JP3196742B2 - Liquid crystal optical element and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a laminated liquid crystal optical device.
The present invention relates to a device manufacturing method . INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The liquid crystal optical element of the present invention is used for a display device for displaying characters, figures and the like, a light valve for controlling reflection and transmission of incident light, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One of the methods for improving the operation time of a portable terminal using a liquid crystal display is to use a device that does not require a backlight as a liquid crystal optical element, that is, a reflective liquid crystal optical element. As one of such devices, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-134266 discloses a reflective liquid crystal device composed of liquid crystal and a polymer material. In this liquid crystal optical element, the reflection / transmission of light is controlled by using light interference caused by a difference in refractive index between liquid crystal droplets arranged regularly and a polymer material. This type of element is a holographic element. This is called a polymer dispersed liquid crystal element.

In a holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal element, the refractive index of a polymer material is generally set near the ordinary light refractive index of the liquid crystal material. As the liquid crystal material, a liquid crystal having a positive dielectric anisotropy is used. When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal droplets are randomly oriented, and a difference in refractive index from the polymer material occurs. Light is selectively reflected by the refractive index difference and the period of the liquid crystal droplet. When a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal optical element, the difference in the refractive index between the polymer material and the liquid crystal droplet becomes smaller, and the intensity of the selectively reflected light decreases.

A holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal device is
Like a transmission / scattering type liquid crystal optical element in which a liquid crystal is encapsulated and dispersed in a polymer material (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-52843, etc.), there is no need for a polarizing plate, so that the light use efficiency is high and the TFT ( It has an advantage that it can be driven by an active element such as a thin film transistor) and an MIM. In this liquid crystal optical element, a liquid crystal optical element having different selective reflection wavelengths can be manufactured by setting the distance between liquid crystal droplets. It can be realized without a filter.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-134266 proposes a holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal display in which red, green and blue reflective panels are laminated, but the panel becomes thicker than the pixel size. If too long, there is a problem that parallax occurs. In order to solve this problem, a structure in which a substrate between light control layers is eliminated has been proposed. In this case, as a method for forming an electrode layer on a substrate or the like, a sputtering method, a vapor deposition method, or a casting method using an organic solvent is generally used.

[0006]

However, the method of forming an electrode directly on a light control layer composed of a liquid crystal material and a matrix resin by a sputtering method or a vapor deposition method has a problem that light control is performed due to high temperature and reduced pressure. Damage the layers,
This causes a problem that the electro-optical characteristics of the light control layer are deteriorated. Further, in a casting method in which a solution in which a conductive material is dispersed in an organic solvent is applied onto the light control layer and then dried to form only the electrode layer on the light control layer in the same manner, the organic solvent used at the time of coating is used. Depending on the type, there is a problem that swelling of the light control layer and extraction of liquid crystal are caused, and the electro-optical characteristics of the light control layer are also deteriorated. As described above, an effective method of manufacturing an electrode that does not affect the light control layer including the liquid crystal material and the matrix resin has not been described.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a light control layer without damaging it.
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element that can easily arrange a conductive film having a desired thickness, pattern, and the like on a light control layer.
Is to provide a law . The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to easily arrange a conductive film having a target thickness, a pattern, and the like on a light control layer without damaging the light control layer. LCD optics that realize
An object of the present invention is to provide a device manufacturing method .

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have conducted intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, have found that a dimming layer composed of a liquid crystal and a matrix resin is formed by using a release substrate having a conductive film. After manufacturing, it has been found that a dimming layer having a conductive film on the surface can be easily manufactured by removing only the peeling substrate, and the present invention has been achieved. The technique of stacking solid films by transfer is generally known, but it has not been known that a conductive film can be transferred to a light control layer composed of a liquid crystal material and a matrix resin.

Therefore, the present invention provides the following (1) to
(10) to (1) for obtaining the liquid crystal optical element shown in (9).
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element described in 6) is provided.

