Abstract: A liquid crystal composition includes: at least one of a compound represented by Formula (I) or a compound represented by Formula (II); and a rod-like liquid crystal compound having a polymerizable group that does not correspond to both of Formula (I) and Formula (II)

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: A transmissive liquid crystal diffraction element includes a first optically-anisotropic layer and a second optically-anisotropic layer each of which 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, in which a rotation direction of the optical axis in the liquid crystal alignment pattern of the first optically-anisotropic layer and a rotation direction of the optical axis in the liquid crystal alignment pattern of the second optically-anisotropic layer are opposite to each other, and a single period of the liquid crystal alignment pattern in the first optically-anisotropic layer and a single period of the liquid crystal alignment pattern in the second optically-anisotropic layer are the same.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a light deflection device having a simple structure suitable for reducing the size and weight where a deflection angle can be increased. The object can be achieved with a light deflection device including: a light deflection element that deflects incident light in one direct to be emitted; a driving unit that drives the light deflection element; and a diffraction element that is disposed on a light emission side of the light deflection element in which a periodic structure pitch gradually changes from a center of deflection from the light deflection element toward an outside.

Abstract: Provided are: a light guide element that includes an intermediate diffraction element to expand exit pupil such that a light utilization efficiency is high and a decrease in the brightness of an image to be displayed can be suppressed; and an image display apparatus.

Abstract: A light guide element includes: a light guide plate; and a diffraction element that is disposed on a main surface of the light guide plate, in which the diffraction element includes a liquid crystal layer that is formed of a liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal compound and 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, a refractive index of the light guide plate is 1.70 or higher, and in a case where the refractive index of the light guide plate is represented by nd and a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer is represented by nk, nk?nd?0 is satisfied.

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: Provide are an optical element that can improve a utilization efficiency of light while increasing an optical path length, an image display unit, and a head-mounted display.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an optical device that can accomplish both the effect of preventing external light reflection and the improvement of utilization efficiency of light emitted from an organic electroluminescent element. The object is achieved by an optical device having an organic electroluminescent substrate, a circularly polarized light-separating layer separating light into right-handed circularly polarized light and left-handed circularly polarized light, a ?/4 plate, and a polarizer, wherein the circularly polarized light-separating layer has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a liquid crystal compound is twisted and aligned along a helical axis extending in a thickness direction and the direction of an optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in one direction in the plane.

Abstract: Provided is an optical communication device, such as a wavelength locker, a wavelength demultiplexer, an optical coupling system, and an optical switching system, using a small-sized lens element. An optical communication device includes, as a lens element, a liquid crystal diffractive lens element having an optically anisotropic layer that is formed using a composition containing a liquid crystal compound, and has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which an orientation of an optical axis of the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating toward one direction, in a radial shape from an inside toward an outside, and in the liquid crystal alignment pattern, in a case where a length over which the orientation of the optical axis rotates by 180° in one direction in which the optical axis changes is a single period, a length of the single period gradually decreases from the inside toward the outside.

Abstract: Provided are an optical element and an image display apparatus that display an aerial image, in which the total volume of the apparatus is small, a reduction in size can realized, and a scenery can be recognized.

Abstract: Provided are an optical element and an image display apparatus that display an aerial image, in which the total volume of the apparatus is small, a reduction in size can realized, and a scenery can be recognized.

Abstract: Provided are a small-sized optical coupling system and an optical communication device using the optical coupling system. An optical coupling system includes a liquid crystal optical element, and a photonic device having a plurality of photonic chips, and couples an optical fiber to the photonic device, in which each of the photonic chips includes a grating coupler, the liquid crystal optical element separates incident signal light depending on at least one of polarization or a wavelength to emit light in different directions, and each separated signal light component is incident into the grating coupler of the corresponding photonic chip.

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: An object is to provide an optical system capable of improving the brightness of a main image while eliminating a ghost image. In an optical system including: an image display device that emits an image; a linear polarizer through which light associated with the image passes; a first quarter wavelength plate which receives the light from the linear polarizer; a half mirror; a reflective polarizer; and a second quarter wavelength plate provided between the reflective polarizer and the half mirror, retardance of the first quarter wavelength plate and retardance of the second quarter wavelength plate are equal, and thus the object is achieved.

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: The optical element is an optical element including a first optically anisotropic layer which is a cured layer of a liquid crystal composition containing a rod-like liquid crystal compound and a second optically anisotropic layer which is laminated on the first optically anisotropic layer and is a cured layer of a liquid crystal composition containing a disk-like liquid crystal compound, wherein each of the first optically anisotropic layer and the second optically anisotropic layer, has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which an optical axis of the rod-like liquid crystal compound and an optical axis of the disk-like liquid crystal compound are respectively parallel to a surface of the optically anisotropic layer and oriented along at least one in-plane direction, orientation of the optical axis changes continuously and rotationally, and the orientation of the optical axis rotates by 180° with a period of 0.5 ?m to 5 ?m.

Abstract: Provided are a hyperspectral sensor and a hyperspectral camera in which influence of external information such as a reflecting material is reduced such that the spectral data accuracy of a subject to be acquired can be improved. In the hyperspectral sensor in which light from a subject is split into light components in a plurality of wavelength ranges by a spectral optical element and each of the light components in the wavelength ranges is received by a sensor array consisting of a plurality of photodetection elements to acquire spectral data in which spectral information of the subject is associated with each of the photodetection elements, a polarization diffraction element that emits polarized light is used as the spectral optical element.

Abstract: Provided is an optical element with which a high diffraction efficiency can be obtained with a simple configuration. The optical element includes: an optically-anisotropic layer that is formed using a 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, and the optically-anisotropic layer has a region in which an alignment direction of a liquid crystal compound in at least one of upper and lower interfaces has a pre-tilt angle with respect to the interface.

Abstract: Provided are an image display apparatus; an image display system; a head-mounted display, and a patterned polarizer. The image display apparatus includes a light receiving section having sensitivity in an invisible range; an image display panel having a substrate and a plurality of pixels disposed thereon; and an emission surface that emits a luminous flux in a visible range, in which the light receiving section receives only invisible light in light incident into the image display apparatus through the emission surface, and is provided between the emission surface and the image display panel, on the image display panel, or on a side of the image display panel opposite the emission surface, and disposed at a position overlapping the image display panel viewed from a direction perpendicular to the emission surface, and a near infrared polarizer is provided between the light receiving section and the emission surface.