Disclosed is an optical compensator comprising two substantially identical
integral optical components, each of the said optical components
containing a substrate, an orientation layer, and an anisotropic layer,
in that order, wherein the said two optical components are bonded
together in parallel so that the anisotropic layer in one component is
positioned orthogonally relative to the anisotropic layer in the other
about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the substrates. Also
disclosed is a process for making such a compensator.