Abstract: A planar lightwave circuit comprises a first portion of a waveguide, a second portion of a waveguide, and a segment of crystal core fiber coupling the first portion to the second portion of the waveguide. The crystal core fiber helps to reduce the polarization sensitivity of the waveguide. In one embodiment, multiple crystal core fibers are used in a planar lightwave circuit having multiple waveguides, such as an array waveguide grating.

Abstract: An automatically aligned liquid crystal display comprises an upper and a lower substrates, at least one polarizer, at least one serial retardation films and a uniformly distributed and vertically or near-vertically aligned liquid crystal layer. The substrates have respectively a common electrode layer and a pixel electrode layer thereon. One of the electrode layers is transparent and the other is a layer of automatically aligned diffusing reflective or partially reflective devices. The device is formed on a single substrate. The automatically aligned liquid crystal display of the invention has different bump structures formed in the pixel region, around the boundary of the pixel region, at a contact hole near the pixel center, or around the boundary of the pixel region and the transparent area. The reflective or partially reflective liquid crystal display of the invention forms multiple domains with good properties of a very high contrast ratio and a wider viewing angle.

Abstract: A polarized light color filter for producing R, G and B primary lights from inputted white light in time division. The filter is small in size and strong against mechanical vibration. The projections of the R, G and B lights can be arbitrarily varied in one period. The varying speed is high, and the ratio of utilization of the quantity of light from the light source is high. Elements 36(1), 38(1), 40(1), 38(2), 40(2), 38(3), 40(3), 38(4) and 36(2) are in order stacked and bonded between glass substrates (30, 32). The elements 38(1) to 38(4) are polarized light converting elements for selecting either a mode in which the inputted light is outputted as it is by applied voltage control or a mode in which the inputted light is converted from one polarized light to the other and outputted. The elements 40(1) to 40(3) are narrow-band polarization spectroscopic elements reflecting only the S-polarized components of the R, G and B lights and transmitting the other components.

Abstract: In a reflector 101 having a concave/convex shape in a surface thereof, at least part of concave portions 4 of the concave/convex shape are arranged according to a predetermined rule and the concave/convex shape of an arbitrary straight-line cross section is irregular.

Abstract: An antireflection film is disclosed, comprising a transparent support having thereon a low refractive index layer having a refractive index of 1.35 to 1.49 and containing a hydrolysate of an organosilane or a partial condensate thereof, a compound capable of generating a reaction accelerator under light, and a fluorine-containing polymer. This antireflection film has high antireflection performance and excellent resistance against fouling and scratching and can be produced at a low cost.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display device there are provided a frame, a liquid crystal panel, and a diffuser, the liquid crystal panel and the diffuser being supported by a frame formed of a white resin. The frame is composed of two short-side members and two long-side members. The short-side members are provided with reflectors respectively, and lamp mounting members formed of rubber are fitted with the reflectors to support end portions of lamps. The lamp mounting members are mounted to a back reflector to fix the lamps to the back reflector.

Abstract: Using inhomogeneous sized liquid crystal (LC) droplets for lens and prisms. For forming a positive lens, the LC droplet size can gradually increase from the center to the side edges. For forming a negative lens, the LC droplet size can gradually decrease from the center to the side edges. The lens can be created by Ultra Violet light exposure to patterns. The lens can be tuned by applying voltage to the droplets. The inhomogeneous droplets can also be used in Fresnel lens and prisms. Applications of the invention can be used for eyeglasses, arrays, camera type zoom lenses and beam steering applications.

Abstract: An active-matrix addressing LCD device using lateral electric field realizes a higher transmittance and a higher fabrication yield and improves the aperture ratio without raising the fabrication cost. A first one of the common electrode lines, a first one of the pixel potential layers, and an intervening dielectric layer constitute a first storage capacitor for each of the pixels and at the same time, a second one of the common electrode lines, a second one of the pixel potential layers, and the intervening dielectric layer constitute a second storage capacitor for the same pixel. The first and second pixel potential layers are electrically connected to each other by way of a corresponding transparent pixel electrode. Therefore, the rotation of the liquid crystal molecules caused by applied electric field makes full contribution to the panel transmittance, preventing the obtainable total panel transmittance from lowering. This means that a higher transmittance is obtainable.

Abstract: A transflective display device having a single cell gap in which a liquid crystal molecule has at least two pretilt angles. A transparent electrode is formed on the inner surface of the lower substrate, and a reflective electrode is formed on a portion of the transparent electrode, such that a reflective region is over the reflective electrode and a transmissive region is over the transparent electrode, which is not covered by the reflective electrode. The pretilt angle of the liquid crystal molecule in the reflective region is different from the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal molecule in the transmissive region, the reflective region and the transmissive region have the same phase retardation, and the light path through the reflective region is twice the light path passing through the transmissive region.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. The LCD includes a first substrate positioned on an upper stage in a vacuum chamber, and a second substrate positioned on a lower stage in the vacuum chamber. A predetermined gap remains between the first substrate and the second substrate. The method includes vacuuming the vacuum chamber and horizontally aligning the first substrate with the second substrate. Following that, a first affixing process is performed to press a first portion of the first substrate on at least a dummy sealant on the second substrate. A second affixing process is then performed to press a second portion of the first substrate on a main sealant on the second substrate, thus completing combination of the first substrate and the second substrate.

