HK1178610A - Liquid crystal optical element having multilayer structure, and method for manufacturing the liquid crystal optical element - Google Patents

Description

Multilayer structure liquid crystal optical element and method for manufacturing same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element having a plurality of liquid crystal layers between a substrate on which segment electrodes are formed and a substrate on which a common electrode is formed, and a method for manufacturing the same.

Background

Conventionally, various liquid crystal optical elements configured by sandwiching liquid crystal between substrates on which electrodes are formed have been known. For example, various optical disc devices such as a CD and a DVD are used as information recording media, but in these optical disc devices, aberration (distortion of a focal point) occurs due to thickness variation, bending, and the like caused by rotation, and therefore, it is necessary to correct the aberration to ensure recording and reproducing accuracy. Therefore, in a substrate having electrodes formed in concentric ring shapes, a liquid crystal aberration correcting element is used to sandwich liquid crystal, thereby performing different phase control at the center and outer edge portions of a light beam (patent document 1).

In a conventional liquid crystal optical element, the molecular alignment state of liquid crystal is electrically controlled, thereby changing the properties such as the refractive index of light. Since the phase retardation amount of each optical path and the refractive state of the optical path can be controlled by changing the distribution of the control refractive index in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional manner, a liquid crystal lens, a liquid crystal aberration correction element, or the like capable of electronically changing the focus is an advantageous functional element as an optical element. However, in order to maximize the light refraction effect useful for practical use, it is necessary to hold a sufficient amount of liquid crystal between the two alignment films corresponding to the liquid crystal optical cell along the optical path, and therefore, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer (between the two alignment films) needs to be as thick as about 30 to 100 μm compared to the case of a common liquid crystal display cell of about several μm.

It is known that the response speed of liquid crystal is inversely proportional to the square of the thickness of the liquid crystal layer (between two alignment films), and thus the response time is 100ms to several minutes in the case of a thick liquid crystal optical cell. That is, many conventional liquid crystal optical elements have a problem of slow response speed.

The slow response speed in controlling the device is a major constraint on the variable focus lens function and aberration correction function using the liquid crystal optical element, and constitutes a problem for practical use.

In recent years, an optical element having 2 liquid crystal layers has been proposed in order to improve the power (power) and response speed of a liquid crystal lens (patent document 2).

In the optical element described in patent document 2, 2 liquid crystal cells having 2 liquid crystal layers are stacked to form a double structure. In each liquid crystal cell, the liquid crystal layer was divided into 2 layers by a transparent glass layer (insulating layer). In this case, electrodes are present on the connecting surfaces of 2 liquid crystal cells.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: JP-A-2002-237077

Patent document 2: JP 2006-91826 publication

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the liquid crystal optical element described in patent document 1, in order to obtain a refractive index change necessary for application as described above, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient optical distance L by transmitting a thick liquid crystal layer.

In general, it is known that if the liquid crystal layer is thick, the response time becomes slow in proportion to the square of the thickness of the liquid crystal layer (between two alignment films). Thus, if the thickness of the liquid crystal layer is increased, there is a problem that the response speed is lowered, and there is a problem of practical use.

In addition, in patent document 2, there is a limit to improvement of response speed due to increase of the liquid crystal lens power (power), and in order to further increase the lens power (power) and increase the response speed, it is necessary to form a plurality of liquid crystal layers. However, when a plurality of liquid crystal layers are formed, the thickness of the transparent glass layer in the middle increases, and thus the liquid crystal element becomes thick. This reduces the response speed, and requires a high applied voltage.

Further, in the case of using a thin transparent glass layer for thinning the liquid crystal element, handling, cleaning, processing, baking, and the like are difficult in the manufacturing process.

