JP2001356346A - Liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal display device in which decrease in the contrast in the direction perpendicular to the liquid crystal molecules is suppressed and excellent viewing angle characteristics can be obtained even in a black display state having high dependence on the viewing angle. SOLUTION: High contrast in an extremely wide viewing angle range can be obtained by disposing a uniaxial phase difference plates 4b, 4u, 6 having positive optical anisotropy in such a manner that the principal axes of the plates are not perpendicular to the orthogonal projection direction of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal cell in the liquid crystal layer 1 on electrodes 2b, 2u and on substrates 3b, 3u and almost parallel to the polarization axis direction of an analyzer 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device used as a flat display of a display device in OA equipment and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, liquid crystal display devices have been widely used as flat displays for personal computers, word processors, car navigation systems, and the like because of their characteristics of being thin, light, and low in power consumption. I have. Also, recently, expectations for a CRT alternative display have increased, and a large-sized liquid crystal display device (liquid crystal display) has been developed and commercialized. As the size of the screen increases, the liquid crystal display device is required to have a wider viewing angle.

There are several display modes for realizing such a wide viewing angle. Among them, OCB (Op
Tallyly Compensated Biref
The (ringence) mode has attracted attention as a display for displaying a moving image because its switching speed is as high as about several msec.

In the OCB mode, liquid crystal molecules are in a bend arrangement, and display is performed by controlling the effective retardation according to the magnitude of the voltage applied to the liquid crystal cell to change the amount of transmitted light.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-49509, a member for generating a fixed negative phase difference is added to such a bend-aligned liquid crystal cell to lower the driving voltage,
A technique for expanding the viewing angle characteristics has been disclosed. Thereby, the viewing angle range in consideration of the black-and-white reversal is wider than that without the retardation plate.

However, since the viewing angle dependence of the black display is still large, the floating of the black image occurs as the inclination angle from the normal direction increases. As a member that generates a negative phase difference, a positive birefringent medium may be orthogonal to the optical axis of the liquid crystal cell, or a negative birefringent medium may be arranged parallel to the optical axis of the liquid crystal cell. The patent does not disclose them in detail.

As a member for generating a negative phase difference, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-327822,
A retardation film in which discotic liquid crystals are hybrid-aligned is also conceivable.

[0008]

However, in the conventional liquid crystal display device as described above, the viewing angle characteristics are still insufficient, and especially in the direction perpendicular to the liquid crystal molecules sandwiched between the substrates, a black display state is obtained. However, there is a problem that the contrast in such a black display state is greatly reduced due to the large viewing angle dependence in the above.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and suppresses a decrease in contrast in a direction perpendicular to liquid crystal molecules even in a black display state having a large viewing angle dependency.
Provided is a liquid crystal display device capable of obtaining excellent viewing angle characteristics.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention comprises a retardation plate whose optical axis is orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of liquid crystal molecules of a liquid crystal cell onto an electrode substrate. In particular, by arranging them so as to be substantially parallel to the direction of the polarization axis of the analyzer, high contrast is obtained in an extremely wide viewing angle range.

As described above, even in a black display state having a large viewing angle dependency, a decrease in contrast in a direction perpendicular to the liquid crystal molecules can be suppressed, and excellent viewing angle characteristics can be obtained.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A liquid crystal display device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend is sandwiched between a pair of electrode substrates. A polarizer and an analyzer, a uniaxial retardation plate having a negative optical anisotropy, a positive optical anisotropy, and an orthogonal projection of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate. A uniaxial phase difference plate orthogonal to the direction, and a phase difference plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate, are provided outside the pair of electrode substrates. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device comprising: a uniaxial retardation plate having a negative optical anisotropy; a uniaxial retardation plate having a positive optical anisotropy; Between a pair of electrode substrates,
A liquid crystal sandwiching a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend, and the direction in which the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules is orthogonally projected onto the electrode substrate is perpendicular to the optical axis of the uniaxial retardation plate having a positive optical anisotropy. A cell, a uniaxial retardation plate whose optical anisotropy is positive and whose optical axis is orthogonal to the direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules orthogonally projected onto the electrode substrate, and whose optical anisotropy is negative uniaxial A phase difference plate, a phase difference plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate, and an analyzer whose polarization axis is orthogonal to the polarization axis of the polarizer, It is configured to be laminated in order.

