JP2012137693A - Laminate and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical element that can perform display with high contrast and can be efficiently manufactured.SOLUTION: A laminate includes: a polarizing layer that has a reflection surface provided with two or more groove structures each comprising a plurality of grooves arranged in the width direction, being different in the lengthwise direction of the grooves, and when the two or more groove structures is irradiated with natural light having a wavelength of λ, emitting first linearly polarized light having the vibration direction of an electric field vector parallel to the lengthwise direction of the grooves, as regularly reflected light with higher intensity in comparison with second linearly polarized light having the vibration direction of an electric field vector vertical to that of the first linearly polarized light; and a birefringent retardation layer that faces the polarizing layer and has an optical axis inclined to the lengthwise direction of all the grooves of the two or more groove structures.

Description

  The present invention relates to a display technology that provides, for example, an anti-counterfeit effect, a decorative effect, and / or an aesthetic effect.

  Optical elements having a special visual effect are attached to articles such as credit cards and banknotes for the purpose of preventing counterfeiting. For the same purpose, an optical element may be attached to a package for packaging an article. Furthermore, such an optical element may be affixed to an article for a decorative effect or an aesthetic effect.

  As such an example, there is an optical element described in Patent Document 1 or 2. In these optical elements, two polarizers that generate different polarizations form a latent image. These latent images are visible as images having a high contrast ratio when observed through another polarizer. However, linearly polarized light is used in these optical elements, and it is necessary to maintain a polarizing film as a verifier at a fixed angle with respect to the optical element for optimal display, and the operation becomes complicated. . In particular, when the optical element is affixed to a three-dimensional part of an article as a sticker, for example, the angle with respect to the verifier varies depending on the part, so that it is difficult to display the entire image with high contrast.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 3 describes an optical element using a circular polarizer, which has a problem of widening the range of viewing angles that can be visually recognized. However, in this optical element, it is difficult to produce the birefringent layer efficiently in two parts having different slow axes.

JP-A-9-183287 JP 2009-535670 A JP 2008-139507 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical element that can display with high contrast and can be produced efficiently.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, the reflective surface is provided with two or more groove structures each composed of a plurality of grooves arranged in the width direction, and the two or more groove structures are different from each other in the length direction of the grooves. When each of the two or more groove structures is irradiated with natural light having a wavelength of λ, the first linearly polarized light in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the length direction of the groove is used as specular reflection light. A polarization layer that emits at a higher intensity than the second linearly polarized light whose oscillation direction of the electric field vector is perpendicular to the oscillation direction of the electric field vector of the first linearly polarized light, and facing the polarizing layer, There is provided a laminate including a birefringent retardation layer having an optical axis oblique to the length direction of all the grooves of the two or more groove structures.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the optical element which can be displayed with high contrast and can be produced efficiently can be provided.

The perspective view which shows schematically the laminated body which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention. The perspective view which shows roughly the groove structure of the laminated body which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention. The perspective view explaining the relationship between the length direction of a groove | channel and the linearly polarized light inject | emitted. The figure which shows schematically an example of the method of visualizing the latent image which the laminated body shown in FIG. 1 hold | maintains using a right circularly-polarizing film. The figure which shows schematically an example of the method of visualizing the latent image which the laminated body shown in FIG. 1 hold | maintains using a left circularly-polarizing film. The figure which shows the cross section of a rectangular wave-shaped groove structure. The figure which shows the cross section of the groove structure of intermediate shape. The figure which shows the cross section of a sinusoidal groove structure. The figure which shows the setting of simulation. The figure which shows the result of simulation.

  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.

(Laminate)
In FIG. 1, the laminated body 1 which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is shown roughly. According to FIG. 1, the laminate 1 includes a polarizing layer 2 and a retardation layer 3 facing it. The front surface of the laminate 1, that is, the display surface is a surface on the phase difference layer 3 side, and the back surface of the laminate 1 is a surface on the polarizing layer 2 side. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 described later, the retardation layer 3 is represented by a broken line so that the polarizing layer 2 can be visually recognized.

  The polarizing layer 2 includes a reflective surface provided with the first groove structure 4 and the second groove structure 5. Here, the polarizing layer 2 includes a resin layer and a reflective layer covering one main surface, and the previous reflective surface is the surface of the reflective layer.

  The resin layer is a layer having a relief structure corresponding to the groove structures 4 and 5 on the surface. The material of the resin layer is not particularly limited as long as a relief structure can be formed. The resin layer is made of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin or made of a thermoplastic resin.

