Liquid crystal (LC) beam control devices using a dispersion shaped (DS) half wave plate (HWP), with specific physical characteristics, allows the broadened beam to maintain significantly better the color cohesion. Beneficial aspects of using a HWP with an appropriate thickness and birefringence index which makes it inefficient in the blue wavelength spectrum, therefore reducing the blue photon depletion in the center of the broadened beam is described herein. Combinations of an homeotropic LC cell and DS HWP structures for reduced color separation, faster relaxation time and reduced ground state scattering is further described herein.

A liquid crystal display device having an outer shape of a display region formed other than a rectangle. A driver for supplying a video signal is disposed outside the display region. A selector with selector TFT is disposed between the display region and the driver. A video signal line is disposed between the driver and the selector, and a drain line is disposed between the selector and the display region. A scanning circuit for supplying a scanning signal to the scanning line is disposed outside the display region. The selector is disposed between the scanning line and the display region, and covered with ITO as the common electrode. The common bus wiring is disposed outside the selector.

A liquid crystal display device having an outer shape of a display region formed other than a rectangle. A driver for supplying a video signal is disposed outside the display region. A selector with selector TFT is disposed between the display region and the driver. A video signal line is disposed between the driver and the selector, and a drain line is disposed between the selector and the display region. A scanning circuit for supplying a scanning signal to the scanning line is disposed outside the display region. The selector is disposed between the scanning line and the display region, and covered with ITO as the common electrode. The common bus wiring is disposed outside the selector.

Embodiments of synthetic garnet materials having advantageous properties, especially for below resonance frequency applications, are disclosed herein. In particular, embodiments of the synthetic garnet materials can have high Curie temperatures and dielectric constants while maintaining low magnetization. These materials can be incorporated into isolators and circulators, such as for use in telecommunication base stations.

Nonreciprocal optical transmission devices and optical apparatuses including the nonreciprocal optical transmission devices are provided. A nonreciprocal optical transmission device includes an optical input portion, an optical output portion, and an intermediate connecting portion interposed between the optical input portion and the optical output portion, and comprising optical waveguides. A complex refractive index of any one or any combination of the optical waveguides changes between the optical input portion and the optical output portion, and a transmission direction of light through the nonreciprocal optical transmission device is controlled by a change in the complex refractive index.

An optical assembly maintains 90° polarization rotation. In one aspect, an optical assembly includes a polarization beam splitter a rotational element and a path exchange mirror. The temperature, wavelength and manufacturing dependencies of polarization rotation of this optical assembly are minimal to nonexistent compared to conventional Faraday rotation assemblies as the optical fiber accepts only the desired rotation. As such these optical assemblies have no temperature and wavelength dependencies of the polarization rotation angle over broad temperature and wavelength ranges with minimal additional losses. In another aspect, the polarization dependence of reflection from the path exchange mirror is managed so as to minimize the polarization effect associated with oblique incidence.

A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer and a plurality of spacers. A display region of the first substrate includes a thin film transistor, a reflective electrode, a light-shielding layer and a color filter. A display region of the second substrate includes a second alignment layer. The plurality of spacers is integrally formed in the first substrate.

A system includes a spatial light modulator comprising a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate. The spatial light modulator is characterized by a first retardation and a first phase retardation and has a first slow axis for light propagation. A voltage source is configured to apply a drive voltage to the spatial light modulator and the first retardation of the spatial light modulator is a function of the drive voltage. A retarder is positioned external to the spatial light modulator and is characterized by a second retardation and a second phase retardation. The retarder includes a second slow axis for light propagation. The second retardation has a value such that all illumination wavelengths in a set of illumination wavelengths are above or below a phase retardation value of 0.25. The set of illumination wavelengths includes at least one illumination wavelength in each of at least three different color spectrums.

According to an embodiment, an electrically switchable mirror includes: a first electrically switchable layer of cholesteric liquid crystal material, the first electrically switchable layer having a first state in which right-handed circularly polarized light incident thereon is reflected and left-handed circularly polarized light incident thereon is transmitted and a second state wherein right-handed and left-handed circularly polarized light incident thereon are transmitted; a second electrically switchable layer of cholesteric liquid crystal material, the second electrically switchable layer having a first state in which left-handed circularly polarized light incident thereon is reflected and right-handed circularly polarized light incident thereon is transmitted and a second state wherein right-handed and left-handed circularly polarized light incident thereon are transmitted; and a first electrically switchable wave plate disposed between the first and second electrically switchable layers.

A liquid crystal display device includes: first and second substrates facing each other and including a plurality of pixels; a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates and including a liquid crystal mixture. The first substrate includes a pixel electrode in each pixel. The pixel electrode includes a stem electrode extending in a first direction and a second direction in a cross shape and dividing the pixel into first to fourth domains; and branch electrodes disposed in the first to fourth domains and extending from the stem electrode in a tilted direction to the first and second directions. The branch electrodes disposed in two adjacent domains extend to have angles different from each other with respect to the first direction and the second direction. The liquid crystal mixture includes liquid crystals, and a dopant which adjusts a pitch of the liquid crystals.