A liquid crystal display device according to a third aspect of the present invention is a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend is sandwiched between a pair of electrode substrates. An optical biaxial retardation plate, and a retardation plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the direction of orthogonal projection of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate, is provided outside the pair of electrode substrates. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device comprising: an optical biaxial retardation plate; and a liquid crystal cell having a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend between a pair of electrode substrates. An optical biaxial retardation plate, a retardation plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the direction of orthogonal projection of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate, and a detector in which the polarization axis is orthogonal to the polarization axis of the polarizer. Photons are stacked in this order.

A liquid crystal display device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend is sandwiched between a pair of electrode substrates, wherein a polarizer and an analyzer whose polarization axes are orthogonal to each other are provided. A phase difference plate made of an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy in which the main axis is hybrid-arranged, and a phase difference plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate. , Provided outside the pair of electrode substrates.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal display device further includes a uniaxial retardation plate having a negative optical anisotropy according to the fifth aspect. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 7, wherein a liquid crystal molecule is provided between the pair of electrode substrates and a retardation plate formed of an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy in which the main axes are hybridly arranged on the polarizer. A liquid crystal cell sandwiching a bend-aligned liquid crystal layer, a retardation plate made of an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy in which the main axis is hybrid-aligned, and an optical axis of the liquid crystal molecule of the optical axis to the electrode substrate. A phase difference plate that is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction and an analyzer whose polarization axis is orthogonal to the polarization axis of the polarizer are stacked in this order.

According to a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device comprising: a phase difference plate in which an optical axis according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is not orthogonal to an orthogonal projection direction of an optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate. The optical axis forms an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display device according to the eighth aspect, the optical axis of the phase difference plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate. It is configured to be substantially parallel to the polarization axis direction.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device comprising the phase difference plate wherein the optical axis according to any one of the first to ninth aspects is not orthogonal to the direction in which the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules is orthogonally projected onto the electrode substrate. It is configured to be a uniaxial retardation plate.

According to a eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device comprising the phase difference plate wherein the optical axis according to any one of the first to ninth aspects is not orthogonal to the direction in which the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules is orthogonal to the electrode substrate. It is configured to be a biaxial retardation plate.

According to the above construction, the retardation plate is arranged such that its optical axis is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal cell onto the electrode substrate, and is particularly substantially parallel to the polarization axis direction of the analyzer. , It is possible to obtain high contrast in an extremely wide viewing angle range.

Hereinafter, a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing the structure of a liquid crystal display device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 3u,
A substrate 3b made of glass or quartz sandwiches the liquid crystal layer 1. On the substrates 3u and 3b, in order to apply a voltage for driving the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer 1, the electrodes 2u,
2b is provided. Although not shown, the substrate 3
On any one of the substrates u and 3b, a switching element such as a thin film transistor or a thin film diode made of a transparent thin film having conductivity is formed for switching the voltage applied to the electrodes 2u and 2b. In the liquid crystal layer 1, the liquid crystal molecules are in a bend alignment in the ZX plane.

Therefore, the electrodes 2u on the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules,
As shown in FIG. 2, the orthogonal projection to 2b and the substrates 3u and 3b is parallel to the direction of arrow 11, that is, the X axis. In addition, 17 is the polarization axis direction of the polarizer 7 and 18 is the polarization axis direction of the analyzer 8. OC with bend alignment of liquid crystal molecules
When the B mode is used in the NW (normally white) mode under crossed Nicols where the optical axes 17 and 18 of the polarizer 7 and the analyzer 8 are orthogonal to each other, the voltage-transmittance characteristic curve is broad as shown in FIG. In order to perform black display, it is necessary to apply a high voltage.

In order to reduce the driving voltage, as shown in FIG. 1, first uniaxial retardation plates 4u and 4b having a positive refractive index anisotropy have optical axes of the liquid crystal molecules. Are orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction (arrow 11 in FIG. 2) on the electrode substrate, that is, the optical axis thereof is parallel to the arrow 14 in FIG. In order to compensate for the viewing angle dependence of the retardation between the liquid crystal layer 1 and the first uniaxial retardation plates 4u and 4b having a positive refractive index anisotropy, the uniaxial retardation having a negative refractive index anisotropy is used. The plates 5u and 5b are arranged so that their optical axes are substantially parallel to the Z axis. The optical axes 17 and 18 of the polarizer 7 and the analyzer 8 are orthogonal to each other. In order to effectively use the change in retardation of the liquid crystal layer 1 due to voltage application, the polarization axis direction 17 of the polarizer 7 and the liquid crystal molecules The orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis on the electrode substrate (arrow 11 in FIG. 2) is approximately 4
They are arranged at an angle of 5 degrees.

