A beam shaping system including an all-optical liquid crystal beam shaper, the beam shaper including a photoswitchable alignment material including at least one of a PESI-F, SPMA:MMA 1:5, SPMA:MMA 1:9, ora SOMA:SOMA-p:MMA 1:1:6 material, at least some of the liquid crystals of the beam shaper including at least one of a phenylcyclohexane, cyclo-cyclohexane, or a perfluorinated material.

A liquid crystal display includes a pixel electrode including a first subpixel electrode and a second subpixel electrode spaced apart with a gap therebetween, a common electrode facing the pixel electrode, and a liquid crystal layer formed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode and including a plurality of liquid crystal molecules. The first and second subpixel electrodes include a plurality of branches, and each of the first and second subpixel electrodes includes a plurality of subregions. The branches extend in different directions in different subregions.

A geometric phase optical element and a three-dimensional display apparatus including the same are provided. The geometric phase optical element includes: a liquid crystal layer; a first electrode on a surface of the liquid crystal layer; and a second electrode on another surface of the liquid crystal layer, wherein, when no voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes, the liquid crystal layer is configured such that a phase difference according to an arrangement of the liquid crystal is π and light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer is diffracted by a first deflection angle, and when a first voltage that causes the phase difference according to the arrangement of the liquid crystal to become π/2 is applied to the first and second electrodes, the liquid crystal layer is configured such that the light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer is diffracted by a second deflection angle.

Architecture and designs of modulating both amplitude and phase at the same time in spatial light modulation are described. According to one aspect of the present invention, light propagation is controlled in two different directions (e.g., 0 and 45 degrees) to perform both amplitude modulation and phase modulation at the same time in liquid crystals. In one embodiment, a mask is used to form a pattern, where the pattern includes an array of alignment cells or embossed microstructures, a first group of the cells are aligned in the first direction and a second group of the cells are aligned in the second direction. Depending on applications, two cells from the first group and the second group may correspond to a single pixel or two neighboring pixels, resulting in amplitude modulation and phase modulation within the pixel or within an array of pixels.

This application is directed to a display assistant device that acts as a voice-activated user interface device. The display assistant device includes a base, a screen and a speaker. The base is configured for sitting on a surface. The screen has a rear surface and is supported by the base at the rear surface. A bottom edge of the screen is configured to be held above the surface by a predefined height, and the base is substantially hidden behind the screen from a front view of the display assistant device. The speaker is concealed inside the base and configured to project sound substantially towards the front view of the display assistant device.

Provided are a liquid crystal diffraction element which exhibits low scattering and high sharpness of diffracted light, and a method for producing the same. A liquid crystal diffraction element having an alignment film which has a periodic pattern and also having a cholesteric liquid crystal layer, in which: the periodic pattern is imparted to the alignment film as a result of alignment elements having different tilt angles being periodically arranged in the alignment film or the alignment elements being arranged in a manner such that the azimuth direction thereof swings in one in-plane direction; the direction of the molecular axis of a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating and in at least one in-plane direction on at least one main surface among the pair of main surfaces of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer; the molecular axis of the liquid crystal compound is tilted with respect to the main surfaces of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer; and an arrangement direction of bright portion and dark portion derived from the cholesteric liquid crystalline phase observed by a scanning electron microscope in a cross section perpendicular to the main surfaces is tilted with respect to the main surfaces of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer.

A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer, and a plurality of pixels. Each of the pixels has a reflection region for performing display in a reflective mode. The first substrate includes a pixel electrode provided in each of the pixels and a reflection layer positioned opposite to the liquid crystal layer with respect to the pixel electrode. The reflection layer has a first region positioned in each of the pixels and a second region positioned between any two pixels adjacent to each other. Voltages of an identical polarity are applied to the liquid crystal layer for any two pixels adjacent to each other in a row direction, for any two pixels adjacent to each other in a column direction, or for all the pixels.

A liquid crystal lens includes a first substrate and a second substrate opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate includes a first base substrate, a plurality of first electrodes, and a first alignment layer, wherein two adjacent first electrodes of the plurality of first electrodes are insulated from each other, an orthographic projection of each of the plurality of first electrodes on a first surface is an axisymmetric pattern and a centrosymmetric pattern, and center points of the orthographic projections of the plurality of first electrodes on the first surface are in coincidence with each other. The second substrate includes a second base substrate, a plurality of second electrodes, and a second alignment layer, wherein an orientation of the first alignment layer and an orientation of the second alignment layer are perpendicular to each other.

The liquid crystal display panel sequentially includes: a first polarizing plate; a first substrate; a first alignment film; a liquid crystal layer containing liquid crystal molecules; a second alignment film; a second substrate; and a second polarizing plate. The liquid crystal display panel is a normally black liquid crystal display panel capable of shifting into a transparent display state. The first alignment film and the second alignment film have been subjected to alignment treatment such that a first domain and a second domain in which alignment vectors are different from each other are arranged side by side in a column direction. In a plan view, a liquid crystal alignment axis of the first domain and a liquid crystal alignment axis of the second domain obliquely intersect a polarization axis of the first polarizing plate and a polarization axis of the second polarizing plate and are parallel to each other.

The present application provides a display panel, a display module and a display device, the display panel includes a pixel electrode layer, at least one firstshading strip and at least one second shading strip; a pixel electrode layer is divided onto at least four pixel electrode regions by the first shading strip and the second shading strip, a plurality of branch electrodes are formed in the pixel electrode region; the branch electrodes in the two adjacent pixel electrode regions and a center line of the two adjacent pixel electrode regions are symmetrically disposed.