Disclosed are an optical laminate and an optical display apparatus including the same. The optical laminate includes: a polarizer; and a retardation layer stacked on a light incidence surface of the polarizer, wherein the retardation layer includes a positive C layer, the positive C layer having an in-plane retardation of 0 nm to 30 nm and an out-of-plane retardation of −50 nm to −15 nm at a wavelength of 550 nm, and the in-plane retardation of the positive C layer at a wavelength of 550 nm and an absolute value of a tilted angle of a slow axis of the positive C layer with respect to a light absorption axis of the polarizer satisfy Relation 1.

The present invention describes a liquid crystal composite tunable device for fast polarisation-independent modulation of an incident light beam comprising: (a) two supporting and functional panels, at least one of them coated with a transparent conductive electrode layer and with optionally at least one additional layer selected from an alignment layer, antireflective coating layer, thermochromic or electrochromic layer, photoconductive or photosensitive layer, and (b) a composite structure sandwiched between said two panels and made of a liquid crystal and porous microparticles infiltrated with said liquid crystal. The porous microparticles have an average refractive index approximately equals to one of the liquid crystal principal refractive indices, matching that of the liquid crystal at one orientational state (for example, parallel n.sub.∥), and exhibiting large mismatch at another orientational state (for example, perpendicular n.sub.⊥). This refractive index mismatch between said microparticles and said liquid crystal is tuned by applying an external electric or magnetic field, thermally or optically.

Provided is an optical element including: a first liquid crystal cell; and a second liquid crystal cell, with no polarizing plate between the first and second liquid crystal cells. The first liquid crystal cell includes a first liquid crystal layer containing first liquid crystal molecules, and a first electrode pair which applies voltage to the first liquid crystal layer. The second liquid crystal cell includes a second liquid crystal layer containing second liquid crystal molecules, and a second electrode pair which applies voltage to the second liquid crystal layer. With no voltage applied to the first and second liquid crystal layers, an alignment direction of the first liquid crystal molecules near the second liquid crystal cell in the first liquid crystal layer is parallel to an alignment direction of the second liquid crystal molecules near the first liquid crystal cell in the second liquid crystal layer in a plan view.

An electronic device includes a display panel having a display surface that includes a first region and a second region. The display panel outputs a first light in the first region and a second light in the second region. The first light has a first normal brightness in a first orthogonal direction and a first oblique brightness in a first inclined direction. The second light has a second normal brightness in a second orthogonal direction and a second oblique brightness in a second inclined direction. The included angles between the orthogonal directions and the corresponding inclined directions are acute angles. A ratio of a difference between the first normal brightness and the second normal brightness to the first normal brightness is less than a ratio of a difference between the first oblique brightness and the second oblique brightness to the first oblique brightness is defined as a second ratio.

An optical system includes a display system including a display having first and second display pixels interspersed with each other across the display. The first and second display pixels emit superimposed different respective first and second images polarized along the first direction. The display system includes a patterned retarder having pluralities of first and second retarder pixels aligned and registered with the respective first and second display pixels in one-to-one correspondence. The first retarder pixels are configured to receive and transmit the first emitted image as the first output image polarized along the first direction. The second retarder pixels are configured to receive, change the polarization direction, and transmit the second emitted image as the second output image polarized along the second direction. A reflective polarizer is configured to receive the first and second output images and substantially transmit the first output image and substantially reflect the second output image.

A display apparatus can include a display panel configured to display an image, a polarizing plate disposed on the display panel, a first film disposed on the polarizing plate, a liquid crystal layer disposed on the first film, and a second film disposed on the liquid crystal layer. Also, the liquid crystal layer can be disposed in a cover member and have a retardation of a quarter wave (λ/4) to a half wave (λ/2), and the liquid crystal layer can be spaced apart from the flexible display panel.

Stereoscopic 3D systems include a conversion system having a polarization beam-splitting element to separate a randomly polarized incident image-beam into one transmitted image-beam and at least one reflected image-beam, first and second polarization modulators arranged to modulate states of the transmitted and reflected image-beams between first and second output linear polarization states, the modulators including first and second pi-cell liquid crystal elements aligned in mutually crossed orientation and switched between first and second optical-states, one of the optical-states having in-plane optical retardation corresponding to a quarter-wave plate (QWP), an additional QWP proximate to one of the pi-cell liquid crystal elements and perpendicularly aligned to the optical axis for the in-plane optical retardation for one of the pi-cell liquid crystal elements. Passive linear polarized viewing-glasses include first and second lenses, each having a mutually parallel linear polarizer, and a half-wave plate located proximate the input surface for one of the lenses.

Provided are a liquid crystal composition that is capable of forming a light absorption anisotropic film having a low reflectance, and a light absorption anisotropic film, a laminate, and an image display device, each of which is obtained using the liquid crystal composition. The liquid crystal composition contains a side-chain type high-molecular-weight liquid crystalline compound and a dichroic substance, in which the side-chain type high-molecular-weight liquid crystalline compound is a copolymer having a repeating unit M including a mesogenic group and a repeating unit F including a fluorine atom.

The present invention describes a liquid crystal composite tuneable device for fast polarisation-independent modulation of an incident light beam comprising: (a) two supporting and functional panels, at least one of them coated with a transparent conductive electrode layer and with optionally at least one additional layer selected from an alignment layer, antireflective coating layer, thermochromic or electrochromic layer, photoconductive or photosensitive layer, and (b) a composite structure sandwiched between said two panels and made of a liquid crystal and porous microparticles infiltrated with said liquid crystal. The porous microparticles have an average refractive index approximately equals to one of the liquid crystal principal refractive indices, matching that of the liquid crystal at one orientational state (for example, parallel n.sub.∥), and exhibiting large mismatch at another orientational state (for example, perpendicular n.sub.⊥). This refractive index mismatch between said microparticles and said liquid crystal is tuned by applying an external electric or magnetic field, thermally or optically.

An augmented reality device includes an eyeglass frame and a combiner mounted on the eyeglass frame. The combiner includes an inner surface and an outer surface disposed opposite the inner surface. The device further includes an active shutter lens mounted on the combiner and an image projector mounted on the eyeglass frame and configured to project display light to the combiner such that a first portion of the display light is emitted from the inner surface of the combiner and a second portion of the display light is emitted from the outer surface of the combiner. The device additionally includes a processor coupled to the image projector and the active shutter lens. The active shutter lens is configured to shield the display light emitted from the outer surface of the combiner. The combiner is configured to emit ambient light from the inner surface thereof.