OPTICAL-FILM-MANUFACTURING APPARATUS, OPTICAL-FILM-MANUFACTURING METHOD, AND OPTICAL FILM

摘要

It is known that a pattern is formed on a film by coating the film with a photo-orienting resin and exposing the film through a photomask, but the boundaries of an orientation pattern cannot be distinctly formed when the exposing is performed in a roll-to-roll format while a long film is conveyed. This problem is overcome by an optical-film-manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an optical film having a plurality of orientation regions while a long film is continuously conveyed, wherein the optical-film-manufacturing apparatus is provided with a support roll for supporting the film, and an exposure unit for exposing a photo-orienting resin in the film with polarized light through a mask, thereby causing a plurality of orientation regions having mutually different directions of molecular orientation to appear in the photo-orienting resin. The support roll has a minimizing part for minimizing reflection of the exposure light.