JPH086050A - Liquid crystal display element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a liquid crystal display element which is low in driving voltage and has a gradation characteristic of a high contrast ratio and less dependency on visual angles by providing the inside of a liquid crystal layer with intra-layer electrodes. CONSTITUTION:Oriented films 8, 9 are formed on the respective opposite surfaces of substrates 1, 2 and a liquid crystal layer 3 and the intra-layer electrodes 4, 5 are arranged in the spacing between these substrates. The intra- layer electrodes 4, 5 are formed by entangling the wire-shaped electrodes with each other to a rough non-woven state. Both electrodes are insulated from each other. The arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules is made uniform at the time of absence of an electric field by the oriented films 8, 9 and the electric field is impressed between the intra-layer electrodes 4 and 5, by which such light control as to obtain optical rotation, scattering, etc., is made possible. Formation of a spacer with liquid crystal display elements is possible by utilizing the thicknesses of the intra-layer electrodes 4, 5. Wire-shaped metals, metal oxides such as ITO, conductive glass fibers, conductive high polymer fibers, meshed films, etc., are usable for the intra-layer electrodes 4, 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid crystal display element is for displaying by controlling the state of transmission or reflection of light by means of liquid crystal, and displaying by combining with a polarizer by utilizing the optical rotation effect of liquid crystal, and phase transition of liquid crystal. Are used to display by a light-scattering action, and those in which a dye is added to the liquid crystal to display by an absorbing action in which the visible light absorption amount of the dye is controlled by the orientation of the liquid crystal.

The liquid crystal display element combining the former optical rotation effect and a polarizer is, for example, a twisted nematic (TN) type liquid crystal having a molecular arrangement twisted by 90 °, and since the optical rotation can be controlled at a low voltage, it has a high response speed and a low response. High contrast ratio at power consumption. In static drive, a clock, a calculator, a simple matrix drive, and an active matrix drive equipped with a switching element for each pixel,
In combination with a color filter, it is applied to full-color LCD TVs.

However, a liquid crystal display device combining these optical rotations and a polarizer has a remarkably low transmittance due to the use of a polarizing plate in principle, and the display color depends on the viewing angle / direction depending on the orientation of the molecular arrangement. The CRT has a visual angle disparity, such as a large change in the contrast ratio.
The display performance of (RT) cannot be completely exceeded.

On the other hand, the latter liquid crystal display device utilizing the phase transition of liquid crystal and the liquid crystal display device in which the visible light absorption amount of the dye is controlled are, for example, from a cholesteric phase having a helical molecular arrangement to a homeotropic molecular nematic phase. (Phase that causes phase transition to
Change) type liquid crystal and a White-Taylor type GH (Guest-Hos) obtained by adding a dye to the liquid crystal.
t) Liquid crystal, which does not use a polarizer and in principle does not use a polarization effect, is bright and has a wide viewing angle, and is applied to automobile devices, projection display devices, and the like.

However, in order to obtain sufficient light scattering, it is necessary to make the liquid crystal phase thick enough or to increase the helical strength that causes the scattering, which requires a high driving voltage and a very slow response speed. Therefore, it is difficult to apply it to a display element having a large display amount (number of pixels). Further, the applied voltage-transmittance characteristic has hysteresis, which is a practical problem such that it is difficult to perform multiplex driving.

Although attempts have been made to increase the scattering property by using capsule-shaped and fibrous polymers, a sufficiently low driving voltage and required characteristics have not been obtained yet. This is because there are restrictions on the shape and manufacturing method of the polymer and the mixing ratio of the polymer and the liquid crystal layer, and again, when trying to satisfy the required driving characteristics, sufficient scattering cannot be obtained.

Also in these systems, the molecular alignment of the liquid crystal is significantly different between the light scattering state and the light transmitting state.
As described above, hysteresis occurs in electro-optical characteristics.

Further, as a method of scattering light, an alignment treatment is carried out for each fine region such that liquid crystal molecules are arranged in various directions on the surfaces of two electrode-attached substrates, and a gap is formed by facing them as inner faces. It may be possible to hold the liquid crystal in between, but this is not a means for solving the above-mentioned problem of hysteresis, and a means for realizing such a structure has not been found, and it is not a practical method. .

