JP2010085847A - Optical component, backlight unit and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce uneven brightness across a prism array or lens array. <P>SOLUTION: The optical component 10 has first and second principal surfaces. The first principal surface is provided with a plurality of first projections 1 arranged at regular or irregular intervals and each forming a lens or prism, and a plurality of second projections 2 filling the intervals and each forming a lower height lens or prism than the first projections 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to display technology.

Patent Document 1 describes a prism array in which a plurality of prisms are arranged. Patent Document 2 describes a lens array in which a plurality of lenses are arranged. Prism arrays or lens arrays are used, for example, to optimize the spread angle of diffused light.
JP-A-10-246805 JP 2006-301528 A

  Some prism arrays have gaps between the prisms. Further, in the lens array, when each lens has a hemispherical shape, for example, a gap is generated between the lenses.

At the position of this gap, light is not refracted by the prism or lens. Therefore, a difference in luminance occurs between a position corresponding to the prism or lens and a position corresponding to the gap.
An object of the present invention is to reduce luminance unevenness of a prism array or a lens array.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first and second main surfaces are provided, and the first main surfaces are regularly or irregularly arranged with a gap therebetween, and each constitutes a lens or a prism. A plurality of first convex portions, and a plurality of second convex portions that fill the gap and each constitute a lens or prism having a lower height than the first convex portion. An optical component is provided that is provided.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first and second main surfaces are provided, and the first main surface is regularly or irregularly arranged with a gap therebetween, and each constitutes a lens or a prism. Provided is an optical component comprising a plurality of first convex portions and a plurality of second convex portions filling the gap and constituting a light scattering structure or a diffraction structure Is done.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a backlight unit comprising the optical component according to the first or second aspect and a light source for illuminating the optical component from the second main surface side. The

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display device comprising the backlight unit according to the third aspect and a display panel facing the light source with the optical component interposed therebetween.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce luminance unevenness of a prism array or a lens array.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same referential mark is attached | subjected to the component which exhibits the same or similar function through all the drawings, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an optical component according to an aspect of the present invention.
An optical component 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a light transmission layer 3, a plurality of first protrusions 1, and a plurality of second protrusions 2. The main surface of the optical component 10 on the light transmission layer 3 side is a back surface or a light incident surface. On the other hand, the main surface on the convex portions 1 and 2 side of the optical component 10 is a front surface or a light emission surface.

  The light transmission layer 3 is a layer having a light transmission property. The light transmission layer 3 may be transparent and may have light scattering properties.

  The first convex portion 1 is supported by the light transmission layer 3. Specifically, the convex portions 1 are two-dimensionally arranged on the front surface of the light transmission layer with a gap therebetween. The convex portions 1 may be regularly arranged or irregularly arranged. The area ratio of the convex portion 1 to the front surface of the light transmission layer 3 is in the range of 75% to 90%, for example.

  The convex part 1 has optical transparency. The convex part 1 may be transparent and may have light scattering properties.

  Each of the convex portions 1 constitutes a lens or a prism. That is, these convex portions 1 constitute a lens array or a prism array. The convex portion 1 constituting the lens has, for example, a shape substantially equal to a part of a sphere or a spheroid, or a cone or a truncated cone shape. Moreover, the convex part 1 which comprises a prism is made into a pyramid or a truncated pyramid shape, for example.

  When the optical component 10 is used in a display device, the convex portion 1 desirably has a shape that cannot be distinguished on the display screen. Moreover, when the arrangement | sequence of the convex part 1 forms the periodic structure, it is desirable not to produce an interference fringe when it overlaps with the periodic structure of the other component which the display apparatus contains. The minimum diameter at the contact surface of the convex portion 1 with the light transmission layer 3 is set in the range of 20 μm to 100 μm, for example.

  The ratio of the height to the minimum diameter at the contact surface of the convex portion 1 with the light transmission layer 3 affects the optical characteristics of the optical component 10, for example, the light collecting property and the viewing angle. This ratio is, for example, in the range of 0.40 to 0.60.

  The second convex portion 2 is supported by the light transmission layer 3. Specifically, the convex part 2 fills the gap between the convex parts 1. For example, the convex portion 2 fills 50% to 100% of the gap between the convex portions 1.