  The reflective layer covers the main surface provided with the relief structure of the resin layer. The reflective layer is a metal material layer made of a metal such as aluminum or an alloy such as an aluminum alloy, for example. The metal material layer can be formed by, for example, a vapor deposition method such as an evaporation method.

  A relief structure corresponding to the relief structure of the transparent resin layer is provided on the surface of the reflective layer. A part of this relief structure corresponds to the groove structure 4, and the rest corresponds to the groove structure 5.

  FIG. 2 shows details of the first groove structure 4 and the second groove structure 5. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing these groove structures. In particular, the front surface of the paper corresponds to a cross section of the laminate 1 in FIG. 1 cut along the line II. A first groove structure 4 and a second groove structure 5 are formed in the polarizing layer 2. In FIG. 2, the second groove structure 5 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the two first groove structures 4.

  Each of the groove structures 4 and 5 includes a plurality of grooves arranged in the width direction. In each of the groove structures 4 and 5, the grooves are arranged so that their length directions are substantially parallel. According to FIG. 2, the length direction of the grooves of the first groove structure 4 and the length direction of the grooves of the second groove structure 5 are orthogonal to each other.

  According to FIG. 2, the grooves are arranged at substantially constant intervals and have a substantially constant depth. The depth of the groove of the groove structure can be set to 100 to 500 nm, for example. The average distance between the center lines of adjacent grooves can be set to 500 nm or less, for example. Preferably, the depth of the groove can be 300 nm and the interval can be 300 nm. Although there is no lower limit for the distance between the center lines of adjacent grooves, this distance between the center lines is usually 150 nm or more in consideration of ease of manufacture.

  The first groove structure 4 and the second groove structure 5 are designed to have a polarization separation function. In short, the polarization separation function referred to here is a linearly polarized light as a reflected light or a partially polarized light that is mixed with a linearly polarized light as a reflected light when irradiated with light in at least a part of the visible wavelength range as natural light. It is a function to inject. In particular, the first groove structure 4 and the second groove structure 5 exhibit a polarization separation function depending on the length direction of the groove.

  The polarization separation function of the groove structure will be further described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 illustrates a state in which the reflective surface 100 emits specularly reflected light 201 when the natural light 200 is irradiated from an oblique direction toward the point A on the reflective surface 100 provided with the groove structure. .

  In FIG. 3, a line segment on the reflecting surface 100 schematically represents a groove of the groove structure 4 or 5, and one of the grooves is represented by a line segment CD. Point B is one point on the line segment connecting the light source and point A, and point H is a leg of a perpendicular line dropped from point B to reflecting surface 100. Point E is a point on a straight line that passes through point A and is parallel to the traveling direction of specularly reflected light 201. θ represents an angle formed by the line segment AH and the line segment CD, and is 90 ° here. The plane 101 is a plane parallel to the line segment AE and perpendicular to the reflecting surface 100. The plane 102 is a plane parallel to the line segment AE and perpendicular to the plane 101.

  For example, when the natural light 200 is irradiated on the groove structure provided on the reflective surface 100 as described above, the groove structure emits the reflected light 201. The reflected light 201 includes first linearly polarized light 203 whose electric field vector oscillation direction is parallel to the plane 102, and second linearly polarized light 202 whose electric field vector oscillation direction is perpendicular to the plane 101. The first linearly polarized light 203 has a higher intensity than the second linearly polarized light 202.

  That is, when each of the groove structures 4 and 5 is irradiated with natural light 201, the reflected light 202 emits linearly polarized light 203 in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the groove length direction, or such Partially polarized light is emitted that is composed of linearly polarized light 203 and linearly polarized light 202 having a lower intensity and whose electric field vector oscillation direction is perpendicular to the groove length direction. As described above, when the groove structure is irradiated with natural light having a wavelength of λ, the first linearly polarized light in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the length direction of the groove is reflected as specularly reflected light. Compared with the second linearly polarized light whose vibration direction is perpendicular to the vibration direction of the electric field vector of the first linearly polarized light, it emits with higher intensity.

  The retardation layer 3 faces the reflecting surface of the polarizing layer 2. The phase difference layer 3 is a birefringent layer and has an optical axis parallel to the principal surface thereof. The retardation layer 3 has substantially uniform optical properties throughout.

  The retardation layer 3 includes a resin layer and a liquid crystal layer made of a polymerized or crosslinked liquid crystal material. The resin layer has an optical axis parallel to the main surface. The liquid crystal layer has an optical axis parallel to the optical axis of the resin layer. The resin layer faces the reflective surface of the polarizing layer 2 with the liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween.

