A light guide element includes: a light guide plate; and a diffraction element that is disposed on a main surface of the light guide plate, in which the diffraction element includes a liquid crystal layer that is formed of a liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal compound and has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction, a refractive index of the light guide plate is 1.70 or higher, and in a case where the refractive index of the light guide plate is represented by n.sub.d and a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer is represented by n.sub.k, n.sub.k−n.sub.d≥0 is satisfied.

An optical film includes a low-refractive-index layer that includes a plurality of lens portions, and a high-refractive-index layer that fills a space between the plurality of lens portions. The lens portions each have a columnar shape and have a flat portion at an end thereof, and are arranged two-dimensionally. Distances between portions of the lens portions satisfy the following equation:

((P.sub.A−((A.sub.IN+A.sub.EX)/2))×(P.sub.B−((B.sub.IN+B.sub.EX)/2)))/(P.sub.A×P.sub.B) is 0.42 or greater and 0.70 or less.

A display device includes a display panel including a display surface having a Lambertian light emission distribution, and a viewing angle modulator disposed on the display panel. The viewing angle modulator includes a first refractive layer including a diffraction structure on a surface, a refractive index conversion layer disposed on the first refractive layer and including an electro-optical material having a refractive index that changes when a voltage is applied to the electro-optical material, and a second refractive layer disposed on the refractive index conversion layer. The refractive index conversion layer includes a base layer, and an optical structure disposed on the base layer that changes a path of light incident on a surface facing the second refractive layer.

According to one embodiment, a liquid crystal optical element includes a substrate, a plurality of structures, a first liquid crystal layer including a plurality of liquid crystal molecules having alignment directions fixed, and a second liquid crystal layer including a plurality of liquid crystal molecules having alignment directions fixed. In an area overlapping a groove, a first director of the first liquid crystal layer extends along the groove, and a second director of the second liquid crystal layer is uniformly aligned with the first director of the second surface side, on the third surface side, and turns in planar view.

An article for a display device having an output surface. The article includes a light valve, a reflective polarizer, and a diffusing layer. The light valve is configured to be disposed on the output surface of the display device. The light valve is operable in a pass mode and a block mode. The reflective polarizer is disposed on the light valve opposite to the display device. The reflective polarizer is configured to substantially transmit light having a first polarization state and substantially reflect light having an orthogonal second polarization state. The diffusing layer is disposed on the reflective polarizer opposite to the light valve.

An optical element includes a light guide plate, an incidence portion, and an emission portion, in which each of the incidence portion and the emission portion includes diffraction portions, the diffraction portion includes diffraction elements, the diffraction element includes a liquid crystal diffraction layer in which a direction of an optical axis of a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in one in-plane direction, and in a case where the direction in which the direction of the optical axis changes is set as an in-plane rotation direction and a length over which the optical axis rotates by 180° is set as an in-plane period, in-plane rotation directions of liquid crystal diffraction layers of incidence diffraction elements in at least two of a plurality of the incidence diffraction portions are different from each other.

The present disclosure provides a display device. The display device includes: a liquid crystal display panel; a liquid crystal light control panel located on the light incident side of the liquid crystal display panel; and at least two haze layers located on the light emitting side of the liquid crystal display panel.

A display device, a photomask for a display device and a method for fabricating a display device comprising the photomask is described. The display device comprises a plurality of pixels arranged to spatially modulate light having a first characteristic. The display device further comprises a pixel mask structure. The pixel mask structure comprises a diffractive pattern that is configured to diffract light having the first characteristic and to transmit light having a second characteristic (without diffraction). The diffractive pattern of the pixel mask structure substantially surrounds the plurality of pixels.

A dimming panel includes: a transparent base substrate and a plurality of dimming cells disposed on the transparent base substrate; each of the plurality of dimming cells comprises a refractive structure and an electric field structure disposed outside the refractive structure, the refractive structure comprises at least two film layers stacked, a refractive index difference between any two adjacent film layers in the at least two film layers is variable under an action of an electric field applied by the electric field structure.

A light guide plate which includes a light incident surface, a light conversion element, an accommodation through hole and a diffusion element, the accommodation through hole is formed in the light guide plate and is adjacent to the light incident surface, the light conversion element is accommodated in the accommodation through hole, and the diffusion element is disposed on the light incident surface. Also disclosed is a light having a backlight module and a liquid crystal display having the light guide plate. A light conversion element is accommodated in the light guide plate, so as to avoid over-heating the light conversion element to further avoid reducing the color gamut of the product.