Patent ID: 7110053

Claim:
A reflective liquid crystal projection apparatus comprising: a light source; a means for polarizing incident light from the light source and for emitting first polarized light; a reflective liquid crystal element optically modulating the first polarized light into second polarized light perpendicularly intersecting the first polarized light and reflecting the second polarized light; a means for polarizing reflected light reflected by the reflective liquid crystal element and for emitting the second polarized light so as to be projected onto a screen; and a phase difference compensating plate disposed between the reflective liquid crystal element and the means for polarizing incident light and reflected light in a light path of the light emitted from the light source, wherein the phase difference compensating plate converts linear polarization of the first polarized light into elliptical polarization, and a phase difference of the phase difference compensating plate is within a range of more than a phase difference generated in the reflective liquid crystal element and less than λ/4, wherein λ is a center wavelength of the first polarized light, and wherein the first polarized light converted into elliptical polarization by the phase difference compensating plate is supplied to the reflective liquid crystal element, and wherein the second polarized light emitted from the reflective liquid crystal element enters into the phase difference compensating plate in a state of the elliptical polarization, and wherein an optical axis of the phase difference compensating plate is neither in parallel with nor perpendicular to a polarizing direction of both the first and second polarized light.