(1) In a liquid crystal optical element having a light control layer sandwiched between electrode layers, at least one of the electrode layers sandwiching the light control layer is a conductive film transferred from a release substrate. element.

(2) A liquid crystal optical element having a light control layer sandwiched between a substrate having an electrode layer and a conductive film, wherein the conductive film is a film transferred from a release substrate. .

(3) The liquid crystal optical element according to (1) or (2), wherein a light-absorbing substrate is added on the conductive film transferred from the peeling substrate.

(4) In a liquid crystal optical element in which a plurality of light control layers are laminated via a conductive film, at least one conductive film is a film transferred from the peeled substrate onto the light control layer. Liquid crystal optical element.

(5) a first substrate on which a first electrode layer, a first dimming layer and a first conductive film are laminated, a second electrode layer,
A second substrate on which a second light control layer and a second conductive film are stacked, and a third light control layer provided between the first conductive film and the second conductive film. (4) wherein one or both of the first conductive film and the second conductive film are films transferred from the peeled substrate onto the light control layer. element.

(6) The conductive film transferred from the peeled substrate is made of a conductive material and a supporting material (1).
(5) The liquid crystal optical element of (5).

(7) The liquid crystal optical element according to (6), wherein the conductive material of the conductive film is in contact with a part of the electrode layer on the substrate.

(8) The liquid crystal optical element according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the light control layer comprises a matrix resin and a liquid crystal material.

(9) The liquid crystal optical element according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the light control layer has an interference structure for reflecting visible light.

(10) The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element according to the above (2), wherein the light modulating layer precursor is sandwiched between a substrate having an electrode layer and a peeling substrate having a conductive film, and is peeled from the substrate. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element, comprising manufacturing a light control layer between the light control layer and a substrate, removing the release substrate, and transferring a conductive film from the release substrate to one surface of the light control layer.

(11) A light-absorbing substrate is added on the conductive film after the peeling substrate is peeled off (10).
3. The method for producing a liquid crystal optical element according to item 1.

(12) The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element according to the above (5), wherein a first substrate on which a first electrode layer, a first light control layer and a first conductive film are laminated is provided. 2nd electrode layer, 2nd
After sandwiching the light modulating layer precursor in a state where the first conductive film and the second conductive film face each other with the second substrate on which the light modulating layer and the second conductive film are stacked , The first conductive film and the second
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element, comprising manufacturing a third dimming layer between the conductive film and the conductive film.

(13) The conductive film transferred from the peeling substrate is made of a conductive material and a supporting material.
0) to (12).

(14) The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element according to (13), wherein the conductive material of the conductive film is brought into contact with a part of the electrode layer on the substrate.

(15) The method for producing a liquid crystal optical element according to any one of (10) to (14), wherein the light control layer comprises a matrix resin and a liquid crystal material.

(16) The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element according to (10) to (15), wherein the light control layer has an interference structure for reflecting visible light.