In addition, when 2 cells are stacked to form a double structure, there is a problem that the transmittance of light is lowered because an ITO film, a high resistance film, and an alignment film are provided on the substrate on the connection side of the 2 cells. Further, in the case of forming a double structure, there is a disadvantage that the number of electrodes is large and the arrangement of terminals connected to the respective electrodes is complicated.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a multilayer liquid crystal optical element and a method for manufacturing the same, in which a unit cell of a liquid crystal cell having an electrode on one substrate and a unit cell of a plurality of liquid crystal cells having no electrode on two substrates are formed, and then substrates on the side where the unit cells of the liquid crystal cells are bonded are laminated by grinding to a predetermined thickness, thereby facilitating the processing, ensuring a sufficient filling amount of liquid crystal and a sufficient optical distance L, and improving the response speed and the light transmittance.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, a multilayer liquid crystal optical element according to the present invention includes: a 1 st unit cell in which liquid crystal is sealed between a substrate on which segment electrodes are formed and a substrate on which no electrode is formed; a 2 nd unit element in which liquid crystal is sealed between a substrate on which a common electrode is formed and a substrate on which no electrode is formed; and a 3 rd unit cell in which liquid crystal is sealed between 2 substrates having no electrode formed thereon, wherein a plurality of the 3 rd unit cells are arranged and stacked between the 1 st unit cell and the 2 nd unit cell.

For example, in the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element, the substrate on which the electrode is not formed is thinned in a state in which the liquid crystal is sealed.

In the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical device, for example, the alignment directions of the liquid crystals in the 1 st unit cell and a part of the 3 rd unit cells and the alignment directions of the liquid crystals in the 2 nd unit cell and the other 3 rd unit cells are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other.

In order to solve the above problem, a method for manufacturing a multilayer-structure liquid crystal optical element according to the present invention includes: a 1 st unit element forming step of forming a 1 st unit element by sealing a liquid crystal between a substrate on which segment electrodes are formed and a substrate on which no electrode is formed, and then thinning the substrate on which no electrode is formed; a 2 nd unit element forming step of forming a 2 nd unit element by sealing a liquid crystal between the substrate on which the common electrode is formed and the substrate on which the electrode is not formed, and then thinning the substrate on which the electrode is not formed; a 3 rd unit element forming step of forming a 3 rd unit element by sealing liquid crystal between 2 substrates on which electrodes are not formed and then thinning the 2 substrates; and a laminating step of arranging and laminating a plurality of the 3 rd unit elements between the 1 st unit element and the 2 nd unit element.

For example, the liquid crystal is sealed by a dropping method. For example, in the method of manufacturing a multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element, in the laminating step, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the 1 st unit cell and a part of the 3 rd unit cells and the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the 2 nd unit cell and the other 3 rd unit cells are arranged to be orthogonal to each other.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element and the method of manufacturing the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element of the present invention, after liquid crystal is sealed between the substrate on which the segment electrodes are formed and the substrate on which the electrodes are not formed, the substrate on which the electrodes are not formed is thinned, the 1 st unit cell is formed, after liquid crystal is sealed between the substrate on which the common electrode is formed and the substrate on which the electrodes are not formed, the substrate on which the electrodes are not formed is thinned, the 2 nd unit cell is formed, after liquid crystal is sealed between the 2 substrates on which the electrodes are not formed, the 2 rd unit cell is thinned, and the 3 rd unit cells are arranged and stacked between the 1 st unit cell and the 2 nd unit cell.

Further, since the substrate on which the electrodes are not formed is thinned in a state in which the liquid crystal is sealed, the substrate is prevented from being deformed (bent) at the time of sealing the liquid crystal, and uniform optical characteristics can be obtained. In addition, when the substrate is processed thinly, the substrate can be processed into a flat surface without being bent.

Further, since the liquid crystal is sealed by the dropping method, there are advantages that variations in the dropping amount and the space volume can be suppressed in the expansion range of the sealing material when the substrates are assembled, and the sealing portion is not damaged and does not receive stress when the substrates are processed to be thin as compared with the conventional structure in which the substrates are sealed by lateral injection.

Further, since the alignment direction of the liquid crystal of the 1 st unit cell and a part of the 3 rd unit cells and the alignment direction of the liquid crystal of the 2 nd unit cell and the other 3 rd unit cells are arranged to be orthogonal to each other, the number of electrode layers (ITO layers) and high-resistance film layers is reduced and the light transmittance can be greatly improved as compared with the conventional double liquid crystal lens.

