LC panel compensators
View Patent ↗Described are various compensators for compensating for in-plate and out-of-plane retardances of LC panels in their dark states.
1. An optical component operable to be associated with an LC panel, the optical component comprising a birefringent film that has first and second optic axes, whereby the birefringent film is operable to compensate for both the LC panel's in-plane dark-state retardance and for field-of-view variations of the LC panel in a certain optical projection system when the birefringent film is oriented wherein the in-plane effective optic axis of the birefringent film is at an angle substantially other than 90 degrees from the effective optic axis of the off-state residual retardance of the LC panel.
2. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the birefringent film is biaxially stretched to impart the first and second optic axes.
3. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the birefringent film is a low-elasticity organic film.
4. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the birefringent film is a stretched polymer.
5. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the birefringent film is oriented relative to the LC panel to provide at least some compensation for field-of-view variations in an optical projection system in which the birefringent LC panel is used.
6. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the birefringent film is configured to compensate for a vertically aligned nematic LC panel.
7. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the optical component is designed to be oriented in an optical projection system according to the formula
(
0
0
1
)
·
[
(
cos
(
2
·
θ
r
)
sin
(
2
·
θ
r
)
0
-
sin
(
2
·
θ
r
)
cos
(
2
·
θ
r
)
0
0
0
1
)
·
(
1
0
0
0
cos
(
2
·
π
·
Γ
r
λ
)
-
sin
(
2
·
π
·
Γ
r
λ
)
0
sin
(
2
·
π
·
Γ
r
λ
)
cos
(
2
·
π
·
Γ
r
λ
)
)
·
(
cos
(
2
·
θ
r
)
-
sin
(
2
·
θ
r
)
0
sin
(
2
·
θ
r
)
cos
(
2
·
θ
r
)
0
0
0
1
)
]
·
(
cos
(
2
·
ɛ
)
·
cos
(
2
·
ϕ
)
cos
(
2
·
ɛ
)
·
sin
(
2
·
ϕ
)
sin
(
2
·
ɛ
)
)
=
0
(
Equation
1
)
where φ and ε are the orientation and ellipticity angles describing the polarized state transformed from the input polarization by the LC layer panel, where Γr and θr are the in-plane retardance and orientation of the optical component, and where λ is the wavelength of the compensated light, and wherein θr is further chosen to be substantially unequal to 45 degrees.
8. An optical component operable to be associated with an LC panel, the optical component comprising a birefringent film that has first and second optic axes, whereby the single biaxial film is operable to compensate for both the LC panel's in-plane dark-state retardance and for field-of-view variations of the LC panel in a certain optical projection system,
the optical component designed to be oriented in an optical projection system according to the formula
(
0
0
1
)
·
[
(
cos
(
2
·
θ
r
)
sin
(
2
·
θ
r
)
0
-
sin
(
2
·
θ
r
)
cos
(
2
·
θ
r
)
0
0
0
1
)
·
(
1
0
0
0
cos
(
2
·
π
·
Γ
r
λ
)
-
sin
(
2
·
π
·
Γ
r
λ
)
0
sin
(
2
·
π
·
Γ
r
λ
)
cos
(
2
·
π
·
Γ
r
λ
)
)
·
(
cos
(
2
·
θ
r
)
-
sin
(
2
·
θ
r
)
0
sin
(
2
·
θ
r
)
cos
(
2
·
θ
r
)
0
0
0
1
)
]
·
(
cos
(
2
·
ɛ
)
·
cos
(
2
·
ϕ
)
cos
(
2
·
ɛ
)
·
sin
(
2
·
ϕ
)
sin
(
2
·
ɛ
)
)
=
0
(
Equation
1
)
where φ and ε are the orientation and ellipticity angles describing the polarized state transformed from the input polarization by the LC layer panel, where Γr and θr are the in-plane retardance and orientation of the optical component, and where λ is the wavelength of the compensated light, and wherein θr is further chosen to be substantially unequal to 45 degrees.
9. The optical component of claim 8 , wherein the birefringent film is biaxially stretched to impart the first and second optic axes.
10. The optical component of claim 8 , wherein the birefringent film is a low-elasticity organic film.
11. The optical component of claim 8 , wherein the birefringent film is a stretched polymer.