LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY ELEMENT AND OPTICALLY ANISOTROPIC ELEMENT

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to improve the dependence of a liquid crystal display element in visual angles by adding a phase difference plate which lessens the optical rotatory power in an upper position and to induce the optical rotatory power in a lower position. SOLUTION: The inclination of the major axis of an ellipse changes continuously from the electrode 3d of a lower substrate toward the electrode 3c of an upper substrate. The optical axis OL is nearly perpendicular to the substrate surface near the lower substrate 3d and is nearly parallel near the upper substrate electrode 3c. When the arrangement of Fig. (a) is observed diagonally from the z-axis, the arrangement is twisted toward the left viewed from the progressing direction according to the progression from below to above in Fig. (c) and is twisted rightward conversely therefrom in fig. (d). The characteristic that the rotating direction of the polarized light is reverse between the upper position and the lower position is embodied by the phase difference plate arranged diagonally in such a manner. The phase difference plate may be regarded as the structure obtd. by optically laminating optically anisotropic material layer units in its thickness direction. The phase difference plate consists of the constitution in which the respective layer units have the optical axes and that the inclination of the optical axes change continuously and stepwise.