[0010]

As described above, currently, the liquid crystal display element has a low transmittance and a viewing angle dissimilarity.
There were problems that a high drive voltage was required and the response speed was slow.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a liquid crystal display device that solves these problems.

[0012]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention is characterized in that an in-layer electrode is provided inside the liquid crystal layer in order to give an arbitrary potential difference inside the liquid crystal layer.

That is, according to the present invention, in a liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal layer between two substrates, a liquid crystal display device in which an in-layer electrode at least a part of which is surrounded by the liquid crystal layer is arranged inside the liquid crystal layer. Is what you get.

Further, a liquid crystal display device in which the in-layer electrodes are linear is obtained.

Further, the present invention provides a liquid crystal display element in which at least one substrate is provided with a substrate electrode that transmits light.

Further, the present invention provides a liquid crystal display device in which an alignment film in contact with a liquid crystal layer is formed on at least one of the substrates and the alignment of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is controlled by the alignment film in the absence of an electric field.

Further, a liquid crystal display device is obtained in which a dye is mixed in the liquid crystal layer.

Further, the present invention provides a liquid crystal display element in which the in-layer electrode also serves as a spacer for controlling the distance between two substrates.

Further, the present invention provides a liquid crystal display element in which the refractive index of the in-layer electrode is substantially equal to the refractive index of the liquid crystal for extraordinary light or ordinary light.

Further, a liquid crystal display device in which a polarizing plate is arranged on the outer surface side of at least one of the two substrates is obtained.

[0021]

The present invention is characterized in that an electrode, that is, an in-layer electrode is provided inside the liquid crystal layer. The in-layer electrode is arranged in the middle portion of the liquid crystal layer so that at least a part thereof is surrounded by the liquid crystal, and holds the liquid crystal layer in a continuous conductive state without being divided into two substrate sides. The liquid crystal portion in contact with this electrode is affected by the surface energy, and in the case of nematic liquid crystal with positive dielectric anisotropy, it becomes an array parallel to the electrode, but from a macro perspective, the electric field by the electrode of the substrate and the array control by the alignment film Since there is no electric field, the influence on the orientation of the in-layer electrode is small.

As the in-layer electrode, a linear metal, a metal oxide such as ITO, a conductive glass fiber, a conductive polymer fiber, a mesh film or the like can be used. If necessary, the surface of the electrode is covered with an insulating layer or an alignment film that also serves as an insulation.

FIGS. 1 (a), 1 (b), 1 (c) and 1 (d) illustrate an example of a schematic electrode structure for realizing the structure of the liquid crystal element of the present invention.

FIG. 1A shows a structure in which a liquid crystal layer 3 is sandwiched between two transparent insulating substrates 1 and 2 which are opposed to each other with a gap therebetween, and one in-layer electrode 4 is provided on the entire substrate surface. It is a structure provided in.

FIG. 1B shows a structure in which two in-layer electrodes 4 and 5 are sandwiched inside the liquid crystal layer 3.

In FIG. 1 (c), the electrodes are composed of an electrode 6 on one substrate 2 and an in-layer electrode 4 in the liquid crystal layer.

FIG. 1D is composed of substrate electrodes 6 and 7 on both substrates 1 and 2 and an in-layer electrode 4 inside the liquid crystal layer.

In the case of the structure shown in FIG. 1A, there is no potential difference inside the liquid crystal layer, but as an example, since there is an electrode, the heat of the liquid crystal changes the state of the liquid crystal, whereby light can be controlled.

In the case of the structure of FIG. 1 (b), the in-layer electrodes 4, 5
There is a potential difference between them. As an example, when the arrangement of electrodes is three-dimensionally disordered, the alignment of liquid crystal molecules caused by the potential difference is also three-dimensionally disordered. Therefore, light scattering can be obtained. Further, when the liquid crystal layer is made conductive, when a voltage is applied, the electrodes flow in the liquid crystal layer to disturb the alignment of the liquid crystals, and thus light scattering can be obtained.

Also in the case of the configuration of FIG. 1C, as in the case of FIG.
It is possible to obtain a three-dimensional change in the liquid crystal molecule alignment due to the potential difference between the substrate electrode 6 and the in-layer electrode 4, and it is also possible to obtain a change due to the current.