Up to this point, the configuration is the same as that of the conventional liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. In the structure of the conventional liquid crystal display device, the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal molecules and the thickness d of the liquid crystal layer 1
(Δn × d) is 830 nm, the total retardation of the first uniaxial retardation plates 4 u and 4 b having positive refractive index anisotropy is 50 nm, and the uniaxial retardation having negative refractive index anisotropy is 50 nm. Board 5
FIG. 5 shows the viewing angle dependence of the luminance during white display and black display when the sum of the retardations u and 5b is set to 600 nm.

In FIG. 5, the horizontal direction is the X-axis direction in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the vertical direction is the Y-axis direction in FIG. The viewing angle θ is a tilt angle from the panel normal direction, that is, the Z-axis direction in FIG. 1. θ was defined as positive. The vertical axis is normalized with the luminance of the light source as 1. As described above, in the configuration of the conventional liquid crystal display device, when the tilt angle from the Z axis increases, the white floating during black display increases.
In particular, in the vertical direction, the asymmetry is strong, the whitening is very large in the direction where the viewing angle θ is positive, and the contrast is significantly reduced.

In the first embodiment, as shown in the configuration of the liquid crystal display device of FIG. 1, the second uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy is connected to its optical axis (FIG. 2). The arrow 16) indicates the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate (arrow 1 in FIG. 2).
For example, they were arranged so as not to be orthogonal to 1), for example, so as to be substantially parallel to the polarization axis of the analyzer 8 (arrow 18 in FIG. 2).
FIG. 6 shows the viewing angle dependence of the luminance during white display and black display when the second uniaxial retardation plate 6 with a retardation of 150 nm and a positive refractive index anisotropy is disposed.

As is apparent from comparison with FIG. 5 corresponding to the conventional configuration in the case of FIG. 4, the addition of the second uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy enables the horizontal direction to be increased. It can be seen that the viewing angle dependence during black display can be further reduced, and the asymmetry in the vertical direction can be improved, and especially, the white floating during black display in a positive viewing angle θ can be suppressed.

Comparing the range where the contrast is 10 or more, in the structure of the conventional liquid crystal display device, the horizontal direction is -50.
° to 50 °, and the vertical direction is −63 ° to 40 °, whereas in the configuration of the liquid crystal display device of the present embodiment, the horizontal direction is −80 ° to 80 °, and the vertical direction is Is-
As shown in the range of 50 ° to 50 °, high contrast is obtained in a wide viewing angle range.

As described above, by adding the second uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy, the viewing angle dependence during black display is significantly reduced, and the asymmetry in the vertical direction is improved. And a liquid crystal display device having a wide viewing angle and excellent visibility can be realized.

In this embodiment, the product (Δn × d) of the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal molecules and the thickness d of the liquid crystal layer 1 is 830 nm, and the first refractive index anisotropy is positive. The total retardation of the uniaxial retardation plates 4u and 4b is 50 nm, the total retardation of the uniaxial retardation plates 5u and 5b having negative anisotropy is 600 nm, and the second Although the retardation of the uniaxial retardation plate 6 is set to 150 nm, the effect of the present invention is not limited to these values. For example, the product (Δn × d) of the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal molecules and the thickness d of the liquid crystal layer 1 and the retardation of the first uniaxial retardation plates 4 u and 4 b having a positive refractive index anisotropy. By setting the retardation of the uniaxial retardation plates 5 u and 5 b having a negative refractive index anisotropy and the retardation of the second uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy to optimal values, The effects of the invention can be obtained.

