The invention relates to a liquid-crystalline medium based on a mixture of polar compounds comprising a self-alignment additive for vertical alignment and additionally at least one compound of formula I as described more closely within this disclosure (polymerizable HALS), especially for vertically aligned display applications.

A LC lens and a liquid-crystal medium used in said LC lens, wherein the medium contains one or more compounds of each of formulae I and II ##STR00001##

To provide a liquid crystal compound satisfying at least one of physical properties such as a high stability to heat, light and so forth, a high clearing point, a low minimum temperature of a liquid crystal phase, a small viscosity, a suitable optical anisotropy, a large dielectric anisotropy, a suitable elastic constant and an excellent compatibility with other liquid crystal compounds; a liquid crystal composition containing the compound; and a liquid crystal display device including the composition. The compound is represented by formula (1): ##STR00001##
wherein, for example, Ra and Rb are alkyl having 1 to 10 carbons, alkenyl having 2 to 10 carbons or alkoxy having 1 to 9 carbons; A.sup.1, A.sup.2 and A.sup.3 are 1,4-cyclohexylene or 1,4-phenylene; Z.sup.1 and Z.sup.2 are single bonds, —(CH.sub.2).sub.2—, —CH═CH—, —COO—, —OCO—, —CF.sub.2O—, —OCF.sub.2—, —CH.sub.2O— or —OCH.sub.2—; Y.sup.1 is —CF.sub.2H or —CF.sub.3; Y.sup.2 is fluorine; and a, b and d are 0, 1, 2 or 3, and c is 1 or 3.

The present invention relates to compounds that have ultraviolet light absorbing properties, and which can also have mesogenic properties. The present invention also relates to compositions that include one or more such compounds, and to articles of manufacture that include one or more such compounds, such as optical elements that include an optical substrate and a layer that includes at least one compound of the present invention.

The present invention relates to liquid-crystalline media (LC media) having negative or positive dielectric anisotropy, comprising a low-molecular-weight component and a polymerizable component. The polymerizable component comprises self-aligning, polymerizable mesogens (polymerizable self-alignment additives) which effect homeotropic (vertical) alignment of the LC media at a surface or the cell walls of a liquid-crystal display (LC display). The invention therefore also encompasses LC displays having homeotropic alignment of the LC medium without alignment layers. The invention discloses novel structures for self-alignment additives which have a certain position of the functional groups.

The present invention discloses a compound of which a structural formula thereof is represented as the following formula: ##STR00001##
The compound disclosed by the present invention can be used as a liquid crystal compound and overcomes the problem that solubility of the traditional dibenzothiophene-class liquid crystals is poor, and thus can be better applied to the liquid crystal material field. The present invention further discloses a liquid crystal medium containing the compound and an application thereof.

The present invention relates to polymerisable compounds, to processes and intermediates for the preparation thereof, to liquid-crystal (LC) media comprising them, and to the use of the polymerisable 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 relates to polymerisable compounds, to processes and intermediates for the preparation thereof, to liquid-crystal (LC) media comprising them, and to the use of the polymerisable 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.

Compounds of the formula I, liquid-crystalline media which contain at least one compound of the formula I and electro-optical displays which contain the LC mixtures, especially for the self-aligning VA, PSA, PS-VA, PVA, MVA, PM-VA, HT-VA or VA-IPS mode ##STR00001##
in which R.sub.1, R.sub.2, ring A.sub.1, Z.sub.1, Z.sub.2, Sp, P, L.sub.1, L.sub.2, r1, r2, r3, m, n, p1 and p2 have the meanings indicated above.

An actuator device comprises a stack formed from a plurality of photoresponsive layers, which deform in response to light, which are partitioned by respective deformable non-photoresponsive layers. The deformable non-photoresponsive layers guide light between and to the photoresponsive layers, and can follow the deformation of the photoresponsive layers.