In the structure of FIG. 1D, the driving as shown in FIG. 1C can be performed, and a potential difference can be applied to the substrate electrodes 6 and 7 on the substrate to obtain a uniform liquid crystal molecule arrangement. Is. In that state, if a potential difference is applied between the in-layer electrode 4 and the electrodes 6 and 7 on the substrate, the liquid crystal molecule arrangement can be disturbed three-dimensionally, and light scattering can be obtained. It is possible to easily change two states.

FIG. 2 is characterized in that the in-layer electrode 4a inside the liquid crystal layer is linear. FIGS. 2A and 2B show line-lattice-shaped intralayer electrodes. Due to the positional relationship of the electrodes inside the liquid crystal layer, the direction of the electric field inside the liquid crystal layer is vertical,
It changes three-dimensionally such as horizontal and diagonal. Therefore, the liquid crystal molecules can be aligned in any direction with respect to the substrate depending on the positional relationship of the electrodes. With this electrode configuration, the molecular arrangement can be changed to a uniform state or a random state. Therefore, incident light can be transmitted as it is, and light control such as scattering, refraction, and optical rotation can be performed. The substrate electrode 6 is provided only on the substrate 2 shown in FIG.
In (b), substrate electrodes 6 and 7 are provided on both substrates 1 and 2.

In the present invention, it is possible to provide a large number of in-layer electrodes and drive them independently. Therefore, in the case where two or more electrodes are independently driven separately, the molecular arrangement can be changed in many ways with one configuration. An example thereof is shown in FIG. In this structure, four independently driveable electrodes 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e are installed. So by selecting that electrode,
Multiple electric field directions within the liquid crystal layer can be created. Therefore, it is possible to realize a plurality of liquid crystal alignment states with one configuration.

Further, since the liquid crystal display device of the present invention has the electrodes provided inside the liquid crystal layer, the effect of the electric field affecting the liquid crystal molecules becomes large. Therefore, the molecular arrangement can be easily changed, so that low voltage driving is possible and high-speed response is obtained.

In the present invention, it is possible to use a transparent electrode in order to improve the transmittance strength of the liquid crystal display element. Thereby, a liquid crystal display element having a high absolute transmittance can be obtained. Further, when the refractive index of the transparent electrode is equal to or considerably close to the refractive index of ordinary light or extraordinary light of the liquid crystal (0.95 to 1.05), there is scattering due to the difference in refractive index between the electrode and the liquid crystal. Since the liquid crystal display element is out of the state, a liquid crystal display element having higher transmittance can be obtained.

In the present invention, it is possible to obtain a uniform state of the liquid crystal molecule alignment by applying a voltage depending on the structure of the substrate electrodes 6 and 7 (for example, FIG. 1D), but the power consumption is further reduced. Therefore, an alignment film can be formed on the substrate. In FIG. 3, the alignment films 8 and 9 are formed on the opposing surfaces of the two substrates 1 and 2, and the liquid crystal layer 3 and the in-layer electrodes 4 and 5 are arranged in the gap between the substrates. The in-layer electrodes 4 and 5 are formed by entwining linear ones into a rough non-woven fabric, but the two electrodes are insulated. By the alignment films 8 and 9, the liquid crystal molecule alignment is made uniform when no electric field is applied, and by applying an electric field between the in-layer electrodes 4 and 5, it is possible to perform light control such as optical rotation and scattering.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the dye 10 which absorbs light in one direction and transmits light in another direction inside the liquid crystal layer 3.
It is also possible to control the light by mixing. A state in which no voltage is applied to the in-layer electrodes 4 and 5 (see FIG.
In (a)), the liquid crystal molecules 3a are arranged in a uniform state, and the dyes are also arranged in a uniform state therewith to allow light to pass therethrough (guest host). When a voltage is applied to this element to make the liquid crystal molecule arrangement random, the dye 10 also changes its direction three-dimensionally (FIG. 4).
(B)), The dye absorbs light due to its characteristics. Therefore, it is possible to control light by using the light absorption property of the dye in this way.