  Here, the retardation layer 3 is a quarter-wave plate. When natural light having a wavelength of λ is incident, the phase difference layer 3 linearly polarized light whose electric field vector oscillation direction is parallel to the slow axis, and whose electric field vector oscillation direction is perpendicular to the slow axis. Transmission with a delay of λ / 4 with respect to linearly polarized light. For this reason, when linearly polarized light is transmitted through the phase difference layer 3, the phase difference layer 3 emits circularly polarized light or elliptically polarized light as transmitted light when the plane of polarization is oblique to the slow axis. Here, it is assumed that the “polarization plane” of a certain linearly polarized light is a plane parallel to the traveling direction of the linearly polarized light and the vibration direction of the electric field vector.

  In the laminate 1 according to FIG. 2, the slow axis of the retardation layer 3, that is, the optical axis, is in the groove length direction of the first groove structure 4 and the groove length direction of the second groove structure 5. The retardation layer 3 is provided so as to be + 45 ° and −45 °, respectively. That is, the length direction of the groove of the groove structure 4 forms an angle of 45 ° counterclockwise with respect to the slow axis of the phase difference layer 3 when viewed from the phase difference layer 3 side. On the other hand, the length direction of the groove of the groove structure 5 forms an angle of 45 ° clockwise with respect to the slow axis of the phase difference layer 3 when viewed from the phase difference layer 3 side.

  When the front surface of the laminate 1 is illuminated with white light and the reflected light is observed with the naked eye, the region corresponding to the groove structure 4 and the region corresponding to the groove structure 4 display the same color or different structural colors. Is displayed. Here, as an example, it is assumed that these areas display the same color and cannot be distinguished from each other.

  When the front surface of the laminate 1 is irradiated with white light as natural light and the reflected light is observed through a circular polarizer, one of the region corresponding to the groove structure 4 and the region corresponding to the groove structure 5 is Looks bright and the other looks dark. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, an image “T” by the second groove structure 5 can be visually recognized with high contrast. That is, the latent image can be visualized by using a circular polarizer.

  Further, even when the circular polarizer is rotated with respect to the laminate 1, the image can be visually recognized while maintaining high contrast. Moreover, since the brightness is reversed between the case where the right circular polarizer is used as the circular polarizer and the case where the left circular polarizer is used, different images can be visually recognized. In addition, as a circular polarizer, a circularly-polarizing film can be used, for example.

(principle)
4 and 5, the principle that a high-contrast image can be visualized using a circular polarizer and the principle that a different image can be visualized by using a right circular polarizer and a left circular polarizer separately will be described.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows an example of a method for visualizing a latent image held by the laminate according to one embodiment of the present invention using a right circularly polarizing film. The upper part of FIG. 4 shows a state in which natural light is irradiated on the laminate, and the middle part and the lower part show a state in which the reflected light reaches the observer's naked eye through the circularly polarizing film. The wavelength of this natural light is λ. Here, in order to simplify the description, each of the groove structures 4 and 5 emits completely polarized light as reflected light.

  As shown in the upper part, since natural light is a set of all kinds of light, even if it passes through the phase difference layer 3, the natural light as a whole reaches the polarizing layer 2 without any change.

  As shown in the middle, the natural light that has reached the first groove structure 4 of the polarizing layer 2 is reflected as linearly polarized light by the polarization separation function of the groove structure. Next, the linearly polarized light enters the retardation layer 3. Of the linearly polarized light, the retardation layer 3 delays linearly polarized light whose electric field vector oscillation direction is parallel to the slow axis by λ / 4 with respect to the linearly polarized light whose electric field vector oscillation direction is perpendicular to the slow axis. Let As a result, the previous straight line change is converted to right circularly polarized light.

  This right circularly polarized light then proceeds to the circularly polarizing film. The right circularly polarizing film is formed by laminating a quarter-wave plate 6 and a linearly polarizing plate 7 so that the former optical axis and the latter transmission axis form an angle of 45 °. The right circularly polarized light first enters the quarter-wave plate 6. The quarter-wave plate 6 is a right-handed circularly polarized light that is linearly polarized with the electric field vector oscillating direction parallel to the slow axis and λ / with respect to the linearly polarized light with the electric field vector oscillating direction perpendicular to the slow axis. Delay by 4 As a result, the previous right circularly polarized light is converted into linearly polarized light. The plane of polarization of the linearly polarized light is rotated by 90 ° with respect to the plane of polarization of the linearly polarized light immediately after being reflected by the first groove structure 4. This linearly polarized light then enters the linearly polarizing plate 7. The linearly polarized light can pass through the linearly polarizing plate 7 because its polarization plane is parallel to the transmission axis of the linearly polarizing plate 7. The transmitted linearly polarized light finally reaches the observer's eye.

