Patent ID: 7746421

Claim:
An optical element comprising: a polarizing element (A), separating incident light into polarization to then emit light, and made of a cholesteric liquid crystal, and a linearly polarized light reflection polarizer (B) transmitting linearly polarized light with one polarization axis and selectively reflecting linearly polarized light with the other polarization axis perpendicular to the one polarization axis, wherein the polarizing element (A) and the linearly polarized light reflection polarizer (B) are laminated in the optical element; and the polarizing element (A) has a distortion rate with respect to emitting light to incident light in the normal direction of 0.5 or more and a distortion rate with respect to emitting light to incident light at an angle inclined from the normal direction by 60 degrees or more of 0.2 or less, and wherein a reflection band width of the polarizing element (A) is 200 nm or more, and a twist pitch length of a cholestric liquid crystal in the polarizing element (A) varies along the thickness direction; wherein the polarizing element (A) is capable of increasing a linearly polarized light component of emitting light as incidence angle increases, and wherein a polarization axis of the linearly polarized light of emitting light is substantially perpendicular or substantially parallel to the normal direction of a surface of the polarizing element.