  The convex part 2 has optical transparency. The convex part 2 may be transparent and may have light scattering properties.

  The convex portion 2 constitutes a light scattering structure or a diffraction structure. Or the convex part 2 comprises the lens or prism in which each height is lower than the convex part 1. FIG.

  The minimum diameter or the minimum width at the contact surface of the convex portion 2 with the light transmission layer 3 is, for example, in the range of 100 nm to 100 μm. The ratio of the height to the minimum diameter or minimum width on the contact surface of the convex portion 2 with the light transmission layer 3 is, for example, in the range of 0.40 to 0.60.

  The difference between the refractive index of the convex portions 1 and 2 and the refractive index of air is, for example, 0.01 or more. When this difference is reduced, the refraction of light by the convex portions 1 and 2 is reduced. Therefore, the effect of controlling the spread angle of the diffused light is reduced.

  In addition, when making at least one part of the convex parts 1 and 2 and the light transmissive layer 3 light-scattering property, as a material, for example, a mixture of a transparent material and transparent particles having a refractive index different from this should be used. Can do. In this case, the absolute value of the difference between the refractive index of the transparent material and the refractive index of the transparent particles is, for example, 0.01 or more.

The convex portions 1 and 2 will be described in more detail.
2 to 4 are plan views schematically showing an example of the arrangement of the first protrusions. 5 to 7 are plan views schematically showing an example of the shape of the first convex portion.

  When the first convex portions 1 are regularly arranged, the arrangement of the first convex portions 1 may form a square lattice as shown in FIG. 2, or form a triangular lattice as shown in FIG. May be.

  Moreover, when arrange | positioning the convex part 1 irregularly, the dimension of the convex part 1 may mutually be equal, and as shown in FIG. 4, it may differ.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first convex portion 1 may be a rotationally symmetric body having an axis perpendicular to the front surface of the light transmission layer 3 or the optical component 10. For example, the convex part 1 may have a substantially hemispherical shape.

  Or the convex part 1 may have the shape extended in the direction parallel to the front surface of the light transmissive layer 3 or the optical component 10, as shown in FIG. For example, the convex part 1 may have a shape formed by dividing the spheroid into two parts by a plane parallel to the axis. In this case, the length direction or the axial direction of the convex portions 1 may be aligned in one direction parallel to the previous front surface, or may be irregular.

  Or the convex part 1 may contain what differs in a shape, as shown in FIG. For example, the convex portion 1 may include one having a substantially hemispherical shape and one having a shape obtained by dividing the spheroid into two parts by a plane parallel to the axis. In this case, the convex portion 1 having a shape obtained by dividing the spheroid into two by a plane parallel to the axis thereof has a length direction or an axial direction aligned in one direction parallel to the front surface. It may be irregular.

  When the length direction or the axial direction of the convex portion 1 is aligned in one direction, the spread angle of the diffused light can be made different between the length direction or the axial direction and the width direction of the convex portion 1. For example, when the length direction or the axial direction is aligned in the horizontal direction, the spread angle of the diffused light in the horizontal direction becomes larger than the spread angle of the diffused light in the vertical direction.

8 to 12 are plan views schematically showing examples of structures that can be employed for the second convex portion.
In FIG. 8, the 2nd convex part 2 comprises the diffraction grating. Note that the grating constant of the diffraction grating is much smaller than the pitch of the protrusions 1. Therefore, the convex part 2 is not displayed in FIG.

  In FIG. 9, the convex part 2 comprises the lens. Each convex part 2 has a substantially hemispherical shape. The arrangement of the convex portions 2 forms a hexagonal lattice.

  In FIG. 10, the convex part 2 comprises the light-scattering structure. The protrusions 2 are much smaller than the protrusions 1 and are irregularly arranged.

  In FIG. 11, the convex part 2 comprises the prism. Each prism has a quadrangular pyramid shape.

  In FIG. 12, the convex part 2 comprises the cylindrical lens or the lenticular. The convex portions 2 are parallel in the length direction and are arranged in the width direction.

  In the optical component 10, the convex portion 2 is disposed in the gap between the convex portions 1. Therefore, when the back surface of the optical component 10 is illuminated, the illumination light can be refracted over almost the entire surface of the optical component 10. That is, the optical component 10 is less likely to cause luminance unevenness.

