A surface
light source device has a narrowed visual field and increased brightness. The surface
light source device can be applied to a
liquid crystal display. The back side of a
fluorescent lamp is covered with silver foil. Light emitted from the lamp enters a wedge-shaped
light guide plate through its incident surface. The
light guide plate is designed so that directional light exits from the guide plate. When the light is guided toward a thin-walled end surface through the
light guide plate, the light is scattered, reflected, and undergoes other action.
Collimated light flux gradually exits from the exiting surface. The
light flux passes through two
prism sheets successively. As a result, the direction of propagation of the light is restricted in two dimensions. The
light flux of increased brightness is directed to the
liquid crystal panel. V-shaped channels formed in the
prism faces of the two
prism sheets PS1, PS2 are arrayed in two mutually perpendicular directions while facing outward. The prismatic vertical angles of the two sheets PS1, PS2 have various desirable combinations of values. For example, where the first sheet PS1 is disposed vertical to the lamp, the vertical angles of the two sheets PS1, PS2 are preferably 90° and 70°, respectively.