According to the liquid crystal optical element obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention, by forming a conductive film in advance on a peeled substrate, the desired thickness, pattern and the like can be obtained without damaging the light control layer. The conductive film can be easily disposed on the light control layer. In addition, since the peeled substrate is used at the time of gap control and at the time of manufacturing a light control layer by light irradiation, the film thickness of the light control layer can be easily controlled, and the uniformity of the light control layer is further improved. be able to. further,
According to this technique, a light control layer can be laminated as in the liquid crystal optical elements of (4) and (5), and a laminated liquid crystal optical element that has a small parallax and displays multicolor with one pixel is obtained. be able to. The technique of the present invention is particularly effective in the case of a liquid crystal optical element in which the dimming layer is a holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal, and can produce a high-resolution reflective liquid crystal display with little parallax. A method of laminating a light control layer composed of a liquid crystal material and a matrix resin using the transferred film has not been known.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to clarify the above objects, features and advantages of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic sectional view of a liquid crystal optical element as one embodiment of the present invention. The liquid crystal optical element of FIG. 1 is characterized in that at least one of the electrode layers sandwiching the light modulating layer is a conductive film transferred from a peeling substrate in the liquid crystal optical element sandwiching the light modulating layer between the electrode layers. It is a liquid crystal optical element. This liquid crystal optical element is a liquid crystal optical element in which a light control layer is sandwiched between a substrate having an electrode layer and a conductive film, wherein the conductive film is a film transferred from a release substrate. But also. That is, in the liquid crystal optical element of FIG. 1, the conductive film 81 transferred from the separation substrate 91 is provided on one surface of the light control layer 51 made of the matrix resin 41 and the liquid crystal material 31. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a substrate having the electrode layer 11.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the liquid crystal optical element shown in FIG. 1 has a light control layer precursor solution between a substrate 21 having an electrode layer 11 and a release substrate 91 having a conductive film 81. 110, that is, after the mixture of the liquid crystal material and the precursor of the matrix resin is sandwiched, the light control layer precursor solution 110 is irradiated with light 100 and 101 to perform photopolymerization, thereby forming the light control layer 51. By removing only the peeling substrate 91 and transferring the conductive film 81 to one surface of the light control layer 51, it can be manufactured. After the release substrate is separated, a light-absorbing substrate can be added on the conductive film 81.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic sectional view of a liquid crystal optical element according to another embodiment of the present invention.
The liquid crystal optical element in FIG. 4 is a liquid crystal optical element in which a plurality of light control layers are laminated via a conductive film, and at least one conductive film is a film transferred from the peeling substrate onto the light control layer. The liquid crystal optical element is characterized by the following. That is, FIG.
The first liquid crystal optical element has a first electrode layer 11, a first light control layer 5
First substrate 21 on which first and first conductive films 81 are laminated
And the second substrate 22 on which the second electrode layer 12, the second light control layer 52, and the second conductive film 82 are laminated, the conductive film 8
A liquid crystal optical element having a third dimming layer 53 sandwiched between the conductive films 81 and 82 so that the conductive films 81 and 82 face each other.
Is a film transferred from the separation substrate onto the first light control layer 51 and the second light control layer 52.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the liquid crystal optical element shown in FIG. 4 has a first electrode layer 11, a first light control layer 51, and a first conductive film 81 which are laminated. The substrate 21 and the second substrate 22 on which the second electrode layer 12, the second dimming layer 52, and the second conductive film 82 are stacked are used to form conductive films 81, 8
2 are opposed to each other so that the light control layer precursor solution 110
After the light is sandwiched between the light control layer precursor solution 110 and the light 100, 1
The third light modulating layer 53 can be manufactured by irradiating the photo-polymerization by irradiating 01 with the light-irradiating light.
However, in FIG. 6, a peeled substrate 92 in which a third conductive film 83, a second light control layer 52, and a second conductive film 82 are stacked is used instead of the second substrate 22 in FIG. The case is illustrated.

The manufacturing technique shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 enables the production of a laminated light control layer, and is particularly effective when the light control layer is a polymer dispersed liquid crystal or a holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal. It is. For example, as described above, two transparent substrates with a light control layer composed of a conductive film / holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal are used, and a light control layer precursor is injected between the substrates.
By producing a light control layer that becomes an intermediate layer by interference exposure, a hologram with a three-layer structure

The light control layer in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention comprises:
It has a configuration in which a liquid crystal material is dispersed in a matrix resin. The liquid crystal material dispersed in the matrix resin may be connected in a network. One example of the light control layer is a holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal. In a holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal, a liquid crystal material is dispersed with periodicity in a matrix resin so as to selectively reflect visible light. At this time, the liquid crystal material may form droplets, or the matrix resin may be fine particles and exist in the liquid crystal material. Their periodicity can be arbitrarily set according to the desired selective reflection wavelength.
When a multi-color display is performed by laminating dimming layers having characteristics of reflecting or absorbing a specific wavelength, the order of lamination can be arbitrarily selected.