  On the other hand, as shown in the lower stage, the natural light incident on the second groove structure 5 is reflected as linearly polarized light in the same manner as the light reflected on the first groove structure 4. However, the plane of polarization of the linearly polarized light is rotated by 90 ° with respect to the plane of polarization of the linearly polarized light reflected by the first groove structure 4. The linearly polarized light is converted into left circularly polarized light and left circularly polarized light by transmitting through the retardation layer 3. This left circularly polarized light then passes through the quarter wave plate 6 of the right circularly polarized film and is converted to linearly polarized light. This linearly polarized light cannot be transmitted through the linearly polarizing plate 7 because its plane of polarization is orthogonal to the transmission axis of the linearly polarizing plate 7. As a result, the reflected light from the groove structure 5 cannot reach the observer's eyes.

  From the above, in the case of FIG. 4, the observer visually recognizes the area of the first groove structure 4 bright and the area of the second groove structure 5 dark.

  As described above, the light reflected by the groove structures 4 and 5 passes through the retardation layer 3 and becomes circularly polarized light. This is because, when the laminate 1 and the circularly polarizing film are faced in parallel, even if the laminate 1 or the circularly polarizing film is rotated while maintaining the parallel state, the light reaching the user's eyes Means no change will occur. That is, it means that high contrast can be maintained.

  Next, based on FIG. 5, the principle by which an image different from the case of the right circular polarizing film can be seen when viewed through the left circular polarizing film will be described. 4 and 5 are different in the configuration of the circularly polarizing film. That is, in the circularly polarizing film 4 of FIG. 4, the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate 6 is 45 counterclockwise with respect to the transmission axis of the linearly polarizing plate 7 when viewed from the linearly polarizing plate 7 side. Make an angle of °. 5, the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate 6 is 45 ° clockwise with respect to the transmission axis of the linear polarizer 7 when viewed from the linear polarizer 7 side. The angle is made. In addition, the laminated body 1 of FIG. 5 is the same as the laminated body 1 of FIG.

  5 emits right-handed circularly polarized light in the region corresponding to the groove structure 4 and emits left circular light in the region corresponding to the groove structure 5 when irradiated with natural light. Emits polarized light.

  The quarter-wave plate 6 converts right circularly polarized light emitted from a region corresponding to the groove structure 4 in the laminate 1 into linearly polarized light whose polarization plane is parallel to the length direction of the grooves of the groove structure 4. . This linearly polarized light is transmitted through the linearly polarizing plate 7 because its plane of polarization is parallel to the transmission axis of the linearly polarizing plate 7. Therefore, the region corresponding to the groove structure 4 of the laminate 1 appears bright.

  On the other hand, the quarter-wave plate 6 converts left circularly polarized light emitted from the region corresponding to the groove structure 5 of the laminate 1 into linearly polarized light whose polarization plane is parallel to the length direction of the groove of the groove structure 5. Convert. The linearly polarized light is absorbed by the linearly polarizing plate 7 because its polarization plane is orthogonal to the transmission axis of the linearly polarizing plate 7. Therefore, the region corresponding to the groove structure 5 of the laminate 1 appears dark.

  Thus, in the case of FIG. 5, the observer visually recognizes the area of the first groove structure 4 dark and the area of the second groove structure 5 bright. That is, an image whose brightness is reversed with respect to the image visually recognized in the case of FIG. 4 is visually recognized.

(Modification)
The laminate 1 can be variously modified. Hereinafter, modified examples will be described.

  The reflective surface of the polarizing layer 2 can be provided with three or more groove structures having different groove length directions. This makes it possible to display a gradation image on the laminate 1 when observed through a circular polarizer.

  In FIG. 1, the second groove structure 5 is provided in an area having a pattern corresponding to the letter “T”, and the first groove structure 4 is provided around the area. That is, each of these groove structures is provided in one continuous region. At least one of the groove structures 4 and 5 may be provided in a plurality of regions spaced from each other. For example, the reflective surface of the polarizing layer 2 has a pattern corresponding to the letters “T”, “O”, and “P” and defines regions that are separated from each other, and the second groove structure 5 is provided in these regions, The first groove structure 4 may be provided in the remaining region.

