Patent ID: 8206020
Filing Date: 2012-06-26
Classification: G02B,G02F

Abstract:
1. A planar illuminating device comprising: a light source section that emits linearly polarized laser light; a rod-like light guide including an end surface incident to the linearly polarized laser light emitted from the light source section, so as to receive, as incident laser light, the linearly polarized laser light emitted from the light source section and including a first side surface that emits the incident laser light received from the light source section; and a light-guiding plate including an incident surface incident to the laser light emitted from the rod-like light guide, so as to receive the laser light emitted from the rod-like light guide and including an emitting surface that emits the laser light received from the rod-like light guide, wherein a cross section of the rod-like light guide that is orthogonal to a propagation direction of the incident laser light is rectangular, wherein the rod-like light guide includes a mirror array formed on at least one of: a second side surface that is opposite to the first side surface; and a third side surface and a fourth side surface adjacent to the first side surface, wherein the mirror array includes a plurality of reflecting surfaces that totally reflect the incident laser light received by the end surface, so as to emit the laser light from the first side surface, and wherein the linearly polarized laser light emitted from the light source section is incident to the end surface of the rod-like light guide while being polarized perpendicularly to the first side surface or the third side surface.