According to one embodiment, a liquid crystal optical element includes a transparent substrate including a main surface, an alignment film disposed on the main surface, and a liquid crystal layer overlapping the alignment film and including a cholesteric liquid crystal including liquid crystal molecules stacked helically and an additive exhibiting a liquid crystalline property. In the liquid crystal layer, a reflective surface along which alignment directions of the liquid crystal molecules are identical is inclined with respect to the main surface.

According to one embodiment, a liquid crystal optical element includes a transparent substrate including a main surface, an alignment film disposed on the main surface, and a liquid crystal layer overlapping the alignment film and including a cholesteric liquid crystal including liquid crystal molecules stacked helically and an additive exhibiting a liquid crystalline property. In the liquid crystal layer, a reflective surface along which alignment directions of the liquid crystal molecules are identical is inclined with respect to the main surface.

The present invention provides thermochromic liquid crystal inks and coatings. The ink and coating compositions comprise one or more non-encapsulated cholesteryl materials, one or more resins that are not cholesteryl materials, and one or more solvents. In certain embodiments, a thermochromic effect is observed at about body temperature.

The present invention provides thermochromic liquid crystal inks and coatings. The ink and coating compositions comprise one or more non-encapsulated cholesteryl materials, one or more resins that are not cholesteryl materials, and one or more solvents. In certain embodiments, a thermochromic effect is observed at about body temperature.

A liquid crystal display device which enables reductions in image sticking and droplet stains caused in production thereof without degradation of properties such as dielectric anisotropy, viscosity, the upper limit of the temperature of nematic phase, and rotational viscosity (.sub.1); and a method for manufacturing such a liquid crystal display device. The liquid crystal display device is characterized in that a liquid crystal layer containing a liquid crystal composition is disposed between a substrate provided with a common electrode and a color filter layer and another substrate provided with a plurality of pixels each having a pixel electrode, each of the substrates is not provided with an alignment film but provided with an orientation controlling layer composed of at least two polymerizable compounds, each of the pixels has two or more regions having different directions of pretilt, and the liquid crystal composition contains a compound represented by General Formula (I) and a compound represented by General Formula (II).

A liquid crystal display device which enables reductions in image sticking and droplet stains caused in production thereof without degradation of properties such as dielectric anisotropy, viscosity, the upper limit of the temperature of nematic phase, and rotational viscosity (.sub.1); and a method for manufacturing such a liquid crystal display device. The liquid crystal display device is characterized in that a liquid crystal layer containing a liquid crystal composition is disposed between a substrate provided with a common electrode and a color filter layer and another substrate provided with a plurality of pixels each having a pixel electrode, each of the substrates is not provided with an alignment film but provided with an orientation controlling layer composed of at least two polymerizable compounds, each of the pixels has two or more regions having different directions of pretilt, and the liquid crystal composition contains a compound represented by General Formula (I) and a compound represented by General Formula (II).

The present invention relates to an LC medium comprising and a liquid-crystalline host consisting of an LC component H) comprising one or more mesogenic or liquid-crystalline compounds and an optically active component D) and optionally a polymerizable component P) comprising one or more polymerizable compounds; and to the use of the polymerizable compounds and LC media for optical, electro-optical and electronic purposes, in particular in LC displays, especially in LC displays of the polymer sustained alignment type.

The present invention provides a polymerizable composition having low birefringence which contains at least two types of polymerizable compounds represented by Formula (I):
Q.sup.1-Sp.sup.1A-L.sub.mSp.sup.2-Q.sup.2(I) in the formula, A represents a phenylene or a trans-1,4-cyclohexylene, L represents OC(O), OC(O)O, and the like, m represents 3 to 12, Sp.sup.1 and Sp.sup.2 represent an alkylene of which CH.sub.2 may be substituted with O or the like, and the like, and Q.sup.1 and Q.sup.2 represent a polymerizable group, and the like, in which when a number obtained by dividing the number of trans-1,4-cyclohexylenes represented by A by m is set to mc, the polymerizable compounds include a polymerizable compound satisfying 0.5<mc<0.7 and a polymerizable compound satisfying 0.1<mc<0.3. A film such as a low birefringence phase difference film or a reflection film having high selectivity in a reflection wavelength range can be provided by using the polymerizable composition.

The present invention provides a polymerizable composition having low birefringence which contains at least two types of polymerizable compounds represented by Formula (I):
Q.sup.1-Sp.sup.1A-L.sub.mSp.sup.2-Q.sup.2(I) in the formula, A represents a phenylene or a trans-1,4-cyclohexylene, L represents OC(O), OC(O)O, and the like, m represents 3 to 12, Sp.sup.1 and Sp.sup.2 represent an alkylene of which CH.sub.2 may be substituted with O or the like, and the like, and Q.sup.1 and Q.sup.2 represent a polymerizable group, and the like, in which when a number obtained by dividing the number of trans-1,4-cyclohexylenes represented by A by m is set to mc, the polymerizable compounds include a polymerizable compound satisfying 0.5<mc<0.7 and a polymerizable compound satisfying 0.1<mc<0.3. A film such as a low birefringence phase difference film or a reflection film having high selectivity in a reflection wavelength range can be provided by using the polymerizable composition.

The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device, which comprises: cholesteric liquid crystals and polymer fragments. By adding polymer fragments, the upper and lower substrates of the liquid crystal display device of the present invention may control the alignment of the liquid crystals and have excellent electro-optical characteristics without the use of an alignment film; furthermore, the polymer fragments are modified with a vertical alignment agent, DMOAP to form a radial structure so as to improve the contrast. The present invention also provides a method for preparing a liquid crystal display device in a simple way, so that the liquid crystal display device has the electro-optical characteristics of high contrast, low threshold voltage, and fast response time.