Projector

Abstract

A projector includes: an illuminator that outputs illumination light; a light modulator including a liquid crystal panel and a structural birefringent polarization separation element having a polarization separation surface inclined away from a central axis of the illumination light, the light modulator modulating the illumination light from the illuminator; and a projection system that projects the light modulated by the light modulator, wherein the illumination light outputted from the illuminator has an angular distribution in a first direction, which is perpendicular to the central axis of the illumination light, smaller than the angular distribution in a second direction, which is perpendicular to the first direction and the central axis of the illumination light, and the polarization separation surface of the structural birefringent polarization separation element has a structure that is not periodic along the first direction but is periodic along the second direction.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.