The term “peeling substrate” in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention refers to a substrate which can be easily peeled from the conductive film formed on at least one surface. In the case where the light control layer is manufactured by irradiating light also from the peeling substrate side, the material is not limited as long as at least light having a wavelength used in the manufacture is transmitted. At this time, the light transmittance may be 10% or more, but is preferably 30% or more. The material of the release substrate may be an inorganic material such as glass or an organic material such as a polymer film. Note that a coat of fluorine or the like may be applied to make the peeling of the conductive film easier. Further, the surface does not necessarily have to be flat, and the conductive film to be transferred can have a curved or bent portion by providing irregularities. At this time, the conductive film may be in contact with the electrode layer on the opposing substrate. An example is shown in FIG. In the liquid crystal optical element shown in FIG. 11, the electrode layer 11 on the substrate 21 where the conductive film 84 is bent and opposed.
Is in contact with

The conductive film in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention is composed of a conductive material and a supporting material, and can be manufactured and formed on a release substrate.
4 shows a film transferred to the light control layer side by peeling of a peeling substrate.
As the conductive material, any substance can be used as long as it has conductivity, but a mixture of indium oxide and tin oxide, ITO (indium tin oxide), or the like is preferable. In addition, a conductive polymer can also be used. As the support material, a material that can support or fix the conductive material to the release substrate or the light control layer can be used,
For example, an ordinary polymer material or an inorganic material such as glass can be used. The thickness of the conductive film is not particularly limited, but is preferably 500 μm or less in consideration of parallax generation, and particularly
m to 10 μm is desirable.

In the conductive film, the conductive material may be dispersed in the support material, or may be layered on the surface of the film-like support material. When a film-like support material is used as in the latter case, a conductive material may be fixed on both the front and back surfaces of the film. Further, if necessary, the electrodes can be patterned on the conductive film. 9 and 10 show examples of the conductive film. The conductive film 84 in FIG. 9 is obtained by fixing the conductive material 61 on both surfaces of a film-shaped support material 71, and the conductive film 85 in FIG. 10 is obtained by dispersing the conductive material 62 in the support material 71. is there.

As the material of the substrate having the electrode layer used in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention, glass, plastic, or the like can be used. Preferably, the substrate is optically transparent. The electrode layer is provided so as to be on the light control layer side. ITO or the like can be used as the electrode layer material. When the substrate used has conductivity, the substrate can be used as an electrode. Further, an active element such as a thin film transistor can be added to the substrate. The transparent substrate having the electrode layer does not need to be processed so that the liquid crystal is aligned, but may be subjected to an alignment process. These alignment treatments include TN liquid crystal, ST
An ordinary alignment film such as polyimide used for N liquid crystal or the like can be used. Further, a rubbing treatment may be performed. Further, an insulating film can be added to the substrate.

For setting the distance between the substrates, a rod-shaped or spherical spacer made of glass or a polymer resin or the like used for a normal liquid crystal device can be used, and the distance between the substrates is about 3 μm to 30 μm. desirable.

The liquid crystal optical element of the present invention can be configured as either a reflection type or a transmission type element. When a holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal is used as the light control layer to form a reflective liquid crystal optical element, a light absorbing substrate can be added. The light absorbing substrate can be added to a surface of the substrate different from the light control layer side, or can be added to the transferred conductive film. The light absorbing substrate may be an inorganic material or an organic material as long as the material is made of a material that absorbs visible light. Although the absorption intensity or the absorption wavelength can be arbitrarily changed depending on the target element characteristics, it is generally desirable that the color is black. An example of the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention to which a light absorbing substrate is added is shown in FIGS. FIG. 7 shows a light absorbing substrate 121.
8 is added to a surface of the substrate 21 different from the light control layer side, FIG.
Is an example in which a light absorbing substrate 122 is added on a conductive film (electrode layer) 12 transferred from a separation substrate. In FIG. 8, 130 indicates incident light, and 140 indicates reflected light.

