PURPOSE: To make the gradation display possible with a liquid crystal display panel where nonlinear elements are constituted on one substrate, by making dimensions of nonlinear elements, which are constituted in respective electrodes, different from one another in all electrodes on the substrate.

CONSTITUTION: Picture elements generated on a glass substrate consist of plural electrodes 32 and 33, and dimensions of MIM (metal-insulator-metal) elements generated in respective electrodes are different in respcetive electrodes. The voltage-current charcteristic for an MIM element 35 corresponds to a curve 42, and that for an MIM element 34 corresponds to a curve 41. When a voltage waveform 43 is applied to both elements, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer on the electrode 33 is shown by 44 of a figure to light it. The voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer on the electrode 32 is shown by 49 of the figure, and thus, the picture element is all lit. When a waveform 44 is applied to a signal line 36, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer on the electrode 33 is shown by 47 of the figure to light it but the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer on the electrode 32 is shown by 410 of the figure not to light it, and thus, the picture element is only half lit.