  The optical component 10 can be obtained by molding such as extrusion molding and injection molding. For example, a thermoplastic resin heated to a glass transition temperature or higher and a mold are brought into close contact to transfer the relief structure from the mold to the resin layer, and then cooled. Alternatively, the resin is irradiated with ultraviolet rays while the mold is in close contact with the ultraviolet curable resin.

  According to this method, for example, the light transmission layer 3 and the convex portions 1 and 2 can be formed simultaneously. In this case, if a mixture containing a transparent resin and transparent particles having a different refractive index is used as the previous resin, each of the convex portions 1 and 2 and the light transmission layer 3 is made light scattering. Can do.

  Moreover, according to this method, the convex parts 1 and 2 can be formed on this light transmission layer 3 using the light transmission layer 3 as a base material. In this case, if a mixture containing a transparent resin and transparent particles having a different refractive index is used as the previous resin, each of the convex portions 1 and 2 can be made light scattering.

  In addition, a metal mold | die is obtained with the following method, for example. First, a lacquer containing a resin such as carbon black and a resin is sprayed on the copper plating layer of the metal plate to obtain a lacquer layer having a thickness of about 5 μm. Next, the lacquer layer is drawn with an infrared laser beam having a wavelength of 1060 nm, and the exposed portion of the lacquer layer is sublimated. Then, this metal plate is immersed in an iron chloride chromic acid solution to expand corrosion in the depth direction and the width direction. Thereby, the recessed part corresponding to the convex part 1 is formed. Further, the metal plate is cut using, for example, a diamond bit to form a concave portion corresponding to the convex portion 2. As described above, a mold that can be used for manufacturing the optical component 10 is obtained.

Next, the material of the optical component 10 will be described.
As a material of the optical component 10, for example, a resin such as plastic can be used. Examples of this resin include polyester resins, acrylic resins, polycarbonate resins, polystyrene resins, MS (styrene-methyl methacrylate copolymer) resins, thermoplastic resins such as polymethylpentene resins and cycloolefin polymers, or polyester acrylates. Radiation curable resins containing oligomers or acrylates such as urethane acrylates and epoxy acrylates can be used.

  You may mix and use this resin and transparent particle. As the transparent particles, inorganic particles, organic particles, or a combination thereof can be used. As the material of the inorganic particles, for example, inorganic oxides such as silica, alumina and titanium oxide can be used. Examples of organic particles include acrylic resin, polystyrene resin, MS resin, melamine formaldehyde resin, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), PFA (perfluoroalkoxy resin), FEP (tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer), PVDF. Fluorine-containing polymers such as (polyfluorovinylidene) and ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer), or silicone resins can be used. These transparent particles may be used as a mixture of two or more.

This optical component 10 can be used, for example, in the following display device.
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of a display device including the optical component shown in FIG.

  The display device 100 includes a backlight 20, an optical element 30, and a liquid crystal display panel 50. The backlight 20 emits illumination light, and the illumination light passes through the optical sheet and enters the liquid crystal display panel 50. The transmittance of the liquid crystal display panel 50 can be controlled for each pixel by a controller (not shown), whereby the display device 100 displays an image. Note that the backlight 20 and the optical element 30 constitute a backlight unit.

The backlight 20 includes a plurality of light sources 8 and a reflective layer 9.
Each of the light sources 8 is a plurality of linear light sources such as a fluorescent lamp or a cold cathode tube (CCFL) extending in the depth direction of the paper surface. The light source 8 faces the back surface of the liquid crystal display panel 50 with the optical element 30 interposed therebetween.

  As the light source 8, a point light source or a surface light source may be used. For example, as the light source 8, an LED (light-emitting diode), an EL (electroluminescent) element, or a semiconductor laser may be used.

  The reflective layer 9 is installed on the back side of the light source 8. The reflection layer 9 reflects the light emitted from the light source 8 to the back side to the front side and makes it incident on the back side of the optical element 30. Typically, the reflective layer 9 has light scattering properties.

  The optical element 30 is installed between the backlight 20 and the liquid crystal display panel 50. The optical element 30 includes the diffusion plate 5 and the optical component 10.