Further, since the number of electrodes is small as compared with the conventional double liquid crystal lens, the structure is simple, the manufacturing is easy, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, since the liquid crystal lens is constituted by unit elements of liquid crystal cells, alignment is not required when a multilayer structure is formed, and assembly is easy, as compared with a conventional double liquid crystal lens.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an exploded view showing the structure of a multilayer liquid crystal optical element 100 according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line a-a showing the structure of the multilayer liquid crystal optical element 100.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of manufacturing the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element 100.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the 1 st unit element 10 before and after polishing.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a state before and after polishing of the 2 nd unit element 20.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before and after polishing of the 3 rd unit element 30.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of a multilayer liquid crystal optical element and a method for manufacturing the same for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an exploded view showing the structure of a multilayer liquid crystal optical element 100 according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line a-a showing the structure of the multilayer liquid crystal optical element 100.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element 100 includes a 1 st unit cell 10, a 2 nd unit cell 20, and a plurality of (4 in this example) 3 rd unit cells 30, and is configured by stacking 4 3 rd unit cells 30 between the 1 st unit cell 10 and the 2 nd unit cell 20. In addition, the alignment directions of the liquid crystals of the 1 st unit cell 10 and the upper 23 rd unit cells 30 and the alignment directions of the liquid crystals of the 2 nd unit cell 20 and the lower 23 rd unit cells 30 are arranged to be orthogonal to each other.

The 1 st unit element 10 includes a substrate 10a, a substrate 10b, a liquid crystal 40, and a sealing material 50, wherein the 1 st driving electrode 11 and the 2 nd driving electrode 12 as segment electrodes (segment electrodes) are formed on the substrate 10a, no electrode is formed on the substrate 10b, and the liquid crystal 40 is sealed between the substrate 10a and the substrate 10 b. The substrate 10a is a transparent glass substrate having a thickness of 300 μm. The substrate 10b is a transparent glass substrate having a thickness of 30 μm. The liquid crystal 40 is sealed inside by a sealing material 50.

As shown in fig. 1, a circular 2 nd driving electrode 12 is provided in the center of the upper substrate 10a, and a 1 st driving electrode 11 is provided in the periphery thereof. The 1 st driving electrode 11 and the 1 st driving terminal V₁And (4) connecting. In addition, the 2 nd driving electrode 12 and the 2 nd driving terminal V₂And (4) connecting. By applying different voltages to the 1 st drive electrode 11 and the 2 nd drive electrode 12, it is possible to function as a lens.

The 2 nd unit element 20 includes a substrate 20a on which no electrode is formed, a substrate 20b on which a circular common electrode 21 is formed in the center, a liquid crystal 40 sealed between the substrate 20a and the substrate 20b, and a sealing material 50. The substrate 20a is a transparent glass substrate having a thickness of 30 μm. The substrate 20b is a transparent glass substrate having a thickness of 300 μm. The liquid crystal 40 is sealed inside by a sealing material 50. In addition, a hole is penetrated in the thickness direction of the substrate 20b, and in the hole, a ground terminal V for connection with the common electrode 21 is provided₀(refer to fig. 2).

The 3 rd unit element 30 is composed of substrates 30a and 30b on which electrodes are not formed, a liquid crystal 40 sealed between the substrates 30a and 30b, and a sealing material 50. The substrates 30a and 30b are transparent glass substrates having a thickness of 30 μm. The liquid crystal 40 is sealed inside by a sealing material 50.

In this example, the thickness of each liquid crystal layer is 10 to 30 μm. The liquid crystal 40 is, for example, a nematic liquid crystal (Np liquid crystal) in which the dielectric anisotropy of the long axes of the molecules toward the electric field direction is positive when a voltage is applied.

Here, between the common electrode 21, the 1 st driving electrode 11, and the 2 nd driving electrode 12, and the liquid crystal 40, an alignment film, a transparent insulating layer, an antireflection film provided on the substrate 10a, and the like, which are usually provided, are not shown.

Next, a method for manufacturing the multilayer liquid crystal optical element 100 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 3 to 6. Fig. 4 to 6 show only 1 liquid crystal cell (liquid crystal cell).

As shown in fig. 3, when manufacturing the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element 100, first, the 1 st unit cell 10, the 2 nd unit cell 20, and the 3 rd unit cell 30 are manufactured. Further, a plurality of (4) 3 rd unit elements 30 are provided and stacked between the 1 st unit element 10 and the 2 nd unit element 20.

