Optical element with homeotropically aligned liquid crystal molecules, and a liquid crystal display using the optical element

摘要

An optical element has a base material with an optically transparent base plate, and a refractive functional layer capable of refracting light that is laminated to the base material. The refractive functional layer has liquid crystal molecules fixed in homeotropic alignment, and the optical element has a haze of 0.1 or less. The optical element can be economically produced, and enables the production of LCD devices with improved contrast and reduced unevenness of colors.