Patent ID: 8382299

Claim:
A beam direction control element having a plurality of transparent areas and a plurality of light absorption areas alternately arranged on a surface of a substrate in an in-plane direction of the surface, where said light absorption areas function as a louver for controlling direction of a beam of light, wherein the surface of the substrate is perpendicular to a direction of a light beam which passes through the beam direction control element, wherein a continuous shape of each of said light absorption areas as viewed from a direction perpendicular to the surface of said substrate has a shape such that said plurality of light absorption areas limit an incident light in a range of angles in any direction on the surface of the substrate, wherein the continuous shape is geometrically open without any of a loop, an intersection and a branch, and wherein the beam direction control element further includes a light reflecting region at a bottom of said light absorption area such that the light reflecting region is arranged on an interface between the substrate and the light absorption area.