: contracting a polarizing film at a maximum rate of contraction of 5% or more and 30% or less under moist conditions; processing the polarizing film into a curve; drying the polarizing film at temperature T.sub.1; providing a mold having a cavity in which the polarizing film is placed in the inside; injecting a curable composition into the cavity; curing the curable composition to obtain a polarizing lens in which the polarizing film is placed in the inside; and annealing the polarizing lens at temperature T.sub.2, wherein a relationship between the temperature T.sub.1 and the temperature T.sub.2 satisfies the following expression (1): T.sub.1>T.sub.2 . . . (1).

The present specification provides a multi-layer liquid crystal film including: a substrate; a first alignment film comprising an alignment material and an acrylate in which a weight ratio of the alignment material to the acrylate is 3:1 to 5:1; a first liquid crystal film provided on the first alignment film; a second alignment film provided on the first liquid crystal film; and a second liquid crystal film provided on the second alignment film, and a method for manufacturing a polarizing plate, the method including: laminating the multi-layer liquid crystal film to a polarizer and peeling off the substrate.

A method for producing a broadband wavelength film including, in this order: a first step of preparing a layer (A) as a long-length obliquely stretched film; a second step of forming on the layer (A) a layer (B) of a resin having a negative intrinsic birefringence to obtain a multilayer film; and a third step of stretching the multilayer film to obtain a long-length broadband wavelength film including a λ/2 layer and a λ/4 layer.

To provide a method for manufacturing an optical element, which improves the surface precision of the optical surface as well as reducing the birefringence at a low cost. A method for manufacturing an optical element 1090A having optical surfaces 1091 and 1092 and a non-optical surface 1093A that is adjacent to the optical surface 1092 via a ridge by injection molding includes forming the non-optical surface 1093A with a mold surface. The mold surface includes a sink forming area 1095 as a first area having a first surface roughness, and a high transfer area 1094 as a second area having a second surface roughness different from the first surface roughness. The second area is located outside the first area.

Optical films having a curved shaped and methods of shaping optical films are described. A method of shaping an optical film includes the steps of disposing the optical film adjacent first and second rollers spaced apart along a first direction, securing opposing first and second ends of the optical film, providing a curved mold surface, and shaping the optical film by contacting the optical film with the curved mold surface while stretching the optical film along the first direction and keeping a threshold distance between closest points on the optical film contacting the first roller and contacting the curved mold surface less than the width of the optical film to reduce buckling of the optical film.

A phase difference plate includes a phase difference plate P1 and a phase difference plate P2. An in-plane slow axis of the phase difference plate P1 is orthogonal to an in-plane slow axis of the phase difference plate P2. The phase difference plate P2 includes a layer of a liquid crystal material oriented in an in-plane direction. An in-plane retardation ReP2(λ) at a wavelength λ nm of the phase difference plate P2 satisfies the following formulae (e1) and (e2): {Re2(400)−Re2(550)}/{Re2(550)−Re2(700)}<2.90 (e1), and Re2(400)/Re2(700)>1.13 (e2). An in-plane retardation ReP1(λ) of the phase difference plate P1 at a wavelength λ nm and the in-plane retardation ReP2(λ) of the phase difference plate P2 at the wavelength λ nm satisfy the following formulae (e4) and (e5): ReP1(550)>ReP2(550) (e4), and ReP1(400)/ReP1(700)<ReP2(400)/ReP2(700) (e5).

The invention relates to a manufacturing method for a screen for displaying an autostereoscopic image, including the steps of: selecting (E10) a block of pixels which are arranged in rows and columns, each pixel being composed of a plurality of sub-pixels of different colors; selecting (E11) a polarization film; manufacturing (E12, E13, E14) a lenticular array directly on the polarization film in order to form a composite film, called optical film; bonding (E15) the optical film to the block of pixels. The invention also relates to a method for converting a screen for displaying a two-dimensional image into a screen for autostereoscopic display.

An optical article that includes an optical element and an anisotropic coating layer formed over at least a portion of the optical element. The anisotropic coating layer can include a first light-influencing zone comprising at least one first anisotropic material and a second light-influencing zone comprising at least one second anisotropic material. The at least one of the first light-influencing zone and the second light-influencing zone further include at least one dichroic material and/or at least one photochromic-dichroic material such that the first light-influencing zone and the second light-influencing zone exhibit a different color property, a different photochromic-dichroic reversible change, a different amount of polarization, or a combination thereof.