  The diffusion plate 5 is installed in front of the backlight 20. The diffusion plate 5 diffuses the light emitted from the backlight 20 to the front side.

  The diffusion plate 5 can further play a role as a support for supporting the optical component 10. In this case, the thickness of the diffusion plate 5 is, for example, in the range of 1 mm to 5 mm.

  The diffusion plate 5 typically has a flat plate shape. The diffusing plate 5 may have other shapes, for example, according to the housing to be used. Or you may provide the convex part or recessed part which functions as a lens or a prism in the front surface and / or back surface in the diffusion plate 5 in order to improve an optical characteristic. In addition, such a metal mold | die is obtained by using a metal mold | die in shaping | molding, such as extrusion molding and injection molding, for example.

  The diffusion plate 5 contains a transparent resin and particles or gas dispersed in the transparent resin. The refractive index is different between the transparent resin and the particles or gas. For example, the absolute value of the difference in refractive index between the transparent resin and the particles or gas is set to 0.01 or more.

  Examples of the transparent resin include polycarbonate resin, acrylic resin, fluorine acrylic resin, silicone acrylic resin, MS resin, epoxy acrylate resin, polystyrene resin, cycloolefin polymer, methylstyrene resin, fluorene resin, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate). ) Or polypropylene can be used. Moreover, as a material of this particle | grain, the material illustrated about the optical component 5 can be used, for example. The particle size of the particles is, for example, 0.1 μm to 10 μm.

  The diffusion plate 5 may have a single layer structure or a multilayer structure. In the latter case, the diffusing plate 5 may include a plurality of layers that differ in one or more of the type of transparent resin and the type, particle size, and content of the particles.

  The optical component 10 is installed between the diffusion plate 5 and the liquid crystal display panel 50 so that the convex portions 1 and 2 face the liquid crystal display panel 50. As described above, the optical component 10 optimizes the spread angle of the diffused light emitted from the diffuser plate 5 and suppresses uneven brightness.

  Although FIG. 13 illustrates an example in which the optical element 30 includes only the diffusion plate 5 and the optical component 10, the optical element 30 can further include other optical elements. For example, the optical element 30 may further include other optical elements such as a lens sheet, a diffusion sheet, and a polarizing sheet on the front side and / or the back side of the optical element 30.

  The liquid crystal display panel 50 is a transmissive or transflective liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel 50 includes a liquid crystal cell 7 and a pair of polarizing plates 6 sandwiching the liquid crystal cell 7. As described above, the transmittance of the liquid crystal display panel 50 can be controlled for each pixel by a controller (not shown), whereby the display device 100 displays an image.

Various modifications can be made to the display device 100 shown in FIG.
14 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another example of the display device including the optical component shown in FIG. The display device 100 shown in FIG. 14 is the same as the display device 100 described with reference to FIG. 13 except that the following configuration is adopted. In other words, in the display device 100, the optical element 30 includes two optical components 10. These optical components 10 are arranged such that one optical component 10 is positioned between the other optical component 10 and the display panel 50, and the convex portions 1 and 2 face the display panel 50. Thus, in the display device 100, a plurality of optical components 10 may be used.

Next, the optical function of the optical component will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically illustrating an optical function of an optical component according to a comparative example. FIG. 16 is a diagram schematically showing an optical function of the optical component shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically showing an optical function of the optical component shown in FIG.

  The optical component 10 ′ shown in FIG. 15 is the same as the optical component 10 shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 except that the convex portion 2 is not provided.

  When the diffused light L0 emitted from the diffusing plate 5 is incident on the back surface of the optical component 10 'shown in FIG. 15, the light beams L1 and L2 transmitted through the convex portion 1 are refracted substantially in the front direction at the interface with the air layer. Unlike the light rays L1 and L2, the light beam L3 that passes through the gap between the convex portions 1 substantially in the normal direction is emitted from the optical component 10 without refraction by the convex portion 1. The light beam L3 causes luminance unevenness. The light beam L4 that passes through the gap between the convex portions 1 in an oblique direction is refracted twice inside the convex portion 1 adjacent to the gap and is emitted to the wide angle side.