  1 employs a configuration in which the letter “T” is displayed by the second groove structure 5 and the background of the letter “T” is displayed by the first groove structure 4. Instead, the laminated body 1 may employ a configuration in which each of the regions corresponding to the groove structures 4 and 5 displays characters and the like. In this case, typically, the reflective surface of the polarizing layer 2 includes other regions in addition to the region in which the groove structure 4 is provided and the region in which the groove structure 5 is provided. This additional region may be flat and may include one or more groove structures that differ from the groove structures 4 and 5 in the length direction of the grooves.

  The stacked body 1 may be configured to display a stereoscopic image. For example, different parallax images are formed on the polarizing layer 2 by the first groove structure 4 and the second groove structure 5. In this case, for example, the user can wear a pair of glasses with a right circular polarizing film and a left circular polarizing film in the left and right frames to visually recognize different parallax images between the right eye and the left eye, thereby Can be recognized.

  In the groove structure shown in FIG. 2, each of the grooves is continuous in the length direction from end to end of the region where the groove structure is provided. That is, the groove maintains a constant depth from end to end. At least one of the grooves may be shorter than the length of the region in which the groove structure is provided. For example, the grooves may be two-dimensionally arranged such that their length directions are substantially parallel to each other.

  The shape of the groove when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the main surface of the polarizing layer 2 may be a rectangle, an oval, or an ellipse.

The groove structure may be configured to display a structural color.
For example, the function of a diffraction grating can be given to the groove structure. For example, the grooves may be regularly arranged in the width direction at a pitch shorter than the shortest wavelength in the visible range or at a pitch of 400 nm or less. In this case, when the groove structure is illuminated with white light from a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the groove and inclined with respect to the surface including the groove structure, the groove structure is within an angle range in which the specular reflection light can be observed. Diffracted light is emitted within an angular range where regular reflected light cannot be observed without emitting diffracted light. Specifically, when the normal angle of the display surface is 0 ° and the angle range including the illumination direction is a positive angle range, this groove structure does not emit diffracted light within the negative angle range. The diffracted light is emitted within a positive angle range. That is, in this case, the groove structure displays an achromatic color, for example, gray to dark gray, under a normal observation condition, and a spectral color, for example, a bluish spectral color, under a special observation condition. .

  In addition, the groove structure employs a configuration that displays mixed colors due to destructive interference between the light reflected by the surface (upper surface) located between adjacent grooves and the light reflected by the bottom surface of the groove. May be. For example, in a groove structure having a substantially rectangular wave shape in cross section perpendicular to the length direction of the groove, if the top surface and the bottom surface are formed in parallel and smoothly to each other, if the shape accuracy is sufficiently high, these surfaces Interference can be generated between the reflected light from the top surface and the reflected light from the bottom surface with little light scattering. If the variation in the depth of the groove can be sufficiently reduced, the reflected light from the top surface and the reflected light from the bottom surface can be set by appropriately setting the groove depth, for example, by setting the groove depth to 100 nm. Among them, destructive interference can be caused to a light component having a specific wavelength in the visible range. Therefore, when the laminate 1 adopting the above configuration in the groove structure is illuminated with white light, the laminated body 1 emits reflected light in which the intensity of light in a part of the wavelength region in the visible region is weakened. That is, the laminate 1 displays a mixed color.

  One of a configuration for displaying spectral colors and a configuration for displaying mixed colors may be employed for the laminate 1, or both may be employed. For example, the laminate 1 can employ both a configuration for displaying a bluish spectral color and a configuration for displaying a mixed color. When the region corresponding to the groove structure 4 or 5 of the laminated body 1 is observed from a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the groove, the previous region has an observation direction with respect to the normal line of the display surface. When the angle formed is small, only the color mixture is displayed, and only the spectral color bluish under the above special observation conditions can be displayed. Further, when an area corresponding to the groove structure 4 or 5 of such a laminate 1 is observed from a direction perpendicular to the width direction of the groove, the previous area has a spectral color mixture regardless of the observation direction. Is not displayed.

  Thus, when the structure which displays a structural color in the groove | channel structure 4 or 5 is employ | adopted, when observed with the naked eye, a complicated visual effect can be provided. Therefore, it is possible to provide different visual effects when observed with the naked eye and when observed with a circular polarizer.

  According to FIG. 2, the retardation layer 3 is laminated so as to match the size of the polarizing layer 2. However, the sizes of the retardation layer 3 and the polarizing layer 2 do not need to correspond to each other and can be set as appropriate. For example, the polarizing layer 2 may have a smaller dimension compared to the retardation layer 3.

  In addition, the polarizing layer 2 and the retardation layer 3 are arranged so that the retardation layer 3 faces the surface of the polarizing layer 2 on the resin layer side, instead of being disposed so that the retardation layer 3 faces the reflective layer side surface of the polarizing layer 2. You may arrange | position so that it may face. In this case, the reflective surface of the polarizing layer 2 is an interface between the resin layer and the reflective layer.