The liquid crystal optical element of the present invention comprises a light modulating layer precursor, that is, a precursor of a liquid crystal material and a matrix resin, between two substrates having a fixed gap, at least one of which is a release substrate having a conductive film. , And then irradiating with light to form a dimming layer, thereby producing a layer. At this time, the light control layer precursor may be injected under reduced pressure or normal pressure, but preferably under reduced pressure in order to ensure uniformity of the element, that is, to prevent entry of air or the like. However, when the light control layer precursor has volatility, it is desirable to perform the reaction under normal pressure, but this is not limited. In addition, heating may be performed or cooling may be performed if necessary at the time of injection.

The light control layer in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention comprises:
As described above, it is composed of a matrix resin and a liquid crystal material. The light modulating layer precursor indicates a mixture of a matrix resin precursor and a liquid crystal material. The precursor of the matrix resin refers to a monomer, an oligomer, or a mixture of a monomer and an oligomer, which is polymerized by light irradiation. The matrix resin is produced by polymerizing its precursor, that is, by polymerizing it.

As the precursor of the matrix resin, any compound having a photopolymerizable group composed of a general vinyl group such as an acryloyl group and a methacryloyl group can be used. A plurality of photopolymerizable groups may be present in one molecule of the precursor of the matrix resin. For example, as the above precursor, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, butylethyl acrylate, butoxyethyl acrylate, 2-cyanoethyl acrylate, benzyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl acrylate, N, N-diethylaminoethyl Acrylate, N, N-dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, dicyclopentanyl acrylate, dicyclopentenyl acrylate, glycidyl acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, isobonyl acrylate, isodecyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, morpholine acrylate, phenoxyethyl acrylate, phenoxydiethylene glycol Monofunctional acrylate compounds such as acrylates,

2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, butylethyl methacrylate, butoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-cyanoethyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl acrylate, N, N-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, N, N -Single unit such as dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, dicyclopentenyl methacrylate, dicyclopentenyl methacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate, isobonyl methacrylate, isodecyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, morpholine methacrylate, phenoxyethyl methacrylate, phenoxydiethylene glycol methacrylate, etc. Methacrylate compounds,

Diethylene glycol diacrylate,
1,4-butanediol diacrylate, 1,3-butylene glycol diacrylate, dicyclopentanyl diacrylate, glycerol diacrylate, 1,6-
Hexanediol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, tetraethylene glycol diacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate,
Multifunctional acrylate compounds such as pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, ditrimethylolpropane tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate, dipentaerythritol monohydroxypentaacrylate, urethane acrylate oligomer,

Diethylene glycol dimethacrylate,
1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate, 1,3-butylene glycol dimethacrylate, dicyclopentanyl dimethacrylate glycerol dimethacrylate,
1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate, tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, pentaerythritol tetramethacrylate, pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, ditrimethylolpropane tetramethacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexamethacrylate, dipentaerythritol Examples include polyfunctional methacrylate compounds such as pentaerythritol monohydroxypentamethacrylate and urethane methacrylate oligomer, but are not limited thereto.

Further, the precursor of the matrix resin and the matrix resin are not limited to being optically isotropic, and may have optical anisotropy. That is, the precursor of the matrix resin may have liquid crystallinity.

The refractive index of the matrix resin and its anisotropy can be arbitrarily set according to the intended reflection or transmission characteristics of the liquid crystal optical element. As an example, there is a case where the refractive index of the matrix resin is set at or near the ordinary light refractive index of the liquid crystal material. At this time, if a refractive index difference occurs between the refractive index of the randomly arranged liquid crystal droplets and the refractive index of the matrix resin, and the liquid crystal droplets are regularly arranged at intervals such that selective reflection occurs, the light control is performed. Selective reflection occurs in the layer. When the liquid crystal material in the liquid crystal droplet is oriented by an electric or magnetic field so that the refractive index of the liquid crystal droplet and the refractive index of the matrix resin substantially match, the selectively reflected light disappears, and the light passes through the light control layer. At this time, black display can be performed by absorbing the transmitted light with the light absorbing substrate.

