Patent ID: 8120746

Claim:
A display panel comprising: (i) a first substrate and a second substrate, which face each other, (ii) a medium layer being sandwiched between the first and second substrate, and (iii) first electrodes and second electrodes being provided on that side of the first substrate which faces the second substrate, the display panel performing display operation by generating an electric field between the first and second electrodes, wherein: the medium layer comprises a medium that is optically isotropic when no electric field is applied thereon, and whose optical anisotropy magnitude is changeable by and according to the electric field applied thereon; the first and second electrodes are transparent electrodes, and a distance between the first and the second electrodes is shorter than a distance between the first substrate and second substrate, and wherein an insulating film is provided between the first and second electrodes; wherein a width of the second electrode in its in-plane direction is narrower than a width of the first electrode in its in-plane direction; wherein the second electrode comprises a comb-like shaped electrode including a comb-base portion and tooth portions extending from the comb-base portion in a direction that makes an angle with respect to a longitudinal direction of the comb-base portion; wherein the first electrode comprises a plate-like shaped electrode whose plane parallel to a substrate plane comprises an area wider than that of the second electrode; and wherein at least part of at least one of the tooth portions of the second electrode and at least part of a plate-like shaped portion of the first electrode overlap each other when viewing the first electrode and the second electrode in a direction normal to the substrate plane.