POLARIZING OPTICAL ELEMENT AND DRIVE METHOD OF THE SAME, DISPLAY DEVICE, IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE, LENS UNIT, AND IMAGING DEVICE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a polarizing optical element which has a high polarization degree of transmitted light and high efficiency of transmitted light upon converting light into linearly polarized light and has high transmission efficiency of light in a non-conversion state.SOLUTION: The polarizing optical element includes a transparent electrode, a counter electrode, and an electrochromic (EC) layer and an electrolyte layer disposed between the electrodes. The EC layer has a grating pattern having periodicity of a wavelength or less of light used in the element, and the EC layer is made of an EC material that varies between a metal state and a metal oxide metal suboxide or hydrogenated metal state depending on an application of a voltage. The EC material exhibits a metal state and a transparent state in a metal oxide metal suboxide state or a hydrogenated metal state depending on an application of a voltage and can reversibly change these states.