Optical system

1. An optical system comprising:

an image display device that emits an image;

a linear polarizer through which light associated with the image passes;

a first quarter wavelength plate which receives the light from the linear polarizer;

a half mirror; and

a reflective polarizer; and

a second quarter wavelength plate provided between the reflective polarizer and the half mirror,

wherein retardance of the first quarter wavelength plate and retardance of the second quarter wavelength plate are equal to each other, and

wherein the first quarter wavelength plate and the second quarter wavelength plate are lamination type wavelength plates composed of the same optically anisotropic layers, the optically anisotropic layers are laminated to be disposed in a mirror symmetric way with the half mirror as a center, and the same optically anisotropic layers are disposed so that optic axes thereof are orthogonal to each other.

2. The optical system according to claim 1 ,

wherein each of the first quarter wavelength plate and the second quarter wavelength plate is a lamination type wavelength plate consisting of a plurality of optically anisotropic layers.

3. The optical system according to claim 1 ,

wherein at least one of the first quarter wavelength plate or the second quarter wavelength plate is a lamination type wavelength plate consisting of three or more optically anisotropic layers, and satisfies a relationship of Re (450)≤Re (550)≤Re (650) where Re (450) is an in-plane retardation value measured at a wavelength of 450 nm, Re (550) is an in-plane retardation value measured at a wavelength of 550 nm, and Re (650) is an in-plane retardation value measured at a wavelength of 650 nm.

4. The optical system according to claim 1 ,

wherein at least one of the first quarter wavelength plate or the second quarter wavelength plate includes a layer having a twisted structure of a liquid crystal compound having a spiral axis in a thickness direction.

5. An optical system comprising:

an image display device that emits an image;

a linear polarizer through which light associated with the image passes;

a first quarter wavelength plate which receives the light from the linear polarizer;

a half mirror; and

a reflective polarizer which selectively reflects circularly polarized light,

wherein the reflective polarizer has one or more cholesteric liquid crystal layers, and at least one of the cholesteric liquid crystal layers has a pitch gradient structure in which a spiral pitch changes in a film thickness direction,

wherein the reflective polarizer has at least one rod-like cholesteric liquid crystal layer consisting of a rod-like liquid crystal compound and at least one disk-like cholesteric liquid crystal layer in which a disk-like liquid crystal compound having a polymerizable group is vertically aligned, and

wherein total Rth (550) of the disk-like cholesteric liquid crystal layers satisfies the following expression,

| Rth (550)|≥200 nm

here, Rth (550) represents a retardation in a thickness direction of the disk-like cholesteric liquid crystal layer.

6. The optical system according to claim 5 ,

wherein a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of a transmittance of the reflective polarizer in a visible light region is 3% or less.

7. The optical system according to claim 5 , further comprising:

one or more retardation layers obtained by fixing vertical alignment of a liquid crystal compound having a polymerizable group.

8. The optical system according to claim 5 ,

wherein the rod-like cholesteric liquid crystal layer and the disk-like cholesteric liquid crystal layer are adjacent to each other.

9. The optical system according to claim 5 ,

wherein the reflective polarizer is processed into a curved surface shape.

10. The optical system according to claim 5 ,

wherein the reflective polarizer has a liquid crystal polymer obtained by polymerizing a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystal compound having one polymerizable group.