Further, the in-layer electrodes naturally have a certain thickness, but it is also possible to utilize the thickness to form a spacer for a liquid crystal display element. As an example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the mesh electrodes 4f, 4g, and 4h are laminated in a layered structure so that liquid crystal molecules enter between the electrodes, a liquid crystal alignment change can be obtained in all ranges. It is possible to realize a display device having a high contrast without such light leakage.

In this liquid crystal layer electrode type element, light control utilizing the birefringence of liquid crystal is possible by combining with the polarizing plates 12 and 13 as shown in FIG. With this method, white and black light can be realized.

[0040]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

(Embodiment 1) This embodiment is shown in FIG. The in-layer electrode 4 inside the liquid crystal layer 3 is aluminum having a diameter of 5 μm, and its surface is oxidized for insulation. As the substrate, glass substrates 1 and 2 coated with transparent substrate electrodes 6 and 7 made of ITO are used. The aluminum electrode 4 was sandwiched between these two glass substrates 1 and 2, and a liquid crystal material was injected between them. The liquid crystal material is a nematic liquid crystal showing positive dielectric anisotropy (ZLI-3926 (Δn = 0.
2030)) was used. The liquid crystal layer 3 thus obtained has a liquid crystal layer thickness of about 20 μm.

A voltage was applied to this liquid crystal display element to measure electro-optical characteristics (transmittance-applied voltage curve). A voltage is applied to the substrate electrodes 6 and 7 on both substrates, and the in-layer electrodes in the liquid crystal layer are grounded. In order to obtain the transmittance-applied voltage curve, He-Ne laser light is made incident on the liquid crystal display element,
The transmittance was measured. The spot diameter of the light was 2 mm, and the transmitted laser light was detected by a photodiode located at a distance of 20 cm from the liquid crystal display element. FIG. 10 shows a transmittance-applied voltage curve when the voltage is gradually increased from 0 V to 10 V, and then the voltage of one substrate is kept as it is and the other voltage is decreased from 10 V to 0 V. . (1) is a characteristic of this embodiment. First, the electrodes on the substrate were set to 10 V and 0 V to form a uniform state, and then the measurement was performed.

As is clear from the characteristic (1), a good result of the maximum contrast ratio of 100: 1 could be obtained.

(Example 2) A liquid crystal element having a structure as shown in FIG. 7 was used. The configuration is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but the IT
Alignment films 8 and 9 are formed on the O substrate electrodes 6 and 7. The alignment film used was polyimide (SE-71 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.).
20 (pretilt angle measurement value 6 °)). The other conditions are the same as in Example 1.

The rubbing directions of these alignment films 8 and 9 were parallel to each other so that liquid crystal molecules were not twisted.

A voltage was applied to this liquid crystal display element to measure electro-optical characteristics (transmittance-applied voltage curve). A voltage is applied between the substrate electrodes of both substrates, and the in-layer electrode in the middle of the liquid crystal layer is grounded. In Fig. 10 (2), the voltage is gradually increased from 0V to 10V, and then 10V.
3 shows a transmittance-applied voltage curve when decreasing from 0 V to 0 V.

Good results were obtained with a maximum contrast ratio of 100: 1. The absolute transmittance at a voltage of 10 V was 0.5%, which was a good result. When the response time was measured at an applied voltage of 10 V, extremely fast values of light → dark 5 ms and dark → light 15 ms were obtained.

(Example 3) A liquid crystal element having a structure as shown in FIG. 3 was used. Although the configuration is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, FIG.
Alignment films 8 and 9 are formed instead of the substrate electrode shown in FIG. 2 and two in-layer electrodes 4 and 5 are used inside the liquid crystal layer in order to generate a potential difference inside the liquid crystal layer. The other conditions are the same as those in Examples 1 and 2.

A voltage was applied to this liquid crystal element to measure electro-optical characteristics (transmittance-applied voltage curve). A voltage is applied to the electrode 1 in the liquid crystal layer, and the electrode 1'is grounded. In FIG. 10C, the voltage is changed from 0 V to 1 in Example 2
The transmittance-applied voltage curve when gradually increasing to 0 V and then decreasing from 10 V to 0 V is shown.

Good results were obtained with a maximum contrast ratio of 100: 1. Moreover, when the response time was measured at an applied voltage of 10 V, light → dark 8 ms, dark →
Brightness was 15 ms, which was an extremely fast value as in Example 2.

