A method for producing a retardation film comprising the steps of: (a) uniaxially stretching an original film for producing retardation film in one direction at either a temperature T1 or T2; and then (b) uniaxially stretching the film stretched in the step (a) in a direction perpendicular to the above-mentioned direction of stretching at a temperature T2 or T1 different from the above-mentioned temperature, in which the original film for producing retardation film has a characteristic that a phase of linearly polarized light entering vertically into the film plane and having an oscillating surface of an electric vector in an X-Z plane against linearly polarized light entering vertically into the film plane and having an oscillating surface of an electric vector in a Y-Z plane lags by uniaxially stretching in the direction of the X axis at a temperature T1, and leads by uniaxially stretching in the direction of the X axis at a temperature T2 different from the above-mentioned temperature T1, in which the X axis is an uniaxially stretching direction, the Y axis is a direction perpendicular to the uniaxially stretching direction in the film plane, and the Z axis is a direction of a thickness of the film.

It is an object of the invention to provide an optical laminate-producing method in which a polarizing film having the desired optical properties can be conveniently formed on a resin film as a substrate without performing any surface alignment treatment such as rubbing on the resin film. The invention relates to a method for producing an optical laminate comprising a stretched resin film and a polarizing film, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a stretched resin film; applying a solution of a liquid crystal compound in an isotropic phase state to the stretched resin film; and forming a polarizing film in which the liquid crystal compound is aligned by solidifying the applied liquid crystal compound solution, wherein a slow axis of the stretched resin film is substantially parallel to an absorption axis of the polarizing film, and the stretched resin film undergoes no surface alignment treatment.

A method for manufacturing a polarizing lens that includes a polarizing polyvinyl alcohol film arranged between two pieces of a lens base material. The method includes subjecting the polarizing lens to edging processing to prepare a polarizing lens where the polarizing polyvinyl alcohol film is exposed at least at a part of an edge surface of the lens, and applying hydrophobization treatment to the polarizing polyvinyl alcohol film exposed at the edge surface of the lens.

The present invention provides a method for improving visibility of an image display device which is capable of providing an image display device excellent in anti-reflection properties and bright-field contrast even using an optical layered body including a light-transmitting substrate having in-plane birefringence, such as a polyester film. The method of the present invention is a method for improving visibility of an image display device that has an optical layered body including a light-transmitting substrate having in-plane birefringence and an optical functional layer disposed on one surface of the substrate. The method includes the step of disposing the optical layered body such that the slow axis showing a greater refractive index of the light-transmitting substrate is in parallel with the vertical direction of a display screen of the image display device.

A lensed beam-splitter prism array includes a beam-splitter substrate with a plurality of planar and parallel thin-film coatings each spanning a top substrate surface and a bottom substrate surface, and making an oblique angle therebetween, and a lens form layer formed on the top surface and having a plurality of lens forms, each lens form being above one of the plurality of coatings. A method for fabricating a lensed beam-splitter prism includes bonding a plurality of substrates to form a substrate stack having a coating between each adjacent substrate pair. The method also includes forming a stack slice by applying a plurality of parallel cuts at an oblique angle with respect to each coating. Each coating spans a first stack-slice surface and a second stack-slice surface opposing the first stack-slice surface. The method also includes forming a lens form layer on the first stack-slice surface spanning one or more coatings.

An optical layered body including: a substrate layer formed of a resin containing a crystallizable polymer A; and a first surface layer formed of a resin containing an amorphous polymer B, wherein a glass transition temperature TgA of the crystallizable polymer A and a glass transition temperature TgB of the amorphous polymer B satisfy TgB>TgA, a crystallization temperature TcA of the crystallizable polymer A and the glass transition temperature TgB of the amorphous polymer B satisfy TcA10 C.TgBTcA60 C., the first surface layer has a plane orientation coefficient P that satisfies P0.01, and a ratio of a thickness of the substrate layer relative to a total thickness of the optical layered body is 25% or more.

There is provided a polarizer excellent in heat resistance. A polarizer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a resin film containing iodine, wherein an end portion of the resin film has formed therein a high-concentration portion having a concentration of a substance that forms a counter ion of iodine higher than that of another portion.

A mold for a wire grid polarizer includes a hard mold and a soft mold, in which the hard mold includes a main body, an oxidization layer provided on the main body, and a SAM layer provided on the oxidization layer and including an additive, the soft mold includes a substrate, and a protrusions and depressions portion including a polymerized releasing agent, and a region that is hydrophobic in the polymerized releasing agent is arranged on a surface of the protrusions and depressions portion.

An aspect of the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a polarizing plastic lens, which comprises a reversing step of reversing a convex surface shape into a concave surface shape by pressing a polarizing film that has been curved surface processed, a casting mold assembling step of assembling a casting mold having a cavity within which the reversed polarizing film is positioned with the reversed polarizing film, an upper mold, a lower mold, and a sealing member that maintains a spacing between the upper mold and the lower mold, and a polymerizing and curing step of casting a curable composition into the cavity, and polymerizing and curing the curable composition that has been cast to provide a polarizing plastic lens within which a polarizing film is positioned.

A method of making an optical film includes providing a film, substantially uniaxially orienting the film, and heat setting the oriented film. The film includes a polymeric material capable of developing birefringence.