RETARDATION FILM, ELLIPTICAL POLARIZER, LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY DEVICE, AND METHOD OF FABRICATING ELLIPTICAL POLARIZER

摘要

Provided is a retardation film which is made of a polypropylene resin, has an in-plane retardation value R0 of 70 nm to 200 nm, an Nz coefficient of 1.1 to 2 where nx represents a refractive index of the film in the in-plane delayed-phase axial direction, ny represents a refractive index in the in-plane advanced-phase axial direction, and nz represents a refractive index in the thicknesswise direction, and has a standard deviation of a delayed-phase axial angle of 0.6° or less measured at an interval of 1 mm or less. The retardation film is thin and has flat wavelength dispersion of retardation. The retardation film, when combined with a 1/2 wavelength plate, forms a wide band 1/4 wavelength plate, which demonstrates an excellent light shielding performance, avoids bonding irregularity and white spots at the time of bonding, and has a wide view angle characteristic. The retardation film is favorably used as a biaxial 1/4 wavelength plate. In addition, an elliptical polarizer using such a retardation film, a method of fabricating the elliptical polarizer, and a liquid crystal display device using such a retardation film are also provided.