  If the retardation layer 3 emits circularly polarized light or elliptically polarized light as transmitted light when natural light having a wavelength of λ is incident on the phase difference layer 3, a straight line in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the slow axis is used. The phase difference given to the polarized light and the linearly polarized light whose electric field vector oscillation direction is perpendicular to the slow axis need not be λ / 4. However, typically, the retardation layer 3 serves as a quarter-wave plate for light having any wavelength in the visible range.

  The retardation layer 3 may face the reflective surface of the polarizing layer 2 so that the stretched resin layer is interposed between the liquid crystal layer and the polarizing layer 2. Further, one of the stretched resin layer and liquid crystal layer may be omitted from the retardation layer 3.

  The laminate 1 may further include an adhesive layer on the back side thereof. That is, the laminate 1 may be an adhesive label. In this case, the laminate 1 may further include a release paper coated with the adhesive layer 1.

(Use)
The laminated body 1 can be used as a display body used for authenticity determination of bills, gift certificates, passports, and the like. That is, the laminate 1 is supported on an article as a genuine product. For example, the laminate 1 is attached to an article as a genuine product. And when the label which looks like the laminated body 1 exists in the articles | goods in which it is unknown whether it is a genuine article, this label is observed through the circular polarizer which is a verification tool. In this case, for example, if a latent image is visualized using a circular polarizer and a predetermined image can be visually recognized, it is determined to be a genuine product, and if not visible, it is determined to be a forged product. Furthermore, by using both the right circular polarizer and the left circular polarizer, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the true / false determination by determining whether or not a predetermined image corresponding to each can be visually recognized.

  Moreover, the laminated body 1 can be used for the decoration of articles | goods. That is, the laminate 1 may be supported by the article itself or a packaging body in which the laminate 1 is packaged for such purposes. Alternatively, the laminate 1 can be used as a toy or a teaching material. In these cases, the laminate 1 is typically distributed as a kit in combination with a circular polarizer or the previous glasses.

(Production method)
The laminate 1 can be manufactured by combining general methods. For example, the laminated body 1 is obtained by bonding the polarizing layer 2 provided with the groove structure and the retardation layer 3 together. Or the laminated body 1 is obtained by forming the phase difference layer 3 on the polarizing layer 2 provided with the groove structure. Alternatively, the laminated body 1 can be obtained by forming the polarizing layer 2 having the groove structure on the retardation layer 3.

  The polarizing layer 2 is formed by the following method, for example. First, an ultraviolet curable resin is applied on the base. Next, a plate is pressed against the coating film, and the coating film is irradiated with ultraviolet rays in this state. After the coating film is cured, the coating film is peeled from the plate to obtain a resin layer. This plate is provided with a relief structure corresponding to the groove structures 4 and 5. Thereafter, a reflective layer is formed on the resin layer by, for example, a vapor deposition method. The polarizing layer 2 is obtained as described above.

  Alternatively, the polarizing layer 2 is formed by the following method. First, a resin layer made of a thermoplastic resin is prepared. Next, a plate heated above its softening point is pressed against this resin layer. This plate is provided with a relief structure corresponding to the groove structures 4 and 5. After cooling below the softening point, the resin layer is peeled from the plate. Thereafter, a reflective layer is formed on the resin layer by, for example, a vapor deposition method. The polarizing layer 2 is obtained as described above.

  The polarizing layer 2 may be formed on the retardation layer 3. Alternatively, the polarizing layer 2 may be prepared by preparing a transfer foil including the polarizing layer 2 and a support that releasably supports the polarizing layer 2 and transferring the polarizing layer 2 from the support onto the retardation layer 3.

  The resin layer of the retardation layer 3 is stretched. This stretched resin layer is obtained, for example, by uniaxially stretching a resin film. When the resin film is stretched, the constituent molecules or functional groups thereof are oriented in the stretching direction, and as a result, birefringence occurs in the resin film. When a polymerizable or crosslinkable liquid crystal material is applied onto the stretched resin layer, the mesogens of the liquid crystal molecules can be aligned in the stretch direction of the resin film. Therefore, when the liquid crystal material is polymerized or crosslinked while maintaining this alignment state, a liquid crystal layer having an optical axis parallel to the previous stretching direction, that is, a slow axis can be obtained.

  A method other than stretching may be used for aligning the mesogens of the liquid crystal molecules. For example, rubbing or photo-alignment techniques may be used. In this case, the resin layer does not need to be stretched.