It is desirable that the matrix resin in the light control layer is contained in an amount of 10% by weight to 90% by weight, particularly 20% by weight to 80% by weight based on the liquid crystal material.
If the amount of the matrix resin is too large, the driving voltage of the device becomes high. If the amount is too small, the regular arrangement of the liquid crystal droplets is not formed and the reflectance of visible light is reduced.

It is desirable to add a photopolymerization initiator to the precursor of the matrix resin in order to easily cause polymerization by light irradiation. Usable photopolymerization initiators include acetophenone-based, benzoin-based, benzophenone-based, and thioxanthone-based photopolymerization initiators. Specifically, for example, diethoxyacetophenone, 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1phenylpropan-1-one, benzoin methyl ether, benzoin ethyl ether,
4-phenylbenzophenone, 2-chlorothioxanthone, 2-methylthioxanthone and the like. The photopolymerization initiator may be a solid or a liquid, but is preferably one that is dissolved or compatible with the liquid crystal in view of the uniformity of the device. The concentration of the photopolymerization initiator is preferably 30% by weight or less of the matrix resin precursor. If necessary, a photoinitiating aid such as methyldiethanolamine and 4-dimethylaminobenzoic acid can be added.

Further, if the absorption excitation wavelength of the photopolymerization initiator does not match the wavelength of the light source used for photopolymerization, a dye material that absorbs long wavelength light, for example, visible light and transfers energy to the polymerization initiator. Can be added. Dye materials include coumarin dyes, rhodamine dyes, oxazine dyes, carbocyanine dyes, dicarbocyan dyes, tricarbocyan dyes, tetracarbocyan dyes, pentacarbocyan dyes, oxonol dyes, and styryl dyes. Examples include, but are not limited to, dyes, xanthene dyes, merocyanine dyes, rhodocyanine dyes, porphyrin dyes, acridine dyes, and the like. Any dye material can be used as long as it is excited by visible light and transfers energy to the start of photopolymerization.

The liquid crystal material used in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention includes ordinary nematic liquid crystals, smectic liquid crystals, cholesteric liquid crystals and the like. Further, a ferroelectric liquid crystal may be used, and a dichroic dye may be added as necessary. As a material system of the liquid crystal material, any of a cyano system, a fluorine system, a chlorine system, etc. may be used. However, in order to perform active driving by an active element such as a thin film transistor (TFT), a fluorine system having a high charge retention rate and a high Liquid crystals are preferred.

In the formation of the light control layer in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention, ultraviolet light or visible light can be used as a light beam used for photopolymerization of the matrix resin precursor. For example, when producing a holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal as a light control layer, photopolymerization is performed by laser interference exposure. That is, two laser beams are incident on the substrate,
Photopolymerization is performed in the state where laser light interferes. In order to obtain selective reflection of red, green, and blue, the incident angle of the laser is adjusted, or a laser light source having a different wavelength is used. As a laser light source, an argon ion laser or various semiconductor lasers can be used. During light irradiation,
An arbitrary pattern can be formed using a light shielding film such as a photomask. It should be noted that two or more laser beams may be used to produce two or more types of diffraction gratings in one light control layer. Further, an electric field or a magnetic field or the like can be applied to the light control layer precursor at the time of manufacturing the light control layer, that is, at the time of light irradiation.

[0053]

(Example 1) A release substrate made of PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) to which a PES (polyether sulfone) film (thickness: 5 μm) with ITO (indium tin oxide) was attached, and a transparent glass substrate with ITO Was placed so that the ITO faces each other, and an empty cell was produced using a 10 μm spacer. In this cell, a UV curable acrylate monomer which is a precursor of a matrix resin and a nematic liquid crystal BL36 having a positive dielectric anisotropy are provided.
(Manufactured by Merck) under normal pressure. At this time, the liquid crystal concentration was 60% by weight. The liquid crystal cell was irradiated with ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 365 nm to perform photopolymerization. The manufactured light modulating layer exhibited a light scattering state when no voltage was applied. When the release substrate was removed, the PES film was transferred to the light control layer side. Even after the removal of the release substrate, no change in the electro-optical characteristics of the light control layer was observed.

