Microdomain alignment, external field

External fields have been widely used to align block copolymer microdomains. This approach relies on the ability to couple an external applied bias field to some molecular or supermolecular feature, and thus achieve directional control over the microdomains. External fields, such as an electric field [61-63], mechanical flow field [53-55], and temperature gradient [60], have been utilized to control the long-range orientation of block copolymers in the bulk state. 

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