  A roll-to-roll method may be used for manufacturing the laminate 1. For example, when the previous resin layer is used as a base material, the resin layer is drawn from the roll and wound on another roll, and the resin layer is stretched, and optionally, a liquid crystal layer on the resin layer. The polarizing layer 2 may be formed or pasted. According to this method, the optical axis of the retardation layer 3 is parallel to the flow direction (MD). The groove structure is provided so that the length direction of the groove forms an angle of, for example, 45 ° with respect to the flow direction.

  If such a roll-to-roll method is utilized, the laminated body 1 can be manufactured efficiently. That is, the laminate 1 can be manufactured at a low cost.

[Example 1]
A laminate substantially similar to the laminate 1 described above except that a printing pattern was provided and the reflective layer was patterned was produced by the following method.

(Preparation of original plate)
First, a master plate having a groove structure was prepared.
A positive resist was applied on the glass substrate. Next, a pattern corresponding to the groove structures 4 and 5 was drawn on the resist film with an electron beam, and then the resist film was developed and baked. Thereby, a resist pattern in which grooves having a depth of 400 nm were provided at intervals of 300 nm was obtained. Next, a conductive film was formed on the resist pattern by sputtering. Further, a metal layer was formed on the conductive film by plating. Thereafter, an embossed plate as an original plate was obtained by removing the glass substrate and the resist pattern.

(Production of transfer foil)
A transfer foil was prepared using the above embossed plate.
A release layer made of acrylic resin and having a thickness of 2 μm was formed on a PET substrate having a thickness of 16 μm by a gravure coating method. Next, a coating film made of an ultraviolet curable resin was applied on the release layer to a thickness of 1 μm.

  Next, the embossed plate heated to 200 ° C. was pressed against the coating film, and in this state, the coating film was cured by irradiating the coating film with ultraviolet rays from the PET substrate side. As a result, a resin layer having a groove structure on the surface was obtained.

  After removing the embossed plate from the resin layer, an aluminum layer having a thickness of 50 nm was formed on the resin layer by vapor deposition. Subsequently, the printing pattern which consists of a vinyl hydrochloride-vinyl acetate copolymer was formed in the thickness of 1 micrometer on the aluminum layer by the gravure printing method. The printing pattern was formed so as to cover the groove structure provided in the resin layer. Furthermore, the aluminum layer was alkali-etched using this printed pattern as a mask to obtain a patterned aluminum layer as a reflective layer. As described above, a polarizing layer 2 composed of a resin layer and a reflective layer was obtained. The printed pattern used as a mask was left without being removed.

  Finally, an adhesive layer made of vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer in which silica filler was dispersed was applied on the resin layer and the printed pattern by a gravure coating method to form an adhesive layer having a thickness of 2 μm. . Thus, a transfer foil comprising a PET base material as a support and a transfer material layer supported releasably thereon, the transfer material layer comprising a release layer, a polarizing layer 2, a printing pattern, and an adhesive layer. Got.

(Transcription)
As the retardation layer 3, a uniaxially stretched cellophane film having a thickness of 21 μm was prepared. The retardation layer 3 and the transfer foil were overlapped so that the transfer material layer was in contact with the retardation layer 3. Note that the transfer foil and the retardation layer 3 have a groove length direction of the groove structure 4 and a groove length direction of the groove structure 5 of + 45 ° and −45 °, respectively, with respect to the cellophane film stretching direction. Overlapped to form an angle. Next, heat and pressure were applied to the rubber roll with a surface temperature of 200 ° C., and then the support was peeled from the transfer material layer. Furthermore, an adhesive was applied on the retardation layer 3 and cut into an appropriate size to obtain a laminate 1 as an adhesive label.

(Verification)
When this laminate 1 was observed through the right circularly polarizing film, the region corresponding to the groove structure 4 appeared bright and the region corresponding to the groove structure 5 appeared dark. Furthermore, when this laminated body 1 was observed through the left circular polarizing film, the area | region corresponding to the groove structure 4 looked dark, and the area | region corresponding to the groove structure 5 looked bright. Further, even when the circularly polarizing film was rotated, the contrast of the image was not changed.

[Example 2]
It was confirmed by simulation that polarized light is generated by irradiating the groove structure with natural light. Specifically, the groove structure (FIG. 6) having a rectangular wave shape when viewed in a cross section taken perpendicularly to the length direction of the groove (FIG. 6), the groove structure (FIG. 8) having a sine wave shape, and an intermediate between them For each of the groove structures (FIG. 7) having the shape, a simulation was performed by the time-difference time domain (FDTD) method.

