Patent ID: 8471983

Claim:
A polarizing element comprising a prism sheet and an optically transparent resin layer, wherein the prism sheet is a substantially uniaxial sheet having an in-plane optical axis, and includes a plurality of prisms of a polygonal cross section on at least one of its surfaces, wherein an angle made by a slanted surface of the prisms and a plane of the prism sheet including a slow axis and a fast axis is equal to or greater than a critical angle based on a slow-axis refractive index and a fast-axis refractive index of the prism sheet, wherein the optically transparent resin layer is optically isotropic, and has a refractive index substantially the same as the fast-axis refractive index of the prism sheet, where said substantially the same means a refractive index difference of 0.05 or less, and wherein the prisms are coated with the optically transparent resin layer.