For example, the 1 st unit element 10 is produced as in steps S11 to S19 (1 st unit element forming step) in fig. 3. First, an upper substrate (in the case of one device, the constituent substrate 10a) is processed to a predetermined size (S11). For example, a sheet glass having a thickness of 300 μm is processed in a size of 200X 200 mm. A plurality of elements may be formed in the sheet of glass. Next, an ITO film is provided on the outer surface of the upper substrate, and an electrode is formed (S12). Here, the 1 st drive electrode 11 and the 2 nd drive electrode 12 are formed for each element by patterning processing by etching or the like. Then, a high resistance film is provided on the surface of the inner side (the side filled with liquid crystal) of the upper substrate (S13). Next, an alignment film is formed and alignment treatment is performed (S14). The alignment film is a liquid crystal alignment film such as polyimide (Pl). After the alignment treatment, an antireflection film (AR film) is formed on the surface of the upper substrate.

Further, the lower substrate (in the case of one element, the constituent substrate 10b) is processed to a predetermined size (S15). For example, a sheet glass having a thickness of 300 μm is processed in a size of 200X 200 mm. Next, an alignment film is formed on the surface of the lower substrate on the inner side (the side filled with liquid crystal) and alignment treatment is performed (S16). Then, the sealing material mixed with the band gap material is printed (S17). Here, a seal material for sealing liquid crystal is printed in a ring shape for each element.

Then, a liquid crystal is dropped inside the annular sealing material by a liquid crystal dropping device (S18). Then, as shown in fig. 4(a), the upper substrate and the lower substrate are combined to assemble a box (S19). Subsequently, the lower substrate was polished to a thickness of 30 μm (S20). That is, the thickness of the underlying substrate is reduced to the line C in fig. 4 (a). Thereby, the 1 st unit cell 10 shown in fig. 4(b) is obtained. The grinding method adopts a mechanical method or an etching method.

Further, the 2 nd unit element 20 is produced as in steps S21 to S29 (the 2 nd unit element forming step) in fig. 3. First, the upper substrate (in the case of one device, the component substrate 20a) is processed to a predetermined size (S21). For example, a sheet glass having a thickness of 300 μm is processed in a size of 200X 200 mm. Next, an alignment film is formed on the surface of the upper substrate on the inner side (the side filled with liquid crystal), and alignment treatment is performed (S22).

The lower substrate (in the case of one element, the component substrate 20b) is processed to a predetermined size (S24). For example, a sheet glass having a thickness of 300 μm is processed in a size of 200X 200 mm. Next, an ITO film is provided on the surface of the inner side (the side filled with liquid crystal) of the lower substrate, and an electrode is formed (S24). Here, patterning is performed by etching or the likeA common electrode is formed on each element. In the step of forming the electrode 20, the ground terminal V is provided on the substrate 10_o. Next, an alignment film is formed on the surface of the lower substrate on the inner side (the side filled with liquid crystal) and alignment treatment is performed (S25). Next, a sealing material mixed with a band gap material is printed (S26). Here, a seal material for sealing liquid crystal is printed in a ring shape for each element.

Then, a liquid crystal is dropped inside the annular sealing material by a liquid crystal dropping device (S27). Next, as shown in fig. 5 a, the upper substrate and the lower substrate are combined to assemble a box (S28). Thereafter, the upper substrate was polished to a thickness of 30 μm (S29). That is, the thickness of the underlying substrate is reduced to the line C in fig. 5 (a). Thereby, the 2 nd unit cell 20 shown in fig. 5(b) is obtained.

Further, the 3 rd unit element 30 is produced as in steps S31 to 38 (the 3 rd unit element forming step) in fig. 3. First, the upper substrate (in the case of one device, the constituent substrate 30a) is processed to a predetermined size (S31). For example, a sheet glass having a thickness of 300 μm is processed in a size of 200X 200 mm. Next, an alignment film is formed on the surface of the upper substrate on the inner side (the side filled with liquid crystal), and alignment treatment is performed (S32).