  As the setting, as shown in FIG. 9, the material of the polarizing layer was aluminum, and the thickness 10 of the aluminum layer was infinite. The groove pitch 11 was set to 300 nm. The wavelength of the irradiated light 12 was 532 nm, and the refractive index of the transparent layer adjacent to the polarizing layer was 1.5. The depth 13 was changed in the range of 0 to 500 nm, and the reflectance of polarized light (TM polarized light 14) and parallel polarized light (TE polarized light 15) in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector was perpendicular to the length direction of the groove was measured.

  The result is shown in FIG. In the graph of FIG. 10, “rectangular_TE” and “rectangular_TM” indicate the reflectances related to TE-polarized light and TM-polarized light when the cross-section of the groove structure is a rectangular wave. “Sine_TE” and “Sine_TM” indicate the reflectivities related to the TE-polarized light and the TM-polarized light when the cross section of the groove structure is sinusoidal, respectively. “Intermediate_TE” and “intermediate_TM” respectively indicate the reflectances for the TE-polarized light and the TM-polarized light when the cross section of the groove structure has an intermediate wave shape.

  TE polarized light gradually decreased in reflectivity as the depth increased. In particular, it was greatly reduced in the case of the intermediate shape. On the other hand, TM polarized light repeatedly decreased and increased in reflectance periodically as the depth increased, and drawn a curve with a series of peaks. Although the period of reflectance increase / decrease in TM polarized light is almost the same for the three shapes, the difference in reflectance at the peak of the increase is large between the three shapes, the largest in the rectangular shape, and the largest in the sine shape. It was small.

  As shown in this graph, there is a groove depth at which the difference in reflectance between TE polarized light and TM polarized light becomes large. Specifically, the above difference became large when the groove depth was 50 to 100 nm, 200 to 250 nm, or 350 to 400 nm. For example, when the depth is set within these numerical ranges, an image can be displayed with a very high contrast.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laminated body, 2 ... Polarizing layer, 3 ... Retardation layer, 4 ... 1st groove structure, 5 ... 2nd groove structure, 6 ... Quarter wavelength plate, 7 ... Linearly polarizing plate, 10 ... Thickness 11 ... pitch, 12 ... light, 13 ... depth, 14 ... TM polarized light, 15 ... TE polarized light, 100 ... reflecting surface, 101 ... first polarizing surface, 102 ... second polarizing surface, 200 ... natural light, 201: specularly reflected light, 202: first linearly polarized light, 203: second linearly polarized light.

Claims (11)

A reflection surface provided with two or more groove structures each composed of a plurality of grooves arranged in the width direction, wherein the two or more groove structures are different from each other in the length direction of the grooves; In each case, when natural light having a wavelength of λ is irradiated, the first linearly polarized light in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the length direction of the groove as the specular reflection light, and the vibration direction of the electric field vector is A polarizing layer that emits at a higher intensity than the second linearly polarized light perpendicular to the oscillation direction of the electric field vector of the first linearly polarized light;
A laminate including a birefringent retardation layer facing the polarizing layer and having an optical axis oblique to the length direction of all the grooves of the two or more groove structures.   The laminate according to claim 1, wherein the polarizing layer includes a reflective layer made of a metal or an alloy.   The laminate according to claim 1, wherein the retardation layer has a retardation value of λ / 4.   The polarizing layer has two groove structures, and the length directions of the grooves of these groove structures are + 45 ° and −45 ° with respect to the optical axis of the retardation layer, respectively. The laminate according to Item 1.   The laminate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the retardation layer includes a stretched material.   The laminate according to claim 5, wherein the retardation layer further includes a liquid crystal layer made of polymerized or crosslinked liquid crystal.   A kit comprising the laminate according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and a circular polarizer. Form a retardation layer containing a stretched resin film,
The manufacturing method of the laminated body of any one of Claim 1 to 6 including providing a polarizing layer on the said phase difference layer.   The method according to claim 8, wherein the formation of the retardation layer includes forming a liquid crystal layer composed of a liquid crystal polymerized or crosslinked on the stretched resin film.   A transfer foil including the polarizing layer having the two or more groove structures on the surface and a support that releasably supports the polarizing layer is prepared, and the polarizing layer is transferred from the support to the retardation layer. The method according to claim 8, wherein the polarizing layer is provided on the retardation layer by transferring.   The polarizing layer material is applied onto the retardation layer to form a coating film, and a mold having a structure corresponding to the groove structure is pressed against the surface of the coating film. The method according to claim 8, wherein the polarizing layer is provided by solidification.

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