A phase difference compensation element, including: a transparent substrate; a first optical anisotropic layer that includes an inorganic material, and has a C-plate retardance; and a second optical anisotropic layer that includes an inorganic material, and includes an oblique angle vapor deposition film that does not have an O-plate retardance, wherein the phase difference compensation element including the first optical anisotropic layer and the second optical anisotropic layer in combination has a quasi-O-plate retardance.

A wave plate 1 according to an embodiment includes a first birefringent substrate 10 including a first main surface and an optical axis 13 in a first direction; a second birefringent substrate 20 disposed over the first birefringent substrate 10 and including a second main surface and an optical axis 23 in a second direction; and a third birefringent substrate 30 disposed over the second birefringent substrate 20 and including a third main surface and an optical axis 33 in a third direction. The first birefringent substrate 10 and the second birefringent substrate 20 are made of the same kind of birefringent material. The first main surface, the second main surface, and the third main surface are disposed in parallel to one another. The first direction and the second direction are parallel to the first main surface and the second main surface.

A liquid crystal display panel (100) comprises a first polarizer (110) and a second polarizer (170), a first liquid crystal layer (130) disposed between the first polarizer (110) and the second polarizer (170), and an optical compensation layer (140) disposed between the first liquid crystal layer (130) and one of the first polarizer (110) and the second polarizer (170). A transmission axis of the first polarizer (110) is perpendicular to a transmission axis of the second polarizer (170). The first liquid crystal layer (130) includes first liquid crystal molecules (130′). An included angle (γ) between an orthographic projection of an optical axis of a first liquid crystal molecule (130′) on the first polarizer (110), which is perpendicular to an orthographic projection of an optical axis of the optical compensation layer (140) on the first polarizer (110), and the transmission axis of the first polarizer (110) is an acute angle,

Provided are a phase difference film that has a small change in tint in a case where the phase difference film is combined with a polarizer and then applied as a circularly polarizing plate to a display device, and the display device is observed from an oblique direction at all azimuthal angles; as well as a circularly polarizing plate and a display device. The phase difference film includes a first optically anisotropic layer, a second optically anisotropic layer, a third optically anisotropic layer, and a fourth optically anisotropic layer in this order, in which the first optically anisotropic layer is a C-plate, the second optically anisotropic layer is an A-plate, the third optically anisotropic layer is a layer formed by fixing a liquid crystal compound twist-aligned along a helical axis extending in a thickness direction, and the first, second third, and fourth optically anisotropic layers have a predetermined configuration.

A liquid-crystal display device includes a pair of substrates, a liquid-crystal material layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, and an optical compensation element having an optical compensation layer, the optical compensation layer including a stack group in which high-refractive-index obliquely deposited films and low-refractive-index obliquely deposited films are alternately deposited, the high-refractive-index obliquely deposited films and the low-refractive-index obliquely deposited films having a same tilt direction with respect to a normal line of a surface on which the films are deposited.

A diffraction grating includes a substrate and a plurality of fringes supported by the substrate. The fringes run parallel to each other in a first direction. A refractive index of a material of the plurality of fringes is anisotropic, whereby a refractive index contrast of the diffraction grating depends on direction of electric field of an impinging light beam, and through that dependence is a function of an azimuthal angle of the impinging light beam. A dependence of the diffraction efficiency on the azimuthal angle is affected by the dependence of the refractive index contrast on the direction of electric field of an impinging light beam. A pupil-replicating waveguide may use such a diffraction grating as a coupler for in- our out-coupling image light.

A polarizing plate for IPS mode and an optical display apparatus including the same are provided. A polarizing plate includes: a polarizer; a first protective layer on an upper surface of the polarizer; and a second protective layer on a lower surface of the polarizer, wherein, assuming an axis of the polarizer having a high index of refraction in an in-plane direction of the polarizer is a reference axis (0°), an angle of an axis of the first protective layer having a low index of refraction in the in-plane direction thereof is in a range of about −5° to +5°, the first protective layer has an in-plane retardation Re of about 5,000 nm or more at a wavelength of 550 nm, the second protective layer includes a positive C plate layer, and the second protective layer satisfies at least one of Relations 1 and 2.

Provided is an optical film that can suppress rainbow unevenness when viewed with the naked eyes without increasing the in-plane phase difference. The optical film has a low-refractive index layer on a plastic film, the plastic film is a biaxially stretched plastic film with an in-plane phase difference of 2500 nm or less, the low-refractive index layer is located on the outermost surface, and the optical film has a region in which ΔEab satisfies specific conditions, wherein the ΔEab is calculated from the differences between the L* value, the a* value, and the b* value obtained by measuring a laminate 1 including the optical film, the polarizer, and the surface light source under specific conditions and the L* value, the a* value, and the b* value obtained by measuring a laminate 2 including the polarizer and the surface light source under specific conditions, respectively.

This application relates to a liquid crystal display which comprises: an upper polarizer; a lower polarizer; and a liquid crystal panel provided between the upper polarizer and the lower polarizer, in which the upper polarizer and the lower polarizer are provided so that absorption axes of the upper and lower polarizers are parallel to each other, a first half wave plate, a positive C plate, and a second half wave plate are sequentially comprised between the upper polarizer and the liquid crystal panel, and the liquid crystal panel is a vertical alignment liquid crystal mode.

A liquid crystal device includes a reflection-type liquid crystal panel in which a first substrate provided with a reflective layer and a second substrate having light-transmissivity face each other via a liquid crystal layer. In the liquid crystal device, a λ/4 phase difference plate is arranged in an optical path in which light incident from the second substrate side is reflected by the reflective layer and emitted from the second substrate side, and a phase difference compensation layer such as a C plate and O plate provided integrally with the liquid crystal panel is provided in the optical path. The λ/4 phase difference plate is an inorganic material film provided on a second end surface facing the second substrate in the polarized light separating element. The phase difference compensation layer is an inorganic material film provided on a surface of the second substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer.