A polymer having excellent liquid crystal alignment and electrical properties and thus is suitable for use as a liquid crystal alignment agent, a liquid crystal alignment agent including the same, a liquid crystal alignment film formed from the liquid crystal alignment agent, and a liquid crystal display device including the liquid crystal alignment film are provided.

An optically transparent actuator apparatus is provided that includes an optically transparent bi-stable member including an optically transparent liquid crystalline polymer layer. The bi-stable member is structured to move from a first state to a second state in response to a first stimulus and from the second state to the first state in response to a second stimulus. Also, a display apparatus includes a plate member and an actuator assembly coupled to the plate member. The actuator assembly includes a number of optically transparent liquid crystalline polymer layers, wherein each of the optically transparent liquid crystalline polymer layers is structured to move from a first state to a second state in response to a first stimulus.

Provided is a liquid crystal aligning agent composition including a liquid crystal polymer together with a polyimide-based (co)polymer, a method for preparing a liquid crystal alignment film using the same, and a liquid crystal alignment film and a liquid crystal display device using the same.

A liquid crystal element including: two substrates having a transparent conductive layer formed thereon, the substrates being arranged so that the transparent conductive layers face each other, and a liquid crystal-polymer composite film sandwiched between the two substrates having a transparent conductive layer, wherein the liquid crystal-polymer composite film includes a polymer matrix and a liquid crystal composition surrounded by the polymer matrix, the liquid crystal composition contains a liquid crystal component and a dichroic dye, the liquid crystal component has positive dielectric constant anisotropy, and has an NI point of 110° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower, the liquid crystal component has a refractive index anisotropy of 0.01 or more and 0.1 or less, and the liquid crystal-polymer composite film can be switched between a transparent state and a colored state by applying a voltage.

Compounds of formula I,
(R.sup.11O).sub.sSi(CH.sub.3).sub.3−s-Sp.sup.11-NR.sup.12-Sp.sup.12-C(OR.sup.13).sub.tH.sub.3−t  I
wherein the variable groups are as defined herein are useful as adhesion promotors in polymerizable liquid crystal (LC) material.

The polymerizable liquid crystal compound has reverse wavelength dispersion or low wavelength dispersion and has high solubility in various solvents. The polymerizable liquid crystal compound provides an optically anisotropic body having high adhesiveness to substrates (or alignment films), by adding the polymerizable liquid crystal compound to a polymerizable composition and polymerizing the polymerizable composition using ultraviolet light. The invention provides a polymerizable composition containing the polymerizable liquid crystal compound having reverse wavelength dispersion or low wavelength dispersion, a polymer obtained by polymerizing the polymerizable composition, and an optically anisotropic body using the polymer. The present invention provides a polymerizable low wavelength dispersion or polymerizable reverse wavelength dispersion compound having in the molecule a partial structure represented by the general formula (AO-1); and also provides a composition containing the compound, a polymer obtained by polymerizing the composition, and an optically anisotropic body and the like using the polymer. ##STR00001##

A composition includes a polymerizable liquid crystal compound (A), a photopolymerization initiator (B), and a crosslinking agent (C), and satisfies:

|λ.sub.a1−λ.sub.b1|≤20 nm   (i), and

λ.sub.c1≤250 nm   (ii),

where λ.sub.a1 represents a wavelength of an absorption local maximum that is the longest one of wavelengths of absorption local maxima in a light absorption spectrum of from 200 nm to 500 nm of the polymerizable liquid crystal compound (A), λ.sub.b1 represents a wavelength of an absorption local maximum that is the longest one of wavelengths of absorption local maxima in a light absorption spectrum of from 200 nm to 500 nm of the photopolymerization initiator (B), and λ.sub.c1 represents a wavelength of at least one absorption local maximum in a light absorption spectrum of from 200 nm to 500 nm of the crosslinking agent (C)).

The present invention provides a compound having an excellent rate of change in HTP due to exposure. The present invention further provides a composition formed of the compound, a cured product, an optically anisotropic body, and a reflective film.

The compound of the present invention is a compound represented by General Formula (1).

##STR00001##

Provided are an LCP film and a laminate comprising the same. The LCP film is made of an LCP resin comprising a structural unit represented by Formula (1): -L.sub.1-Ar-L.sub.2- (1), wherein -L.sub.1- and -L.sub.2- are respectively —O— or —CO—; —Ar— is an arylene group. Formula (1) comprises structural units

##STR00001##

Based on a total molar number of the structural unit represented by Formula (1), a molar number of the structural unit represented by Formula (I) is in the range from 15 mole % to 40 mole %, and a sum of molar numbers of the structural units represented by Formulae (I) and (II) is in the range from 80 mole % to 100 mole %. The LCP film has a thickness and a transmittance, wherein when values of the thickness (in μm) and the transmittance are put into Formula (III), the obtained value is from 0.055 to 0.090. Formula (III): Log(1/TT %)/(Thickness).sup.0.5.

Provided are a laminate, a circuit board, and a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) film comprised therein. The laminate comprises a metal foil and an LCP film. The LCP film in the laminate has a dissipation factor before water absorption (Df′.sub.0), a dissipation factor after water absorption (Df′.sub.1), and a relative percentage difference between dissipation factors (ΔDf′), which is calculated by the following equation:

[00001]$\Delta .Math.D.Math.f^{\prime }.Math..Math.\left(\%\right)=\frac{.Math.{\mathrm{Df}}_1^{\prime }-D.Math.f_0^{\prime }.Math.}{D.Math.f_0^{\prime }}\times 1.Math.00.Math.\%;$

wherein ΔDf′ may be less than or equal to 16%.

By controlling ΔDf′ of the LCP film in the laminate, the insertion loss of a circuit board comprising a laminate during signal transmission in low-, medium-, and/or high-frequency bands is decreased and/or inhibited. In addition, the difference between the insertion losses of signal transmission before and after water absorption is decreased, so the laminate is suitable for high-end or outdoor high-frequency electronic products.