Abstract: Provided are an optical element that can make the brightness of light emitted from a light guide plate uniform, a light guide element, and an image display device. The optical element includes a patterned cholesteric liquid crystal layer that is obtained by immobilizing a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase, in which the patterned cholesteric liquid crystal layer has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction, and the patterned cholesteric liquid crystal layer has regions having different pitches of helical structures in a plane.

Abstract: Provided is a small-sized light irradiating device having a simple configuration that projects an optical pattern. The light irradiating device includes a light source and a liquid crystal hologram element, in which the liquid crystal hologram element diffracts transmitted light in a plurality of different directions, the liquid crystal hologram element includes a liquid crystal hologram layer, the liquid crystal hologram layer is a layer that consists of a computer generated hologram and is formed of a composition including a liquid crystal compound, and the liquid crystal hologram layer further includes a plurality of regions in which directions of optical axes derived from the liquid crystal compound are different from each other.

Abstract: An optical member and an image display apparatus including the optical member. The optical member includes: a light guide element including a light guide plate, first and second incidence diffraction elements, and first and second emission diffraction elements; a wavelength selective retardation layer that functions as a retardation layer with respect to a specific wavelength range, and changes a polarized state of light diffracted by the first or second emission diffraction element; and a polarizer, in which the first and second emission diffraction elements are polarization diffraction elements and diffract light components such that the diffracted light components are polarized light components having opposite properties, the first and second emission diffraction elements, the wavelength selective retardation layer, and the polarizer overlap each other in a main surface of the light guide plate, and the wavelength selective retardation layer is provided between the light guide element and the polarizer.

Abstract: Provided is a sensor having a high SN ratio. The sensor includes a light source, a band pass filter, and a light-receiving element, in which the band pass filter includes two cholesteric liquid crystal layers and a discontinuous layer disposed between the two cholesteric liquid crystal layers, in the two cholesteric liquid crystal layers, helical twisted directions and helical pitches are the same, and in a case where the discontinuous layer is a layer other than a cholesteric liquid crystal layer and a wavelength having a lowest reflectivity in a selective reflection wavelength range of the band pass filter is represented by ?m [nm], a thickness [nm] is in a range of “30×(?m/550) to 150×(?m/550)”.

Abstract: Provided is a laser oscillation element including a cholesteric liquid crystal layer, in which even in a case where the intensity of excitation light is weak, laser oscillation can be induced. The laser oscillation element includes a cholesteric liquid crystal layer obtained by cholesteric alignment of a liquid crystal compound, in which in a cross-section of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer observed with a scanning electron microscope, bright portions and dark portions derived from the cholesteric liquid crystalline phase are tilted with respect to a main surface of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer, the cholesteric liquid crystal layer includes a colorant that emits light by excitation, and a luminescence wavelength range of the colorant and a selective reflection wavelength range of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer at least partially overlap each other.

Abstract: Provided are: an image display apparatus in which the utilization efficiency of a virtual image is high and the virtual image having high brightness uniformity can be displayed to be superimposed on a real image; and AR glasses including the image display apparatus. The image display apparatus includes: a display element; one or more cholesteric liquid crystal layers that reflect a display image of the display element; and a transparent reflection element that reflects the image reflected by the cholesteric liquid crystal layer to the cholesteric liquid crystal layer, in which at least one of the cholesteric liquid crystal layers has a structure having a region where a surface pitch changes in a thickness direction.

Abstract: Provided is a sensor having a high SN ratio. The sensor includes a light source, a band pass filter; and a light-receiving element, in which the band pass filter includes a cholesteric liquid crystal layer that is a layer obtained by immobilizing a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase, the cholesteric liquid crystal layer has a region where a refractive index nx in an in-plane slow axis direction and a refractive index ny in an in-plane fast axis direction satisfy nx>ny, and in a case where a selective reflection wavelength of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer is represented by ?, the cholesteric liquid crystal layer has a second selective reflection peak at a wavelength ?/2 and a half-width of the second selective reflection peak at ?/2 is 30 nm or less.

Abstract: Provided are: a light guide element in which the occurrence of multiple images can be suppressed and a wide viewing angle can be obtained; and an image display apparatus including this light guide element.

Abstract: Provided are a light guide element in which incidence light can be emitted with high use efficiency and a wide FOV can be obtained for use in AR glasses, and an image display device and a sensing apparatus that include the light guide element. The light guide element includes a light guide plate and first to third diffraction elements, in which the first diffraction element diffracts incidence light in two or more different directions to be incident into the light guide plate, the second diffraction element includes a plurality of diffraction elements that diffract the light to the third diffraction element, the third diffraction element emits the light from the light guide plate, and at least one of the first diffraction element or the third diffraction element 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.

Abstract: Provided are an optical element, a light guide element, and an image display element in which the occurrence of sidelobe is suppressed. The optical element includes a cholesteric liquid crystal layer that is obtained by immobilizing a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase, in which the cholesteric liquid crystal layer has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction, and in a case where a birefringence in a thickness region of 80% as a center portion with respect to a thickness of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer is represented by ?n1, a birefringence in a thickness region of 10% from one surface of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer is represented by ?n2, and a birefringence in a thickness region of 10% from another surface of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer is represented by ?n3, at least one of ?n2 or ?n3 is less than ?n1.

Abstract: Provided are an optical laminate in which, for example, in a case of being applied to a pancake lens-type virtual reality display apparatus, light leakage can be reduced by canceling out expression of phase difference, change in phase difference, and the like caused by molding into a curved surface; an optical lens including the optical laminate; and a virtual reality display apparatus using the optical lens. The optical laminate includes a first optically anisotropic layer containing a negative birefringent resin, and a specific layer selected from the group consisting of a third optically anisotropic layer which is formed by immobilizing a uniformly aligned liquid crystal compound and a cholesteric liquid crystal layer which is formed by immobilizing a helically aligned liquid crystal compound, in which the first optically anisotropic layer and the specific layer have a curved surface portion.

Abstract: Provided are: a light guide element in which deterioration in image sharpness can be prevented and the entire area of a display image can be suitably observed irrespective of the visual line of a user, the position of eyes of the user, and the like; and an image display apparatus including the light guide element. The light guide element includes: a light guide plate that includes a first light guide layer and a second light guide layer; and an incidence diffraction element and an emission diffraction element that are laminated on the second light guide layer, in which in a case where a refractive index of the first light guide layer is represented by n1 and a refractive index of the second light guide layer is represented by n2 in the light guide plate, n1<n2 is satisfied.

Abstract: Provided are an optical element, including a plurality of optically anisotropic layers, each of which has an in-plane alignment pattern in which orientations of optical axes derived from a liquid crystal compound change continuously and rotationally along at least one in-plane direction, in a thickness direction, in which the optically anisotropic layers each have regions where lengths over which the orientations of the optical axes rotate by 180° in the one direction are different from each other, and at least one of the plurality of optically anisotropic layers is an inclined optically anisotropic layer having a region where a plurality of pairs of bright lines and dark lines in a cross-sectional image are present and the pairs of the bright lines and the dark lines are inclined at inclination angles which are different from each other with respect to a normal line of an interface of the optically anisotropic layer.

Abstract: Provided are a light guide element and an image display apparatus capable of suppressing the occurrence of multiple images.

Abstract: Provided are: an image display apparatus that can display augmented reality in a virtual image is superimposed on a bright real scene; and AR glasses including the image display apparatus. The image display apparatus includes: a display element; and a reflective polarization diffraction element that reflects an image displayed by the display element, in which the polarization diffraction element has a region where a period of a diffraction structure decreases in a direction away from the display element.

Abstract: Provided are a method of forming a photo-alignment film having a large size that can appropriately align a liquid crystal compound can be formed and a method of forming a liquid crystal layer having a large size in which alignment defects of a liquid crystal compound can be suppressed.

Abstract: Provided are a backlight unit and a liquid crystal display device including the backlight unit, the backlight unit being capable of switching between viewing angles in the liquid crystal display device and having a configuration in which the brightness values of emitted light on the “+” side and the “?” side at a polar angle with respect to the normal line are symmetric to each other.

Abstract: Provided are an optical element, including a plurality of optically anisotropic layers, each of which has an in-plane alignment pattern in which orientations of optical axes derived from a liquid crystal compound change continuously and rotationally along at least one in-plane direction, in a thickness direction, in which the optically anisotropic layers each have regions where lengths over which the orientations of the optical axes rotate by 180° in the one direction are different from each other, and at least one of the plurality of optically anisotropic layers is an inclined optically anisotropic layer having a region where a plurality of pairs of bright lines and dark lines in a cross-sectional image are present and the pairs of the bright lines and the dark lines are inclined at inclination angles which are different from each other with respect to a normal line of an interface of the optically anisotropic layer.

Abstract: An optical element includes a light guide plate, an incidence portion, and an emission portion, in which each of the incidence portion and the emission portion includes diffraction portions, the diffraction portion includes diffraction elements, the diffraction element includes a liquid crystal diffraction layer in which a direction of an optical axis of a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in one in-plane direction, and in a case where the direction in which the direction of the optical axis changes is set as an in-plane rotation direction and a length over which the optical axis rotates by 180° is set as an in-plane period, in-plane rotation directions of liquid crystal diffraction layers of incidence diffraction elements in at least two of a plurality of the incidence diffraction portions are different from each other.

Abstract: Provided are an optical laminate in which a large diffraction angle can be obtained, a light guide element, and an AR display device.