Polymer dispersed liquid crystal display device with asymmetric optical diffuser

A display device comprising

• a polymer dispersed liquid crystal film comprising a transparent polymeric matrix and microdroplets containing a liquid crystal material dispersed within the transparent polymeric matrix, said polymer dispersed liquid crystal film having a front side wherefrom light emanates for forming a display and a back side opposite the front side, said polymer dispersed liquid crystal film further comprising at least one region switchable in response to an applied electric field between a translucent condition and a transparent condition,
• a collimated light source for producing a collimated light beam that illuminates the back side of the polymer dispersed liquid crystal film along an axis generally perpendicular to said back side, and
• an asymmetric optical diffuser optically coupled to the front side of the polymer dispersed liquid crystal film to receive light emanating therefrom, said asymmetric optical diffuser comprising an opaque matrix and a plurality of transparent microspheres arranged in the opaque matrix to form light paths through the asymmetric optical diffuser that selectively transmit collimated light along the axis, whereby collimated light transmitted through the region in the transparent condition is transmitted through the asymmetric optical diffuser to create a bright area for a display and diffuse light emanating from the region in the translucent condition in directions nonparallel to the axis are excluded to create a dark area for a display.