Example 4 A liquid crystal display device having the structure shown in FIG. 8 was used. Although the configuration is almost the same as that of the second embodiment,
The substrate electrode is only the electrode 6 on the lower substrate 2, and the TFT
11 was connected to form an active matrix substrate. Further, the alignment film 6 is formed on both substrates. The other conditions are the same as in Example 1.

A voltage was applied to this liquid crystal element to measure electro-optical characteristics (transmittance-applied voltage curve). A voltage is applied to the TFT 11 and the aluminum electrode in the liquid crystal layer is used as the ground. FIG. 10 (4) shows a transmittance-applied voltage curve when the voltage was gradually increased from 0V to 10V and then the phenomenon was changed from 10V to 0V.

Good results with a maximum contrast ratio of 100: 1 could be obtained. Also, when the response time was measured at an applied voltage of 10 V, (bright → dark) 5 ms,
A very fast value of 15 ms (dark → bright) was obtained.

Example 5 As a liquid crystal material, a nematic liquid crystal material ZLI-4850 (Δn showing negative dielectric anisotropy)
= 0.208 (manufactured by Merck Japan Co., Ltd.) was used, and a liquid crystal element was manufactured under the same conditions as in Example 4, and an experiment was conducted.

When various characteristics similar to those in Example 4 were measured,
Excellent results almost equivalent to those of Example 4 were obtained.

Example 6 As the alignment film in FIG. 6, a film obtained by sputtering SiO ₂ on a glass substrate was used.
In addition, processing agent for vertical alignment processing ODS-E (Octadecylt
rietoxysilane alcohol solution: Chisso Co., Ltd. was applied and the substrate was used for vertical alignment treatment, and a liquid crystal element was manufactured under the same conditions as in Example 4, and experiments were conducted.

When various characteristics similar to those in Example 4 were measured,
Excellent results almost equivalent to those of Example 4 were obtained.

Example 7 As a liquid crystal material, a nematic liquid crystal material ZLI-4850 (Δn showing negative dielectric anisotropy)
= 0.208 (manufactured by Merck Japan Co., Ltd.) was used, and a liquid crystal element was manufactured under the same conditions as in Example 6, and an experiment was conducted. When various characteristics similar to those in Example 4 were measured, Example 4 was performed.
Excellent results almost equal to

(Embodiment 8) A liquid crystal element having a structure as shown in FIG. 9 was used. T as an electrode on the substrate as in Example 4
Although the FT 11 is used, the in-layer electrode 4 inside the liquid crystal layer 3 is a linear electrode as shown in the figure, and the distance between them is also controlled. That is, the electrode used has a thickness of 5 μm.
The interval is 10 μm, and the liquid crystal layer thickness 2 is formed by stacking the four layers 4i, 4j, 4k, and 4l so as to be orthogonal to each other.
It was set to 0 μm. The other conditions are the same as in Example 4.

When various characteristics similar to those of Example 4 were measured for this liquid crystal element, excellent results similar to those of Example 4 were obtained.

(Embodiment 9) With substantially the same structure as in Embodiment 8,
The inner electrode 4 in FIG. 9 is made of ITO instead of aluminum,
The surface of which SiO ₂ was attached was used. The intra-layer electrodes have a thickness of 5 μm, the distance between them is 10 μm, and 1
Four layers are stacked so that they are orthogonal to each other. The other conditions are the same as in Example 4.

When the liquid crystal device was measured for various characteristics as in Example 4, excellent results similar to those in Example 4 were obtained. A high transmittance of 80% was obtained without applying a voltage.

(Embodiment 10) An experiment was conducted using a liquid crystal layer 3 in FIG. The mixed dichroic dye is S-344 manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Inc. The other conditions are the same as in Example 6.

This dye has an absorption axis in the long axis direction of the molecule. Then, this element utilizes the guest-host effect of the liquid crystal element.

When the liquid crystal device was measured for various characteristics as in Example 4, excellent results similar to those in Example 4 were obtained.

(Embodiment 11) With almost the same structure as in Embodiment 3, MBBA and EBB are used as the liquid crystal material of the liquid crystal layer 3 of FIG.
The experiment was performed using the mixture of A. Both materials were manufactured by Merck Japan and the ratio was 6: 4. Other conditions are the same as those in the third embodiment.

