LIQUID CRYSTAL ELEMENT, OPTICAL PATH-DEFLECTING ELEMENT AND IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE

• Main Authors: FUJIMURA HIROSHI, AMAKAWA HARUKI, TAKANO YOHEI, TAKIGUCHI YASUYUKI, SUGIMOTO HIROYUKI, TOKITA TOSHIAKI, NONAKA TOSHIAKI, MATSUKI YUMI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 13.09.2007
• Subjects: ADHESIVES; CHEMISTRY; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS, THE OPTICAL OPERATION OF WHICH ISMODIFIED BY CHANGING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIUM OF THEDEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INTENSITY,COLOUR, PHASE, POLARISATION OR DIRECTION OF LIGHT, e.g.SWITCHING, GATING, MODULATING OR DEMODULATING; DYES; FREQUENCY-CHANGING; MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FORELSEWHERE; METALLURGY; MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS; MISCELLANEOUS COMPOSITIONS; NATURAL RESINS; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICS; PAINTS; PHYSICS; POLISHES; TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal element that exhibits excellent orienting properties, permits drive of an optical axis in a low electric field and exhibits excellent response and/or optical properties, to provide an optical path-deflecting element that is comprised of the liquid crystal element and brings about parallel shift of an optical path at a high speed, and to provide an image display device that is capable of highly precise display by incorporation of the optical path-deflecting element though using an image display element with less picture elements. SOLUTION: In the liquid crystal element 1 comprising a pair of transparent substrates 2, a liquid crystal layer 5 filled between the pair of substrates 2 and forming a homeotropically aligned chiral smectic C phase, and an electrode 4 generating an electric field (parallel electric field) applied at least to the liquid crystal layer 5 in the direction parallel to the main surface of the substrate 2, the liquid crystal layer 5 comprises a base liquid crystal material having a phase series, from the higher temperature side, of an isotropic liquid phase, a nematic phase, a smectic A phase, and a smectic C phase and, incorporated therewith, at least two chiral compounds. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT