Abstract: To provide a illuminating device that is of small size, light weight and that has lower production costs for illuminating a reflective type liquid crystal display device that performs high contrast, moreover high definition and high-quality image display, thereby enabling realization of an image display that is of small size and light weight and that can be produced at low-cost. The display device comprises a light source 5 disposed in a lateral position in relation to the image display surface 3 of the reflective type liquid crystal display device 2, that emits linearly polarized light, and a plurality of reflecting members 6 disposed to the front of the image display surface 3 and separated from the image display surface 3, that reflect light emitted from the light source 5 and inject this light substantially perpendicularly in relation to the image display surface 3.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a driver substrate having a pixel area with pixel electrodes and drive circuits each driving the corresponding pixel electrode arranged in a matrix in the pixel area and a transparent substrate having an opposing electrode. The driver substrate and the transparent substrate face each other with a liquid crystal filled between the pixel electrodes and the opposing electrode. A dielectric material is provided in a gap between each pair of two adjacent pixel electrodes, with 0.2 ? or lower (? being a wavelength of reading light to be used) in phase difference of a step created on the dielectric material provided in the gap with respect to each pixel electrode. A first dielectric film and a second dielectric film are laminated in order in the pixel area. The second dielectric film exhibits a higher refractive index than the first dielectric film.

Abstract: A vertically aligned liquid crystal display is driven by a digital drive signal. One field of each of pulses carried by the digital drive signal is divided into a plurality of subfields. Each subfield has a display-off period for which a liquid crystal is not driven and a display-on period for which the liquid crystal is driven. A ratio of the total of the display-on periods over the subfields to the one field is in the range from 1:6 to 5:6. At least a saturated drive voltage is supplied as the digital drive signal to the liquid crystal for each display-on period to modulate light incident in the liquid crystal.

Abstract: An alignment layer to be used for liquid crystal displays each having at least two substrates with liquid crystals sealed therebetween is formed as follows: The substrates placed on each of several substrate trays are heated in a first load-lock chamber. At least one of the two substrates is irradiated with evaporated particles of oxide silicon (SiOx: 1.0≦x≦2.0) by vacuum deposition at an angle in the range from 45° to 60° from a direction of the normal line on the substrate surface to form an alignment layer thereon while the substrate trays are being moved in a layer-deposition chamber intermittently or sequentially. The substrate trays are cooled in a second load-lock chamber, thus producing substrates each formed the alignment layer thereon.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display element 10 is composed of a pair of boards 11 and 15 that sandwiches liquid crystals 13 having negative dielectric anisotropy, wherein one of the pair of boards 11 and 15 is a transparent board 11, the liquid crystal display element 10 is further composed of inorganic alignment layers 12 and 14 provided on each side of the pair of boards 11 and 15, which faces toward the liquid crystals 13, so as to orientate a pre-tilt angle of the liquid crystals 13 to 3 to 10 degrees.

Abstract: An alignment layer to be used for liquid crystal displays each having at least two substrates with liquid crystals sealed therebetween is formed as follows. The substrates placed on each of several substrate trays are heated in a first load-lock chamber. At least one of the two substrates is irradiated with evaporated particles of oxide silicon (SiOx: 1.0≦×≦2.0) by vacuum deposition at an angle in the range from 45° to 60° from a direction of the normal line on the substrate surface to form an alignment layer thereon while the substrate trays are being moved in a layer-deposition chamber intermittently or sequentially. The substrate trays are cooled in a second load-lock chamber, thus producing substrates each formed the alignment layer thereon.

Abstract: An optical device has a light-transmitting optical substrate formed with a multilayer film and a barrier layer disposed on the multilayer film side thereof. The light-transmitting optical substrate has a refractive index Ns (at a reference wavelength of 632.8 nm) falling within the range of 1.7≦Ns≦1.9, whereas the barrier layer has a refractive index Nb (at a reference wavelength of 632.8 nm) falling within the range of −0.1≦Nb−Ns≦0.1.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display has a liquid crystal layer, a first electrode substrate; and a second electrode substrate provided as facing the first substrate so that the liquid crystal layer is sandwiched by the first and the second substrates. At least either the first or the second substrate is a transparent substrate. At least either the first or the second substrate is provided with first electrode sections each having a first height and a plurality of second electrode sections each having a second height. The first height is higher than the second height by a predetermined height. Areas of the first electrode sections in total and that of the second electrode sections in total is equal to each other on at least either the first or the second substrate.

Abstract: An alignment layer to be used for liquid crystal displays each having at least two substrates with liquid crystals sealed therebetween is formed as follows: The substrates placed on each of several substrate trays are heated in a first load-lock chamber. At least one of the two substrates is irradiated with evaporated particles of oxide silicon (SiOx: 1.0≦x≦2.0) by vacuum deposition at an angle in the range from 45° to 60° from a direction of the normal line on the substrate surface to form an alignment layer thereon while the substrate trays are being moved in a layer-deposition chamber intermittently or sequentially. The substrate trays are cooled in a second load-lock chamber, thus producing substrates each formed the alignment layer thereon.

Abstract: An optical device comprises a light-transmitting optical substrate formed with a multilayer film and a barrier layer disposed on the multilayer film side thereof. The light-transmitting optical substrate has a refractive index Ns (at a reference wavelength of 632.8 nm) falling within the range of 1.7≦Ns≦1.9, whereas the barrier layer has a refractive index Nb (at a reference wavelength of 632.8 nm) falling within the range of −0.1≦Nb−Ns≦0.1.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display having a transparent electrode layer is free from interference fringes and image sticking are disclosed. The transparent electrode layer may consist of a first transparent film, a transparent electrode film, a second transparent non-conductive film and a transparent conductive film, the films being laminated on a transparent electrode substrate in order in which the transparent conductive film has an extended portion that reaches the transparent electrode film so that the transparent conductive film is electrically coupled to the transparent electrode film via the extended portion. Or, the transparent electrode layer may consist of a first transparent film, a transparent electrode film and a second transparent film, the films being laminated on a transparent electrode substrate in order in which the second transparent film has resistivity low enough to transfer charges to the transparent electrode film.

Abstract: An alignment layer to be used for liquid crystal displays each having at least two substrates with liquid crystals sealed therebetween is formed as follows: The substrates placed on each of several substrate trays are heated in a first load-lock chamber. At least one of the two substrates is irradiated with evaporated particles of oxide silicon (SiOx: 1.0≦×≦2.0) by vacuum deposition at an angle in the range from 45° to 60° from a direction of the normal line on the substrate surface to form an alignment layer thereon while the substrate trays are being moved in a layer-deposition chamber intermittently or sequentially. The substrate trays are cooled in a second load-lock chamber, thus producing substrates each formed the alignment layer thereon.

Abstract: An alignment layer to be used for liquid crystal displays each having at least two substrates with liquid crystals sealed therebetween is formed as follows: The substrates placed on each of several substrate trays are heated in a first load-lock chamber. At least one of the two substrates is irradiated with evaporated particles of oxide silicon (SiOx: 1.0≦x≦2.0) by vacuum deposition at an angle in the range from 45° to 60° from a direction of the normal line on the substrate surface to form an alignment layer thereon while the substrate trays are being moved in a layer-deposition chamber intermittently or sequentially. The substrate trays are cooled in a second load-lock chamber, thus producing substrates each formed the alignment layer thereon.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device using a light source having a bright line in a visible region as a light source. On the inner surface of a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate constituting a liquid crystal display device, a laminate structure constituted by a transparent electrode, an alignment layer, and one or more transparent intermediate layers having a refractive index smaller than that of the transparent electrode layer and larger than that of the liquid crystal layer or the transparent substrate is formed. The thicknesses or the like of the layers are determined such that, at the bright line wavelengths of the light source, the sum of reflectances generated on the layer interfaces of the laminate structure is set to be not more than 0.5%.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display having a transparent electrode layer is free from interference fringes and image sticking are disclosed. The transparent electrode layer may consist of a first transparent film, a transparent electrode film, a second transparent non-conductive film and a transparent conductive film, the films being laminated on a transparent electrode substrate in order in which the transparent conductive film has an extended portion that reaches the transparent electrode film so that the transparent conductive film is electrically coupled to the transparent electrode film via the extended portion. Or, the transparent electrode layer may consist of a first transparent film, a transparent electrode film and a second transparent film, the films being laminated on a transparent electrode substrate in order in which the second transparent film has resistivity low enough to transfer charges to the transparent electrode film.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display has a liquid crystal layer, a first electrode substrate; and a second electrode substrate provided as facing the first substrate so that the liquid crystal layer is sandwiched by the first and the second substrates. At least either the first or the second substrate is a transparent substrate. At least either the first or the second substrate is provided with first electrode sections each having a first height and a plurality of second electrode sections each having a second height. The first height is higher than the second height by a predetermined height. Areas of the first electrode sections in total and that of the second electrode sections in total is equal to each other on at least either the first or the second substrate.

Abstract: A liquid crystal displaying apparatus has a reflection-type liquid crystal display with vertical orientation-mode liquid crystals, to modulate linearly polarized light. Also provided is a polarization and diffracting section to convert read light beams obliquely incident thereto to the linearly polarized light, to allow the linearly polarized light to be incident to the liquid crystal display, allow first polarized light components of the linearly polarized light modulated by the liquid crystal display to pass therethrough, the first polarized light components vibrating in a first direction perpendicular to a second direction in which the linearly polarized light vibrates, and diffract second polarized light components of the linearly polarized light to a third direction from which the read light beams be incident to the liquid crystal display, the second polarized light components vibrating in the second direction.

Abstract: An active circuit element substrate is provided with a matrix array of active circuit elements. Each of the active circuit elements includes 1) a switching element, 2) a capacitor, 3) an electrically-conductive portion connecting the switching element and the capacitor, 4) an insulating layer covering the switching element, the capacitor, and the electrically-conductive portion, and 5) a reflective electrode layer connected to the electrically-conductive portion and extending on the insulating layer. The insulating layer has a surface flat so as to agree with a mirror finished surface. The reflective electrode layer extends on the surface of the insulating layer. A transparent common electrode film extends on a surface of a transparent substrate. An optical modulation layer is located between the reflective electrode layers on the active circuit element substrate and the common electrode film on the transparent substrate.

Abstract: A spatial light modulation device of the type, in which information is written to a photoconductor by a light writing portion and read light impinging on a light modulator is reflected by a reflection portion. This spatial light modulation device is provided with a dielectric mirror mounted on a reflection surface of the photoconductor, which surface is opposed to the other surface on which write light is incident. The reflection surface of the photoconductor reflects lights having wavelengths near a wavelength at which the photoconductor has a maximum sensitivity. Thereby, the spatial light modulation device can have a high sensitivity.

Abstract: A spatial light modulator capable of displaying a good contrast and high resolution moving pictures without an after-image effect is disclosed. The modulator comprises a pair of transparent electrodes for generating an electric field therebetween and at least a photoconductive member and a photo modulation member being laminated and interposed between the transparent electrodes, the photoconductive member is a film having a thickness ranged from 10 .mu.m to 30 .mu.m and is made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon doped with boron such that an amount of the boron with respect to silicon in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon in atomic percent is, 0.1 to 1.0 ppm. To enhance the modulator performance, a thickness of the photoconductive member is so selected to have light absorptance ranged 70% to 95% at a wavelength of a writing light which writes information in the modulator.