Over the 100 years since its discovery, liquid crystals have been the intriguing subject for both academia and industries. The textbook of de Gennes The Physics of Liquid Crystals published in 1974 is still the bible for many LC researchers, but new subjects unmentioned in the book have also risen for these years. This chapter describes the story of the recent developments and the future perspectives in physics of liquid crystals, especially focusing on the contributions by Japanese research groups for the last decade.

Physics of Liquid Crystals

An organic light emitting display apparatus that has high (or improved) contrast and/or impact resistance. The organic light emitting display apparatus includes: a substrate; an organic light emitting device on the substrate to display an image; a sealing member on the organic light emitting device; a semitransparent film on a surface of the sealing member facing away from the organic light emitting device to transmit a portion of external light and to reflect another portion of the external light; a passivation film on the semitransparent film to protect the semitransparent film; and a transmissive black layer between the sealing member and the organic light emitting device to increase contrast, wherein the semitransparent film has a refractive index greater than that of the passivation film.

Organic light emitting display apparatus

Provided is a light emitting diode (LED) manufactured by using a wafer bonding method and a method of manufacturing a LED by using a wafer bonding method. The wafer bonding method may include interposing a stress relaxation layer (33) formed of a metal between a semiconductor layer (20) and a bonding substrate (31). When the stress relaxation layer is used, stress between the bonding substrate and a growth substrate may be offset due to the flexibility of metal, and accordingly, bending or warpage of the bonding substrate may be reduced or prevented.

Light-emitting device and method of manufacturing the same

Provided is an organic electroluminescence device having high luminous efficiency, high heat resistance and an extremely long lifetime. The organic electroluminescence device of the present invention includes an organic thin film layer composed of one or more layers containing at least a light emitting layer is interposed between a cathode and an anode. The light emitting layer includes a compound containing a condensed ring and a luminescent metal complex capable of emitting light having a red-based color. It is preferable that the compound containing a condensed ring includes a host material, while the luminescent metal complex capable of emitting light having a red-based color includes a phosphorescent dopant.

Organic Electroluminescent Device

A forward-facing vision system for a vehicle includes a forward-facing camera disposed in a windshield electronics module attached at a windshield of the vehicle and viewing through the windshield. A control includes a processor that, responsive to processing of captured image data, detects taillights of leading vehicles during nighttime conditions and, responsive to processing of captured image data, detects lane markers on a road being traveled by the vehicle. The control, responsive to lane marker detection and a determination that the vehicle is drifting out of a traffic lane, may control a steering system of the vehicle to mitigate such drifting, with the steering system manually controllable by a driver of the vehicle irrespective of control by the control. The processor, based at least in part on detection of lane markers via processing of captured image data, determines curvature of the road being traveled by the vehicle.

Vision system for vehicle

A light unit which includes a plurality of light-emitting diode (LED) light sources arranged in parallel, a light-guiding member arranged on said LED light sources, a light reflecting part for reflecting light from said LED light sources forward, a light diffusion part for outgoing light from the surface of said light-guiding member to outside, and an optical path changing part arranged above said light-diffusion part, wherein a side of said light-guiding member that faces said light diffusion part is flat.

Plane-like lighting units and display equipment provided therewith

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To expand the display luminance range of an image display device to an ideal range and to secure image quality. SOLUTION: The image display device is equipped with an LCD panel 10 which forms an image according to an image signal and an LED panel (back light) 20 which irradiates an optical modulating element with illumination light for forming the image. The image display device is also equipped with a lighting means 25 of dividing the illumination light into a plurality of regions and radiating them, a luminance distribution calculating means 50 of calculating a luminance distribution of image signals corresponding to the plurality of regions and determining illumination light luminance levels of the regions, a back light control means 80 of controlling the illumination light of the respective regions of the lighting means according to the determination by the luminance distribution calculating means, and an image correcting means 60 of correcting an image signal inputted to the light modulating device based upon the determination by the luminance distribution calculating means. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Lighting unit, image display device having the same, and image display method

A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a liquid crystal display unit for displaying image signals, a lighting device including a light-adjustment unit for adjusting a quantity of light from a light source, which is transmitted to each of plural regions into which the lighting device is divided for illuminating corresponding plural illumination regions of an entirety of a display area of the liquid crystal display unit, and a control unit. The control unit controls each light-adjustment unit in synchronization with horizontal synchronization signals and vertical synchronization signals, so that the adjusted light quantity of individual ones of the plural regions of the divided lighting device is shifted among the plural regions and an individual illumination region of the plural illumination regions of the entirety of the display area of the liquid crystal display unit is correspondingly shifted therewith.

Liquid Crystal Display Apparatus

A display unit has a brightness equal to that in a conventional black-and-white reflection type and the power consumption is small at a standby time, and bright color display of high quality can be produced and power consumption is small at the time of use. An information device having this display unit, such as a portable phone, also is provided. The display unit has a color light emitting means, a reflecting mean of external light and a light polarizing state modulating means. The display unit has a driving method switching means for switching color light emitting display and reflection display by on/off control of the light emitting means and switching control of a driving method of a display element.

Color/black-and-white switchable portable terminal and display unit

In order to realize liquid crystal display devices having a wide viewing angle and reduce the absorption loss by polarizers and color filters, and arrangement of reflective color selective means, reflective polarizing selective means, a light control element, and others are specified. The liquid crystal display device able to produce a display of high performance and improved brightness is formed of liquid crystal display elements 20 for controlling polarizing light so that the major axis direction of a pixel is arranged approximately in parallel with a direction wherein the linearly polarized light component of the projected light projected from said illumination device is high; an illumination device 50 arranged at a rear plane of the liquid crystal display element; a reflector 54 arranged at a rear plane of the illumination device; light control elements 40 and reflective polarizing selective means 30 arranged between the liquid crystal display element and the illumination device; and a screen arranged at an opposite side relative to the illumination device of the liquid crystal display element.

Ikuo Hiyama

Papers

Plane-like lighting units and display equipment provided therewith

Lighting unit, image display device having the same, and image display method

Liquid Crystal Display Apparatus

Color/black-and-white switchable portable terminal and display unit

Liquid crystal display device having particular reflective polarizer