Abstract: By preparing a color filter including blue dots whose chromaticity coordinates (z, Z) in the XYZ colorimetric system, measured with CIE standard light source C, satisfy the relational expressions 114>Z>?1087023z4+3205105z3?3545958z2+1744329z?321773 and 0.73?z?0.81, a color filter exhibiting an excellent color reproducibility and a high transmittance can be realized and thus a liquid crystal display device capable of displaying as colorful images as in CRT television sets can be achieved.

Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device includes a first reverse unit for reversing a first substrate, a bonding unit for bonding the reversed first substrate and a second substrate having a liquid crystal material deposited thereon, and a first loading/unloading unit arranged between the first reverse unit and the bonding unit for loading the first and second substrates into the bonding unit.

Abstract: A hybrid and tapered waveguide coupler that has two different single-mode waveguide sections for light at two different wavelengths to couple light at the two different wavelengths into or out of an optical device located in a reach of an evanescent field of the guided optical energy in the waveguide coupler.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate having a plurality of thin film transistors and a plurality of metal lines, a first insulation material layer formed on the metal lines, a second insulation material layer formed on the first insulation material layer on the metal lines, a first hole formed in the second insulation material layer over at least two of the metal lines, a second contact hole formed in the first and second insulation layers exposing a drain electrode of the thin film transistors, a pixel electrode connected to the drain electrode through the second contact hole, a sealing material formed within the first hole, a second substrate bonded to the first substrate via the sealing material, and a liquid crystal material disposed between the first and second substrates.

Abstract: A pixel electrode substrate includes a glass substrate, parallel signal lines formed on the glass substrate, parallel gate lines formed perpendicularly to the signal lines on the glass substrate, and a plurality of TFTs disposed near the intersections of the signal lines and gate lines. A color filter layer and pixel electrodes are formed in that order over pixel regions defined by the signal lines and the gate lines on the glass substrate. The pixel electrodes and the color filter layer form color stripes. Each of the signal lines has offset sections formed near the intersections of the signal line and the gate lines with their center axes dislocated laterally from a center axis of the signal line such that the switching devices are disposed in dark regions outside color regions corresponding to the color layer. The pixel electrodes have projections projecting from the color regions into the dark regions, respectively, and the projections are connected to the switching devices in the dark regions.

Abstract: A light-diffusing layer 16 having at least a bicontinuous phase structure is formed by coating a substrate 14a with a coating liquid composition containing a plurality of resins being different in refractive index with each other, drying the substrate, and heating the resultant to cause spinodal decomposition from the resin-containing layer on a transparent substrate. A transparent conductive layer (or a transparent electrode) 17 may be formed on the light-diffusing layer 16 of the substrate 14a. A liquid crystal cell 13 of a reflective liquid crystal display apparatus may be formed by facing the transparent conductive layer 17 with a reflection electrode 19 formed on the other substrate 14b, and sealing a liquid crystal 18 between a pair of electrodes, 17 and 19.

Abstract: A picture element includes a 4-divided domain including first, second, third and fourth sub-domains which are arranged in this order in a predetermined direction and in each of which an orientation direction of liquid crystal molecules located in the vicinity of the center of a liquid crystal layer in the thickness direction is different from those of the other sub-domains. A first substrate includes two first regions having an orientation-regulating force for orienting the liquid crystal molecules in a first direction and a second region provided between the two first regions and having an orientation-regulating force for orienting the liquid crystal molecules in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.

Abstract: A transaction card having machine readable information and a visible display comprising: a card body; machine readable information on the card body; and a flexible display affixed to the card body for displaying information related to the machine readable information, the display including a pressure-insensitive polymer-dispersed cholesteric liquid crystal material having a first planar reflective state and a second transparent focal conic state, which is responsive to an applied voltage to display information wherein said information persists when the voltage is removed, and an array of conductors connected to the display for applying selected voltages from an external display driver to the display to change the state of the display.

Abstract: Disclosed is a liquid crystal cell having contiguous to a surface of a constraint thereof one or more compensator layers, each containing a transparent amorphous polymeric birefringent material having an out-of plane birefringence more negative than ?0.005. The invention also provides a liquid crystal display and a process for making such a cell.

Abstract: A signal processing circuit board includes a board body, a variable electronic element, and a hole. The variable electronic element is mounted in a mounting side of the board body. The variable electronic element has an operating member to control an output outputted from the variable electronic element in a single side of the variable electronic element. The hole is provided in the board body. The operating member is positioned in the hole such that the operating member points in the other side opposite to the mounting side of the board body.