Patent ID: 7583340

Claim:
A phase difference compensating device, which is adapted to be used in combination with a liquid crystal display device, and which is adapted to compensate for a phase difference occurring due to birefringence of a light beam passing through a liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display device, the phase difference compensating device comprising: i) a first phase difference compensating layer, which is adapted to compensate for the phase difference occurring due to liquid crystal molecules having undergone normal orientation in the liquid crystal layer, ii) two second phase difference compensating layers, which are adapted to compensate for the phase difference occurring due to the liquid crystal molecules having undergone hybrid orientation in the liquid crystal layer, and iii) a first transparent base plate, on which the first phase difference compensating layer and the two second phase difference compensating layers are supported, wherein: each of the two second phase difference compensating layers is constituted of an oblique incidence vacuum deposited film formed by oblique incidence vacuum evaporation of an inorganic material, the two second phase difference compensating layers are formed on opposite surfaces of the first transparent base plate, and the two second phase difference compensating layers differ from each other in at least one of an azimuthal angle of a direction of vacuum evaporation with respect to a plane of vacuum evaporation of the oblique incidence vacuum deposited film and a polar angle of the direction of vacuum evaporation with respect to the plane of vacuum evaporation of the oblique incidence vacuum deposited film.