Relationship between Birefringence and the Structure of Ordered Block Copolymer Materials

An expression relating birefringence and the structure of ordered block copolymer materials formed under quiescent conditions has been derived. The intensity of the light exciting the sample held between perfectly crossed polarizers is found to be directly proportional to the average grain size. The constant of proportionality depends only on material properties that can be obtained independently. Preliminary experiments support the validity of the simplifying assumptions invoked