Patent ID: 8101249

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a retardation substrate, comprising forming a solidified liquid crystal layer on a substrate, forming the solidified liquid crystal layer including: forming on the substrate a liquid crystal material layer including a photo-polymerizing or photo-crosslinking thermotropic liquid crystal compound, mesogens of the thermotropic liquid crystal compound forming an orientated structure; irradiating at least two regions of the liquid crystal material layer with light at different exposure values to form in the liquid crystal material layer a first region including a polymerization or crosslinking product of the thermotropic liquid crystal compound, a second region including the polymerization or crosslinking product and the thermotropic liquid crystal compound as an unreacted compound and lower in a content of the thermotropic liquid crystal compound than the first region, and a third region including the unreacted compound and lower in a content of the thermotropic liquid crystal compound than the second region; thereafter, heating the liquid crystal material layer to a temperature equal to or higher than a phase transition temperature at which the thermotropic liquid crystal compound changes from a liquid crystal phase to an isotropic phase to lower degree of orientation of mesogens at least in the second and third regions; and causing polymerization and/or crosslinking of the unreacted compound while the degree of orientation is kept lowered.