Transmission type liquid crystal diffraction element, optical element, image display unit, head-mounted display, beam steering, and sensor

    公开(公告)号:US12271096B2

    公开(公告)日:2025-04-08

    申请号:US18176738

    申请日:2023-03-01

    Abstract: An object is to provide a liquid crystal diffraction element that has small wavelength dependence of diffraction efficiency and diffracts light having the same wavelength at the same angle, an optical element including the liquid crystal diffraction element, and an image display unit, a head-mounted display, a beam steering, and a sensor including the liquid crystal diffraction element or the optical element. The liquid crystal diffraction element includes an optically-anisotropic layer that includes a liquid crystal compound, in which the optically-anisotropic layer has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis of the liquid crystal compound continuously rotates in one in-plane direction, and in an image obtained by observing a cross-section of the optically-anisotropic layer with a scanning electron microscope, the optically-anisotropic layer has bright portions and dark portions extending from one surface to another surface, each of the dark portions has two or more inflection points of angle, and the optically-anisotropic layer has regions where tilt directions of the dark portions are different from each other in the thickness direction.

    Liquid crystal diffraction element, optical element, image display unit, head-mounted display, beam steering, and sensor

    公开(公告)号:US11977290B2

    公开(公告)日:2024-05-07

    申请号:US18176529

    申请日:2023-03-01

    CPC classification number: G02F1/133504 G02F1/133541 G02F1/133761 G02B5/3083

    Abstract: Provided are a liquid crystal diffraction element having a high diffraction efficiency irrespective of diffraction angles, an optical element including the liquid crystal diffraction element, and an image display unit, a head-mounted display, a beam steering, and a sensor including the liquid crystal diffraction element or the optical element. The liquid crystal diffraction element includes: an optically-anisotropic layer that is formed of a liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal compound, in which the optically-anisotropic layer has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction, in a case where a length over which the direction of the optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound rotates by 180° in a plane is set as a single period, a length of the single period in the liquid crystal alignment pattern gradually changes in the one in-plane direction, in a cross-sectional image of the optically-anisotropic layer obtained by observing a cross-section taken in a thickness direction parallel to the one in-plane direction with a scanning electron microscope, the optically-anisotropic layer has bright portions and dark portions extending from one surface to another surface and each of the dark portions has two or more inflection points of angle, the optically-anisotropic layer has regions where tilt directions of the dark portions are different from each other in the thickness direction, and an average tilt angle of the dark portion gradually changes in the one in-plane direction.

    IMAGE DISPLAY UNIT AND HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY
    10.
    发明公开

    公开(公告)号:US20230204968A1

    公开(公告)日:2023-06-29

    申请号:US18172807

    申请日:2023-02-22

    Abstract: Provided are an image display unit and a head-mounted display where the size is small, the light utilization efficiency is high, and a decrease in image quality is small. The image display unit includes: an image display apparatus; a polarization diffraction element that diffracts light emitted from the image display apparatus; and a polarizing plate that allows transmission of the polarized light diffracted by the polarization diffraction element and absorbs light not diffracted by the polarization diffraction element, in which the polarization diffraction element is a polarization diffraction lens having a lens function, and in a case where a focal length of the polarization diffraction lens is represented by f and a distance between the image display apparatus and the polarization diffraction lens is represented by d, d≤f is satisfied.

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