(Example 2) A peeled substrate on which a PES film with ITO (thickness: 5 μm) was stuck and a transparent glass substrate with ITO were set so that ITO was opposed to each other, and an empty cell was produced using a 5 μm spacer. did. In this cell,
UV curable acrylate monomer which is the precursor of matrix resin and nematic liquid crystal BL with positive dielectric anisotropy
36 (manufactured by Merck) at a normal pressure (liquid crystal concentration: 30% by weight). The liquid crystal cell was irradiated with an argon laser having a wavelength of 488 nm by a two-beam interference method to perform photopolymerization. The manufactured light control layer exhibited a blue reflection state when no voltage was applied. After removing the release substrate, PE
The S film was transferred to the light control layer side. Even after the removal of the release substrate, no change in the electro-optical characteristics of the light control layer was observed.

(Example 3) A light absorbing plate was adhered under reduced pressure on the PES film of the liquid crystal optical element manufactured in Example 2. A thermosetting adhesive was provided between the film and the light absorbing substrate to improve the adhesion. When white light was incident from the transparent glass substrate side, blue reflection was observed. In addition, the visibility of blue was improved by installing the light absorbing substrate.

(Example 4) A transparent glass substrate with ITO and a peeling substrate with a PES film with ITO attached on both sides were set so that the ITO faces each other, and an empty cell was produced using a 5 μm spacer. . In this cell, a UV curable acrylate monomer which is a precursor of a matrix resin and a nematic liquid crystal BL36 having a positive dielectric anisotropy are provided.
(Made by Merck) (liquid crystal concentration: 30% by weight) was injected under normal pressure. The liquid crystal cell was irradiated with an argon laser beam having a wavelength of 488 nm at right angles by a two-beam interference method to perform photopolymerization. The manufactured light control layer showed a green reflection state when no voltage was applied. The release substrate was removed, and a first dimming layer was manufactured.

Next, an empty cell was prepared in the same manner as above, and a nematic liquid crystal BL36 (manufactured by Merck) having a positive dielectric anisotropy and an ultraviolet-curable acrylate monomer, a dye as a precursor of the matrix resin was prepared therein. Mixed solution (liquid crystal concentration 3
0% by weight) under normal pressure. This liquid crystal cell has a wavelength of 5
Irradiation was performed with a light beam of an argon ion laser of 14.5 nm at an angle of 60 degrees or less in a state where two light beams interfered with each other, and photopolymerization was performed. The manufactured light control layer showed a red reflection state when no voltage was applied. The release substrate was removed, and a second light control layer was manufactured.

Further, the first light control layer and the second light control layer were set so that ITO on the film was opposed to each other, and an empty cell was formed using a 5 μm spacer. In the gap, an ultraviolet-curable acrylate monomer, which is a precursor of a matrix resin, and a nematic liquid crystal BL having a positive dielectric anisotropy.
36 (manufactured by Merck) at a normal pressure (liquid crystal concentration: 30% by weight). This liquid crystal cell has a wavelength of 488n.
m was irradiated with an argon ion laser beam at an angle of 180 degrees with two beams interfering with each other, and photopolymerization was performed to produce a third light control layer between the first light control layer and the second light control layer. . The third light control layer alone exhibited blue reflection when no voltage was applied.

(Example 5) When manufacturing the second light control layer,
A liquid crystal optical element having a three-layer laminated structure was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 4, except that the transparent glass substrate with O was changed to a release substrate to which a PES film with ITO was attached. Thereafter, the peeling substrate was peeled off, and a light absorbing substrate was stuck. The visibility of the reflected light was improved by installing the light absorbing substrate (see FIG. 8).