The optical axis (arrow 16 in FIG. 2) of the second uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy is substantially parallel to the polarization axis (arrow 18 in FIG. 2) of the analyzer. However, it is not limited to this direction. Even if it is almost parallel to the polarization axis of the polarizer 7 (arrow 17 in FIG. 2), the high contrast range can be expanded. However, when the optical axis (arrow 16 in FIG. 2) of the second uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy is substantially parallel to the polarization axis (arrow 18 in FIG. 2) of the analyzer, This is preferable because the effect of increasing the angle is increased. (Embodiment 2) In the same configuration of the liquid crystal display device as in the conventional case shown in FIG. 4, a uniaxial retardation plate 5u having a negative refractive index anisotropy and a uniaxial retardation having a positive refractive index anisotropy are used. The plate 4u can be optically regarded as being equivalent to an optical biaxial retardation plate. Accordingly, the uniaxial retardation plate 4u having a positive refractive index anisotropy, the uniaxial retardation plate 5u having a negative refractive index anisotropy, and the uniaxial retardation plate 4b having a positive refractive index anisotropy are different from the uniaxial retardation plate 4b. A liquid crystal display device in which the uniaxial retardation plate 5b having a negative isotropic property is replaced with an optical biaxial retardation plate can also be considered as a configuration of a conventional liquid crystal display device.

Therefore, in the configuration of the liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 1, the first uniaxial retardation plate 4 having a positive refractive index anisotropy is also provided.
u, a uniaxial retardation plate 5u having a negative refractive index anisotropy, a first uniaxial retardation plate 4b having a positive refractive index anisotropy, and a uniaxial retardation plate 5b having a negative refractive index anisotropy. A liquid crystal display device replaced with an optical biaxial retardation plate is also a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, and can be considered as a configuration of the liquid crystal display device of the second embodiment.

Optically, the product (Δn × d) of the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal molecules and the thickness d of the liquid crystal layer 1 is set to 830 nm, which is exactly the same as the configuration described in the first embodiment. In this case, the viewing angle dependence of luminance during white display and black display is equal to that in FIG. 5 in the configuration of the conventional liquid crystal display device.
The configuration of the liquid crystal display device according to the second embodiment is completely the same as that in FIG. That is, the first refractive index anisotropy shown in FIG.
A uniaxial retardation plate 4u, a uniaxial retardation plate 5u having a negative refractive index anisotropy, a first uniaxial retardation plate 4b having a positive refractive index anisotropy, and a uniaxial retardation plate having a negative refractive index anisotropy. In the liquid crystal display device in which the optical retardation plate 5b is replaced by an optical biaxial retardation plate, the addition of the first uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy enables the display in black display. Can be significantly reduced and the asymmetry in the vertical direction can be improved, and a liquid crystal display device with a wide viewing angle and excellent visibility can be realized.

Note that, as described above, a uniaxial retardation plate having a negative refractive index anisotropy and a retardation plate having a positive refractive index anisotropy are optically equivalent to an optical biaxial retardation plate. Because they are equivalent, FIG.
In the above, a part or all of the second uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy and the uniaxial retardation plate 5u having a negative refractive index anisotropy are replaced with an optical biaxial retardation plate. Can be. (Embodiment 3) FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of a liquid crystal display device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. As in the case of the first embodiment, substrates 3u and 3b made of glass or quartz
Is sandwiched. In the liquid crystal layer 1, the liquid crystal molecules have a bend alignment in the ZX plane. When the liquid crystal molecules having a positive refractive index anisotropy are in a bend orientation, it is preferable to use a retardation plate in which an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy has the same orientation as the liquid crystal molecules. This is effective for improving the viewing angle dependence of the retardation of the liquid crystal layer 1.

Therefore, similarly to the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer 1, retardation plates 9u and 9b made of an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy whose main axis is hybridly arranged in the ZX plane.
And the liquid crystal layer 1 is sandwiched therebetween. further,
The uniaxial retardation plates 5u and 5b having negative refractive index anisotropy are arranged so that their main axes are substantially parallel to the Z axis to improve white floating during black display. As in Embodiment 1, the angle optical axes 17 and 18 of the polarizer 7 and the analyzer 8 are orthogonal to each other, and the polarizer 7 is used to effectively use the change in retardation of the liquid crystal layer 1 due to voltage application. 7 polarization axis direction 17
And the orthogonal projection direction 11 of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate is arranged at an angle of approximately 45 degrees.

