LIQUID CRYSTAL ELEMENT, OPTICAL PATH DEFLECTING ELEMENT, AND IMAGE DISPLAYING APPARATUS

摘要

A liquid crystal element comprising a pair of transparent substrates, a liquid crystal layer which fills in between the pair of substrates and can form a chiral smectic C phase in homeotropic orientation, and an electrode which generates, at least, an electric field (parallel electric field) in directions parallel to a principal face of the substrate for the liquid crystal layer is provided, wherein the liquid crystal layer comprises, at least, a chiral compound of the following general formula (1-I) or a chiral compound of the following general formula (2-I) and a chiral compound of the following general formula (2-II) in a base liquid crystal material which can provide a phase sequence of an isotropic liquid phase, a nematic phase, a smectic A phase and a smectic C phase from a higher temperature side, wherein R¹, A², Z¹, Z², m and l in formula (1- I), X, R¹, R², and * in formula (2-I), and X, R³, R⁴, R⁵, and * in formula (2-II) are defined in the specification.