The lower substrate (in the case of one element, the component substrate 30b) is processed to a predetermined size (S33). For example, a sheet glass having a thickness of 300 μm is processed in a size of 200X 200 mm. Next, an alignment film is formed on the surface of the lower substrate on the inner side (the side filled with liquid crystal) and alignment treatment is performed (S34). Then, the sealing material mixed with the band gap material is printed (S35). Here, a seal material for sealing liquid crystal is printed in a ring shape for each element.

Next, a liquid crystal is dropped inside the annular sealing material by a liquid crystal dropping device (S36). Then, as shown in fig. 6(a), the upper substrate and the lower substrate are combined to assemble a box (S37). Subsequently, the upper substrate and the lower substrate were polished to a thickness of 30 μm (S38). That is, the thickness of the upper substrate and the lower substrate is reduced to the line C in fig. 6 (a). Thereby, the 3 rd unit cell 30 shown in fig. 6(b) is obtained.

Then, between the 1 st unit element 10 and the 12 nd unit element 20, 4 3 rd unit elements 30 are disposed and stacked (S41). Here, in order to form a polarized and unpolarized lens of light, the alignment direction of the liquid crystals of the 1 st unit cell 10 and the upper 23 rd unit cells 30 is a direction parallel to the paper surface (left-right direction) as indicated by an arrow in fig. 2. The alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the 2 nd unit cell 20 and the 2 rd and 3 rd unit cells 30 therebelow is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface as indicated by arrows in fig. 2. That is, the alignment directions of the liquid crystals of the 1 st unit cell 10 and the upper 23 rd unit cells 30 and the alignment directions of the liquid crystals of the 2 nd unit cell 20 and the lower 23 rd unit cells 30 are orthogonal to each other. Further, the elements are bonded to each other with an optical adhesive.

Then, the assembly having the stacked plurality of liquid crystal elements is cut into the respective multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical elements 100, that is, into product sizes, using a cutter or the like (S42). Thereby, a multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element 100 shown in fig. 1 was obtained.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the multilayer-structure liquid crystal optical element 100 includes: a 1 st unit cell 10 in which a liquid crystal 40 is filled between a substrate 10a on which segment electrodes are formed and a substrate 10b on which no electrode is formed; a 2 nd unit cell 20 in which a liquid crystal 40 is filled between a substrate 20a on which no electrode is formed and a substrate 20b on which a common electrode is formed; and a 3 rd unit cell 30 in which a liquid crystal 40 is filled between the substrates 30a and 30b on which the electrodes are not formed, and a plurality (4) of the 3 rd unit cells 30 are arranged and stacked between the 1 st unit cell 10 and the 2 nd unit cell 20. The substrates on the side where the unit elements are bonded are ground to a predetermined thickness and then stacked.

In manufacturing the multilayer liquid crystal optical element 100, first, the 1 st unit cell 10, the 2 nd unit cell 20, and the 3 rd unit cell 30 are manufactured. Next, between the 1 st unit element 10 and the 2 nd unit element 20, 4 3 rd unit elements 30 are provided and stacked. In addition, the alignment directions of the liquid crystals of the 1 st unit cell 10 and the upper 23 rd unit cells 30 and the alignment directions of the liquid crystals of the 2 nd unit cell 20 and the lower 23 rd unit cells 30 are arranged to be orthogonal to each other.

This makes it possible to facilitate processing, ensure a sufficient filling amount of liquid crystal and a sufficient optical distance L, and improve response speed and light transmittance.

Further, since the substrate on which the electrodes are not formed is processed to be thin in a predetermined thickness in a state in which the liquid crystal is sealed, the substrate is prevented from being deformed (bent) at the time of sealing the liquid crystal, and uniform optical characteristics can be obtained. In addition, when the substrate is processed thinly, the substrate can be processed into a flat surface without being bent.

Further, since the alignment direction of the liquid crystal of the 1 st unit cell 10 and a part of the 3 rd unit cells 30 and the alignment direction of the liquid crystal of the 2 nd unit cell 20 and the other 3 rd unit cells 30 are orthogonal to each other, the number of electrode layers (ITO films) and high-resistance film layers is reduced, the light transmittance is greatly improved, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced, as compared with the conventional double liquid crystal lens.