This device utilizes the dynamic scattering effect of the liquid crystal device.

When the liquid crystal device was measured for various characteristics as in Example 3, excellent results similar to those in Example 3 were obtained.

(Embodiment 12) An experiment was carried out using a liquid crystal material having a chiral material mixed therein, which has substantially the same structure as that of the third embodiment. The chiral material is mixed in only a small ratio so that the liquid crystal becomes uniform when no voltage is applied. Other conditions are the same as those in the third embodiment.

This element utilizes the phase transition effect of the liquid crystal element.

When the liquid crystal device was measured for various characteristics as in Example 3, excellent results as in Example 3 were obtained.

(Embodiment 13) The structure is almost the same as that of Embodiment 7 (FIG. 8), but a fibrous conductive polymer is used as the electrode 4 in the liquid crystal layer. The refractive index of the liquid crystal was the same as that of ordinary light.

The same characteristics as in Example 7 were measured for this liquid crystal element, and excellent results similar to those in Example 7 were obtained.

(Embodiment 14) The optical system has the same structure as that of Embodiment 7 except that the liquid crystal element is sandwiched between two polarizing plates.

When the liquid crystal element was irradiated with linear white light and the transmitted light was observed, it could be observed that the light was not completely transmitted without applying a voltage. When a voltage was applied, white light output with almost no color was observed.

When the liquid crystal device was measured for various characteristics as in Example 7, excellent results similar to those in Example 7 were obtained.

[0077]

According to the present invention, since the liquid crystal layer has electrodes inside, an electric field can be easily applied to the liquid crystal molecules. Therefore, it is possible to drive at a low voltage, and it is possible to realize a high-speed response.

As an example, when the element of the present invention is driven by a scattering type, a low voltage drive display element having no viewing angle dependency can be realized.

If the electrodes in the liquid crystal layer are transparent or have a refractive index equal to that of the liquid crystal, a display element with high transmittance can be manufactured.

As described above, a liquid crystal display device having a high scattering characteristic, a low driving voltage, a high contrast ratio, a gradation property and a small viewing angle dependency can be obtained.

Further, the liquid crystal display element using the present invention has T
It is suitable for a large display capacity display driven by FT and MIM, and is suitable for a projection display because it has excellent scattering characteristics.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an electrode configuration of a liquid crystal element of the present invention, in which (a), (b), (c), and (d) are schematic cross-sectional views.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an electrode configuration of a liquid crystal element of the present invention, in which (a), (b), and (c) are schematic perspective views, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the electrode configuration of the liquid crystal element of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an example of an electrode configuration and a molecular arrangement of the liquid crystal element of the present invention, and (a) and (b) are schematic cross-sectional views, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the cell thickness holding effect by the electrodes of the liquid crystal element of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an electrode configuration of an embodiment of the liquid crystal element of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a transmittance-applied voltage curve of an example of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an electrode configuration of an embodiment of the liquid crystal element of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an electrode configuration of an embodiment of a liquid crystal element of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an electrode configuration of an embodiment of the liquid crystal element of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 ... Substrate 3 ... Liquid crystal layer 4, 5 ... In-layer electrode 6, 7 ... Substrate electrode 8, 9 ... Alignment film

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hitoshi Hato 8 Shinsita-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Stock company Toshiba Yokohama office

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal display element having a liquid crystal layer between two substrates, in which an in-layer electrode at least a part of which is surrounded by the liquid crystal layer is arranged inside the liquid crystal layer. 2. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the in-layer electrode has a linear shape. 3. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a substrate electrode that transmits light is formed on at least one of the substrates. 4. An alignment film in contact with the liquid crystal layer is formed on at least one substrate, and the alignment of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is controlled by the alignment film in the absence of an electric field. Alternatively, the liquid crystal display element according to item 3. 5. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a dye is mixed in the liquid crystal layer. 6. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the in-layer electrode also serves as a spacer for controlling a distance between the two substrates. 7. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the refractive index of the in-layer electrode is substantially equal to the refractive index of the liquid crystal for extraordinary light or ordinary light. 8. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 4, wherein a polarizing plate is arranged on the outer surface side of at least one of the two substrates.