  When the convex part 2 which comprises a prism is provided as shown in FIG. 16, the light ray L5 which injected into the clearance gap between the convex parts 1 from the diagonal direction is substantially frontward at the interface of the convex part 2 and an air layer. And refract. In addition, the light beam L6 that has entered the gap between the convex portions 1 from substantially the normal direction is refracted twice at the interface between the convex portion 2 and the air layer, and returns to the back side. At least a part of the return light is reflected by a member disposed on the back side of the optical component 10 and again enters the optical component 10 as illumination light.

  When the convex part 2 which comprises the light-scattering structure is provided as shown in FIG. 17, the light rays L7 and L8 which entered into the clearance gap between the convex parts 1 from the diagonal direction are the light scattering which the convex part 2 comprises. Scattered by the structure and emitted from the optical component 10 to the front side.

  Thus, if the convex part 2 is provided in the clearance gap between the convex parts 1, it can prevent or suppress that the part corresponding to the clearance gap between the convex parts 1 looks brighter compared with another part. Further, by appropriately designing the convex portion 2, it is possible to adjust optical characteristics such as front luminance and viewing angle.

Examples of the present invention will be described below.
<Manufacture of optical components>
Copper plating was applied to the cylindrical surface of the cylinder for extrusion molding, and this plating surface was processed smoothly. This cylinder was mounted on a laser plate making machine, and a lacquer made by dispersing carbon in a resin was applied on the plating surface to a thickness of 5 μm using a spray coater. This coating film was irradiated with a laser beam having a wavelength of 1060 nm. The laser beam was irradiated to the position corresponding to the lattice point of the triangular lattice. Lacquer ablation occurred in the irradiated part of the coating film, and as a result, circular openings arranged in a triangular lattice pattern were formed.

  Next, this cylinder was immersed in an etching solution. During the immersion, the cylinder was kept rotating. As a result, the copper layer was corroded at a position corresponding to the opening of the lacquer layer to form a substantially hemispherical first recess.

  After removing the lacquer layer from the copper layer, this cylinder was mounted on a precision cutting machine, and a second recess having a substantially hemispherical shape was formed in the copper layer using a diamond cutting tool. Each 2nd recessed part was formed so that it might be located in the center of three 1st recessed parts arrange | positioned at equilateral triangle shape. A mold was obtained as described above.

Next, urethane acrylate (KAYARAD manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.), which is an ultraviolet curable resin, was applied on a light transmitting layer (A4300 manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) having a thickness of 188 μm made of PET. In a state where the previous mold was brought into close contact with the coating film, the coating film was irradiated with ultraviolet rays through the light transmission layer to cure the resin. The exposure amount of ultraviolet rays was 1000 mJ / cm ³ . Then, the light transmission layer was peeled from the mold together with the resin layer.

An optical component was obtained as described above. Further, by the same method as described above, a mold having at least one of the exclusive area of the first recess and the shape, size, and exclusive area of the second recess is manufactured, and an optical component is manufactured using these molds. . Table 1 below summarizes the structure of the optical component manufactured here.

  In Table 1, “width / diameter” means the minimum diameter or the minimum width of the contact surface of the first convex portion with the light transmission layer. “Area ratio” means the area ratio of the first or second convex portion to the front surface of the light transmission layer. “Dimension ratio” means a ratio of “height” to “width / diameter”.

<Performance evaluation of optical components>
Each of the optical components shown in Table 1 was incorporated into the display device 100 shown in FIG. 13, and the front luminance and luminance unevenness were evaluated. Here, RM721 manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. was used as the diffusion plate 5, and LC-32GX5 manufactured by Sharp Corporation was used as the liquid crystal display panel 50. And after lighting the display apparatus 100 for 1 hour, the white image was displayed on this and the brightness | luminance of the screen center part was measured from the front direction using the brightness | luminance measuring apparatus BM-7 by Topcon Corporation. This luminance was defined as the front luminance. Regarding the display unevenness, a white image was displayed on the display device 100, and the degree of the brightness unevenness was visually confirmed from a position in the front direction and 2 m away from the screen. These results are summarized in Table 1.