Further, since a thick glass substrate is used before the stage of assembling the cell of each unit cell, the substrate is prevented from being deformed when the liquid crystal is sealed, and uniform optical characteristics can be obtained.

Further, since the number of electrodes is small as compared with the conventional double liquid crystal lens, the structure is simple, the manufacturing is easy, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, since the liquid crystal lens is constituted by the unit element, alignment is not required when forming a multilayer structure, as compared with a conventional double liquid crystal lens, and thus assembly is easy.

By applying a voltage between the electrodes provided on the substrates 10a and 20b, the molecular orientation of the liquid crystal can be controlled, and the optical characteristics can be changed. Accordingly, the response time of the liquid crystal optical element can be shortened, and the liquid crystal optical element can be practically used as a liquid crystal aberration correction element for correcting aberration generated during recording and reproduction of an optical pickup (pickup).

In the above embodiment, the number of the 3 rd unit elements 30 is 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to use, for example, 2, 6, or 8 3 rd unit elements 30. The number of the 3 rd unit elements 30 may be a parasitic number, for example, 1, 3, or 5, as a special lens.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the orientation direction of the liquid crystal of the 23 rd unit cells 30 on the 1 st unit cell 10 side is the same as that of the 1 st unit cell 10 and the orientation direction of the liquid crystal of the 23 rd unit cells 30 on the 2 nd unit cell 20 side is the same as that of the 2 nd unit cell 20 in the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element 100 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The alignment direction of the liquid crystal of the adjacent unit cell may be perpendicular to each other.

In the method of manufacturing the multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element 100, an example has been described in which a sheet of glass having a size of 200 × 200mm is used, a plurality of elements are formed thereon, and the glass is finally cut in accordance with the product size, but the method is not limited thereto.

Industrial applicability of the invention

The present invention is applicable to a liquid crystal optical element having an auto-focusing function and a macro-micro switching function incorporated in a subminiature camera in a mobile phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a digital device, or the like, or a liquid crystal optical element used in an optical disc device for correcting aberration generated during recording and reproduction of a pickup (pick up).

Description of the reference numerals

Claims (6)

1. A liquid crystal optical element having a multilayer structure,

the method comprises the following steps: a 1 st unit cell in which liquid crystal is sealed between a substrate on which segment electrodes are formed and a substrate on which no electrode is formed;

a 2 nd unit element in which liquid crystal is sealed between a substrate on which a common electrode is formed and a substrate on which no electrode is formed; and

a 3 rd unit cell in which liquid crystal is sealed between 2 substrates on which electrodes are not formed,

a plurality of the 3 rd unit elements are arranged and stacked between the 1 st unit element and the 2 nd unit element.

2. The multilayer structure liquid crystal optical element according to claim 1,

the substrate on which the electrodes are not formed is thinned in a state in which the liquid crystal is sealed.

3. The multilayer structure liquid crystal optical element according to claim 1,

the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the 1 st unit cell and a part of the 3 rd unit cells and the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the 2 nd unit cell and the other 3 rd unit cells are arranged to be orthogonal to each other.

4. A method of manufacturing a multilayer-structured liquid crystal optical element, comprising:

a 1 st unit element forming step of forming a 1 st unit element by sealing liquid crystal between the substrate on which the segment electrodes are formed and the substrate on which no electrode is formed and then thinning the substrate on which no electrode is formed;

a 2 nd unit element forming step of forming a 2 nd unit element by sealing a liquid crystal between the substrate on which the common electrode is formed and the substrate on which the electrode is not formed, and then thinning the substrate on which the electrode is not formed;

a 3 rd unit element forming step of forming a 3 rd unit element by sealing liquid crystal between 2 substrates on which electrodes are not formed and then thinning the 2 substrates; and

and a laminating step of arranging and laminating a plurality of the 3 rd unit devices between the 1 st unit device and the 2 nd unit device.

5. The method of manufacturing a multilayer liquid crystal optical element according to claim 4,

the liquid crystal is sealed by a dropping method.

6. The method of manufacturing a multilayer liquid crystal optical element according to claim 4,

in the laminating step, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the 1 st unit cell and a part of the 3 rd unit cells and the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the 2 nd unit cell and the other 3 rd unit cells are arranged to be orthogonal to each other.