1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a polarizing element, a method for producing the polarizing element, a liquid crystal device, an electronic apparatus, and a projection display.
2. Related Art
A variety of electro-optical apparatuses use a liquid crystal device as a light modulation device. In widely known liquid crystal devices, a liquid crystal layer is provided between a pair of substrates opposing each other. Additionally, it is common for such a liquid crystal device to include a polarizing element inputting a predetermined polarized light to the liquid crystal layer and an alignment film controlling alignment of liquid crystal molecules when no voltage is applied.
Among known polarizing elements, there are a thin-film polarizing element and a wire-grid polarizing element. The thin-film polarizing element is produced by extending a film made of resin containing iodine or a dichroic dye in a single direction to allow molecules of iodine or the dichroic dye to be aligned in the extension direction. The wire-grid polarizing element is formed by densely laying nano-scale metal thin wires on a substrate made of a transparent material.
The wire-grid polarizing element is made of an inorganic material. Thus, due to its excellent thermal resistance, the wire-grid polarizing element is suitably used particularly as a thermally-resistant constituent member, such as a polarizing element for a light valve of a liquid crystal projector. JP-A-2007-148344 discloses a technological example of the wire-grid polarizing element thus characterized.
Optical characteristics of the polarizing element are influenced by a refractive index of a material provided around the metal thin wires, so that a material with a refractive index of 1 seems to be desirable. In other words, it is desirable to place the metal thin wires in an air (or a vacuum). On the other hand, the metal thin wires are not self-supporting and, in general, are formed on a transparent substrate or the like. In this case, however, a refractive index of the transparent substrate seems to have an influence that reduces properties of the polarizing element, as compared to those in an ideal condition.