  Table 1 shows the front luminance as a relative value. In the luminance unevenness column, a symbol “◯” is displayed for a sample in which luminance unevenness does not occur, and a symbol “Δ to ○” is displayed for a sample in which luminance unevenness is negligible. The symbol “△” is displayed for a sample that has a noticeable luminance unevenness compared to the sample that displays the symbol “Δ to ○”, but the sample that has the level of luminance unevenness is “×”. Is displayed. In the comprehensive evaluation column, in view of both the front luminance and luminance unevenness, the symbol “◯” is displayed for the sample with the best performance, and the symbol “Δ to ○” for the sample with the next performance. The symbol “Δ” is displayed for the sample with the next performance, and the symbol “x” is displayed for the sample with the worst performance.

  As shown in Table 1, when samples B to H are used, luminance unevenness is not generated as much as when sample A is used. This shows that the 2nd convex part has contributed to suppression of a brightness nonuniformity.

  Further, when samples B to F and H were used, the front luminance equivalent to or higher than that when sample A was used could be achieved. The front luminance when using sample G is lower than the front luminance obtained when using sample A, but it is not so low as to cause a practical problem.

  As is clear from the comparison of the results obtained when using samples B to D, when the area ratio of the first protrusions is increased and the area ratio of the second protrusions is reduced accordingly, the front luminance is increased. It became high. That is, the viewing angle became narrow. Thus, the front luminance and the viewing angle could be adjusted by changing the area ratio of the first and second convex portions.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an optical component according to one embodiment of the present invention. The top view which shows roughly an example of arrangement | positioning of a 1st convex part. The top view which shows schematically the other example of arrangement | positioning of a 1st convex part. The top view which shows schematically the further another example of arrangement | positioning of a 1st convex part. The top view which shows roughly an example of the shape of a 1st convex part. The top view which shows roughly the other example of the shape of a 1st convex part. The top view which shows schematically the further another example of the shape of a 1st convex part. The top view which shows roughly an example of the structure employable as a 2nd convex part. The top view which shows schematically the other example of the structure employable as a 2nd convex part. The top view which shows schematically the further another example of the structure employable as a 2nd convex part. The top view which shows schematically the further another example of the structure employable as a 2nd convex part. The top view which shows schematically the further another example of the structure employable as a 2nd convex part. Sectional drawing which shows roughly an example of the display apparatus containing the optical component shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows schematically the other example of the display apparatus containing the optical component shown in FIG. The figure which shows schematically the optical function of the optical component which concerns on a comparative example. The figure which shows schematically the optical function of the optical component shown in FIG. The figure which shows schematically the optical function of the optical component shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... 1st convex part, 2 ... 2nd convex part, 3 ... Light transmission layer, 5 ... Diffusing plate, 6 ... Polarizing plate, 7 ... Liquid crystal cell, 8 ... Light source, 9 ... Reflective layer, 10 ... Optical component, 20 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Backlight, 30 ... Optical element, 50 ... Liquid crystal display panel, 100 ... Display apparatus.

Claims (9)

  A plurality of first protrusions, each having a first and a second main surface, arranged on the first main surface regularly or irregularly with a gap in between, each constituting a lens or a prism And a plurality of second convex portions, each of which constitutes a lens or a prism having a lower height than the first convex portion. Optical component.   A plurality of first protrusions, each having a first and a second main surface, arranged on the first main surface regularly or irregularly with a gap in between, each constituting a lens or a prism And a plurality of second convex portions filling the gap and forming a light scattering structure or a diffraction structure.   The optical component according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of first convex portions forms a lens.   The optical component according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of first convex portions are regularly arranged.   The optical component according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of first convex portions are irregularly arranged.   The plurality of first protrusions include a plurality of first protrusions having a shape extending in a direction parallel to the first main surface, and the length direction of the first protrusions is formed on the first main surface. 6. The optical component according to claim 1, wherein the optical component is aligned in one parallel direction.   The optical component according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising a transparent material and a plurality of transparent particles dispersed in the transparent material and having a refractive index different from that of the transparent material. The optical component according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A backlight unit comprising: a light source that illuminates the optical component from the second main surface side.   9. A display device comprising: the backlight unit according to claim 8; and a display panel facing the light source with the optical component interposed therebetween.

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