| 摘要 |
A liquid crystal optical element (1) is provided which is employed in a vehicle light (15), for example, having a light source (12), a reflector (13), and a lens (14). The liquid crystal optical element (1) is placed between the light source (12) and the lens (14), whereby light distribution control can be achieved over a wide range beyond a basic light distribution constituted by the light source (12), the reflector (13), and the lens (14). A liquid crystal having a photocurable liquid crystalline monomer added thereto is filled into a cell to form a liquid crystal layer (5), which is in turn irradiated with a stripe pattern of ultraviolet rays to partially cure and polymerize the monomer. This provides a cured grating portion (6) and a non-cured, non-grating portion (7) are formed. When a voltage is not applied to the liquid crystal optical element (1), this element (1) is in a transparent state due to the uniformity in the molecular arrangement and the refractive index of the grating portion (6) and the non-grating portion (7) adjacent to each other. When a voltage is applied, the light guided inside the liquid crystal layer (5) is refracted in a predetermined direction by means of the difference in refractive index between the grating portion (6) and the non-grating portion (7) to thereby form scattered light. This can extend projection direction range to the outside. |