(Example 6) PMMA in which indium oxide and tin oxide are dispersed instead of the PES film with ITO
A liquid crystal optical element was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 2 except that a film was used. When the release substrate was removed, the PMMA film in which indium oxide and tin oxide were dispersed was transferred to the light control layer side. Even after removing the release plate, no change was observed in the reflection state of the light control layer.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Obviously, each embodiment can be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In the liquid crystal optical element in which the light control layer is sandwiched between the electrode layers, the light control layer is damaged based on a basic configuration in which at least one of the electrode layers sandwiching the light control layer is a conductive film transferred from a release substrate. Instead, a conductive film having a desired thickness, pattern, and the like can be easily disposed on the light control layer.
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily obtain a laminated liquid crystal optical element which has a small parallax and displays multi-color with one pixel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing one embodiment of a liquid crystal optical element according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing light irradiation when forming a light control layer of the liquid crystal optical element according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing removal of a peeling substrate in manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing one embodiment of the liquid crystal optical element according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing light irradiation when forming a light control layer of the liquid crystal optical element according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing removal of a peeling substrate in manufacturing the liquid crystal optical element according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention to which a light absorbing substrate is added.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention to which a light absorbing substrate is added.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a conductive film in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a conductive film in the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the liquid crystal optical element of the present invention in which a conductive material of a conductive film is in contact with a part of an electrode layer on a substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Electrode layer 12 Electrode layer 21 Substrate 22 Substrate 31 Liquid crystal drop 32 Liquid crystal drop 33 Liquid crystal drop 41 Matrix resin 42 Matrix resin 43 Matrix resin 51 Light control layer 52 Light control layer 53 Light control layer 61 Conductive material 62 Conductive material 71 Support Material 81 conductive film 82 conductive film 83 conductive film 84 conductive film 85 conductive film 91 release substrate 92 release substrate 100 laser light 101 laser light 110 dimming layer precursor solution 121 light absorption substrate 122 light absorption substrate 130 incident Light 140 reflected light

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-58-2824 (JP, A) JP-A-2-17411 (JP, A) JP-A-61-243607 (JP, A) JP-A-10- 222047 (JP, A) JP-A-10-206882 (JP, A) JP-A-10-48661 (JP, A) JP-A 8-297280 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02F 1/1343 G02F 1/1334 G02F 1/1347

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. Dimming between a substrate having an electrode layer and a conductive film
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element having a layer interposed therebetween, wherein a dimming layer precursor is sandwiched between a substrate having an electrode layer and a release substrate having a conductive film, and light control is performed between the substrate and the release substrate. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element, comprising: after manufacturing a layer, removing the release substrate and transferring a conductive film from the release substrate to one surface of the light control layer. After 2. A was peeled peeling substrate, a manufacturing method of the liquid crystal optical element according to claim 1, characterized in that the addition of light-absorbing substrate a conductive film. 3. A first electrode layer, a first light control layer and a first light control layer.
A first substrate on which a conductive film is laminated; a second electrode layer;
A second substrate on which a light control layer and a second conductive film are stacked;
Provided between the first conductive film and the second conductive film;
A third light modulating layer, and the first conductive film and
One or both of the second conductive film and the light-controlling layer
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element, which is a film transferred on
Then, after the dimming layer precursor is sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate in a state where the first conductive film and the second conductive film face each other, the first substrate A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element, comprising manufacturing a third light control layer between a conductive film and a second conductive film. 4. The conductive film transferred from the release substrate comprises a conductive material and a support material .
4. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element according to any one of items 3 . 5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the conductive material of the conductive film is brought into contact with a part of the electrode layer on the substrate. 6. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element according to claim 1 , wherein the light control layer comprises a matrix resin and a liquid crystal material. 7. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal optical element according to claim 1 , wherein the light modulating layer has an interference structure that reflects visible light.