Abstract: In a liquid crystal display in which a liquid crystal having spontaneous polarization is sandwiched between substrates, liquid crystal alignment which achieves a wide viewing angle and hardly causes alignment destruction is readily formed. A common electrode is formed by a pair of meshed comb electrodes, and rubbing alignment is performed in the logitudinal direction of teeth of these comb electrodes. When the liquid crystal material transits from a nematic phase or an isotropic phase to a chiral smectic C phase, a positive DC voltage, for example, is applied between a pixel electrode and one of the comb common electrodes, and a negative voltage is applied between a pixel electrode and the other comb common electrode. This readily accomplishes liquid crystal alignment in which smectic layers bend horizontally with respect to the substrate surface in space portions between the interdigitated teeth of the comb electrodes.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display method to display an image according to an image signal, comprises changing a ratio of a display period and a non-display period of the image according to the image signal.

Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display which is capable of preventing light from leaking out from the peripheral portion of pixels and which has a high display performance.

Abstract: A liquid crystal optical switching element comprising a pair of substrates disposed to face to each other with a space being interposed therebetween, a medium interposed between the pair of substrate and composed of a liquid crystal material partitioned into small sections, and a material for partitioning a region of the liquid crystal material into the small sections, and voltage-applying means to apply an voltage to the medium. This medium is optically isotropic at the moment when no voltage is applied to the medium and capable of exhibiting an optical anisotropy which is proportional to a square of electric field intensity when a voltage is applied to the medium.

Abstract: The present invention of reflective liquid crystal display device include in: substrate having a surface; a pixel electrode on the surface; a first liquid crystal layer provided on the substrate; a second liquid crystal layer provided on the first liquid crystal layer; a counter electrode formed on the second liquid crystal layer; and a separating member provided between the first liquid crystal layer and the second liquid crystal layer. The first and second liquid crystal layers constituted by liquid crystal material having Bragg reflection(selective reflection in the same twist direction. The separating layer constituted optical compensator.