The structure of the conventional liquid crystal display device has been considered so far. The product (Δn × d) of the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal molecules and the thickness d of the liquid crystal layer 1 is 830 nm, and the principal axis is The total retardation of the phase difference plates 9u and 9b made of optical media having a negative refractive index anisotropy arranged in a hybrid arrangement is set to 40 nm, and the uniaxial phase difference plate 5 having a negative refractive index anisotropy is set to 5 nm.
FIG. 9 shows the viewing angle dependence of the luminance during white display and black display when the sum of the retardations u and 5b is set to 600 nm.

In FIG. 9, the left-right direction refers to the first embodiment.
7 and FIG. 8, and the vertical direction is the Y-axis direction in FIG. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 19 denotes an orthogonal projection direction of the main axis of the hybrid-aligned optical medium having negative refractive index anisotropy onto the electrode substrate. Further, the viewing angle θ is a tilt angle from the panel normal direction, that is, the Z-axis direction in FIG. 7. The viewing angle θ was defined as positive. The vertical axis is normalized with the luminance of the light source as 1.

As described above, in the configuration of the conventional liquid crystal display device, when the tilt angle from the Z axis increases, white floating during black display increases. In particular, the asymmetry is strong in the vertical direction, and the whitening is very large when the viewing angle θ is in the positive direction, and the contrast is significantly reduced.

In the third embodiment, as shown in the configuration of the liquid crystal display device of FIG. 7, a uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy is provided with an electrode having an optical axis having an optical axis of liquid crystal molecules. It was arranged so as not to be orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction to the substrate, for example, so as to be substantially parallel to the polarization axis of the analyzer. FIG. 10 shows the viewing angle dependence of the luminance during white display and black display when a uniaxial retardation plate with a retardation of 150 nm is arranged. As is clear from the comparison with FIG. 9, the addition of the uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy further reduces the viewing angle dependency in black display in the left-right direction, and furthermore, asymmetry in the vertical direction. It can be understood that the whitening at the time of black display in the positive direction of the viewing angle θ can be particularly suppressed.

Comparing the range where the contrast is 10 or more, in the structure of the conventional liquid crystal display device, the horizontal direction is -50.
° to 50 ° and the vertical direction is −80 ° to 50 °, whereas in the configuration of the liquid crystal display device of the present invention, the horizontal direction is −80 ° to 80 ° and the vertical direction is −80 °. 80 °
As described above, in the configuration of the present embodiment, a high contrast is obtained in an extremely wide viewing angle range.

As described above, by adding the uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy, it is possible to remarkably reduce the viewing angle dependence in black display and to improve the asymmetry in the vertical direction. Thus, a liquid crystal display device having a wide viewing angle and excellent visibility can be realized.

In the present embodiment, the product (Δn × d) of the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal molecules and the thickness d of the liquid crystal layer 1 is set to 830 nm, and the negative refractive index anisotropy in which the main axes are hybridly arranged. The total retardation of the retardation plates 9u and 9b made of an optical medium having an optical property is 40 nm, and the total retardation of the uniaxial retardation plates 5u and 5b having a negative refractive index anisotropy is 6 nm.
Although the retardation of the uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy is set to 150 nm, the effect of the present invention is not limited to these values.

A retardation plate 9 made of an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy in which the product (Δn × d) of the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal molecules and the thickness d of the liquid crystal layer 1 is hybridly arranged.
With respect to the retardation of u and 9b, the retardation of the uniaxial retardation plates 5u and 5b having a negative refractive index anisotropy and the retardation of the uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy are optimized. Thereby, the effect of the present invention can be obtained.

Although the optical axis of the uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy is substantially parallel to the polarization axis 18 of the analyzer 8,
It is not limited to this direction. Even if it is almost parallel to the polarization axis 17 of the polarizer 7, the high contrast range can be expanded. However, it is preferable to make the optical axis of the uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy substantially parallel to the polarization axis 18 of the analyzer 8 because the effect of expanding the viewing angle is increased.

As described in the second embodiment, a uniaxial retardation plate having a negative refractive index anisotropy and a retardation plate having a positive refractive index anisotropy are optically optically biaxial. 7 or a uniaxial retardation plate 6 having a positive refractive index anisotropy and a uniaxial retardation plate 5u having a negative refractive index anisotropy in FIG. It can be replaced with a biaxial retardation plate.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, the optical axis of the retardation plate is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal cell onto the electrode substrate, and especially the polarization axis direction of the analyzer. By arranging them so as to be substantially parallel to each other, high contrast can be obtained in an extremely wide viewing angle range.

Therefore, even in a black display state having a large viewing angle dependency, a decrease in contrast in a direction perpendicular to the liquid crystal molecules can be suppressed, and excellent viewing angle characteristics can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an arrangement direction of a retardation plate in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a voltage-transmittance characteristic diagram in the OCB mode according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of viewing angle dependence of white display luminance and black display luminance in the conventional example.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of viewing angle dependence of white display luminance and black display luminance in the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an arrangement direction of a retardation plate in the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the viewing angle dependence of white display luminance and black display luminance as in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of viewing angle dependence of white display luminance and black display luminance in the liquid crystal display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 liquid crystal layer 2u, 2b electrode 3u, 3b substrate 4u, 4b first uniaxial retardation plate 5u, 5b having a positive refractive index uniaxial retardation plate having a negative refractive index 6 2 uniaxial retardation plate 7 polarizer 8 analyzer 9 u, 9 b retardation plate composed of an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy in which main axes are hybridly arranged

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend between a pair of electrode substrates, comprising: a polarizer and an analyzer having mutually orthogonal polarization axes; A uniaxial retardation plate, a uniaxial retardation plate having a positive optical anisotropy and an optical axis orthogonal to an orthogonal projection direction of an optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate, and an optical axis of the liquid crystal A liquid crystal display device comprising: a retardation plate that is not orthogonal to an orthogonal projection direction of a molecular optical axis onto the electrode substrate, outside the pair of electrode substrates. 2. A uniaxial retardation plate having a negative optical anisotropy, a uniaxial retardation plate having a positive optical anisotropy, and liquid crystal molecules between a pair of electrode substrates. A bend arrangement, and a liquid crystal cell sandwiching a liquid crystal layer in which the optical anisotropy of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate is orthogonal to the optical axis of the positive uniaxial retardation plate. A uniaxial retardation plate whose optical anisotropy is positive and whose optical axis is orthogonal to the direction in which the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules is orthogonally projected onto the electrode substrate; A phase difference plate, a phase difference plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate, and an analyzer whose polarization axis is orthogonal to the polarization axis of the polarizer,
Liquid crystal display devices stacked in this order. 3. A liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend is sandwiched between a pair of electrode substrates, comprising: a polarizer and an analyzer having mutually orthogonal polarization axes; and an optical biaxial retardation plate. And a phase difference plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the direction of orthogonal projection of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate, outside the pair of electrode substrates. 4. An optical biaxial retarder, an optical biaxial retarder, a liquid crystal cell having a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend between a pair of electrode substrates, and an optical biaxial retarder. A retardation plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate; and an analyzer whose polarization axis is orthogonal to the polarization axis of the polarizer.
Liquid crystal display devices stacked in this order. 5. A liquid crystal display device comprising a pair of electrode substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a bend arrangement, comprising: a polarizer and an analyzer having mutually orthogonal polarization axes; A phase difference plate made of an optical medium having anisotropic anisotropy; and a phase difference plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate. Liquid crystal display device prepared for. 6. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 5, further comprising a uniaxial retardation plate having a negative optical anisotropy. 7. A retardation plate comprising an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy having a main axis hybridly arranged on a polarizer, and a liquid crystal layer having liquid crystal molecules bend-aligned between a pair of electrode substrates. A liquid crystal cell to be sandwiched; a retardation plate made of an optical medium having a negative refractive index anisotropy in which a main axis is hybrid-aligned; and an optical axis not orthogonal to an orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate. A retardation plate, and an analyzer having a polarization axis orthogonal to the polarization axis of the polarizer,
Liquid crystal display devices stacked in this order. 8. An optical axis of the phase difference plate, the optical axis of which is not orthogonal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate, is equal to the orthogonal projection direction of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate. Almost 45
The liquid crystal display device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which forms an angle of degrees. 9. The liquid crystal according to claim 8, wherein the optical axis of the phase difference plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the direction of orthogonal projection of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate is substantially parallel to the direction of the polarization axis of the analyzer. Display device. 10. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the retardation plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the direction of orthogonal projection of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate is a uniaxial retardation plate. apparatus. 11. The liquid crystal according to claim 1, wherein the retardation plate whose optical axis is not orthogonal to the direction of orthogonal projection of the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules onto the electrode substrate is a biaxial retardation plate. Display device.