Device and method for making shear-aligned, solvent-cast films

An inline rolling shear alignment (IRSA) coating device comprising:

• (i) a coating head for disposing a solvent-containing film having a starting amount of solvent on a substrate in a deposition area;
• (ii) a roller comprising a rigid axle having a pad radially disposed thereon, the pad in contact with the film at a film-roller contact area located a distance from the deposition area, wherein there is a desired amount of friction between a portion of a surface of the pad and the film;
• (iii) means for causing relative motion between the film and the roller in an operation direction at a film velocity and for causing the roller to rotate in a direction such that the roller in the film-roller contact area has a tangential velocity in the same direction as the film velocity;
• (iv) a resistance member coupled to the roller, the resistance member configured to apply a rotation-opposing bias to the roller in an amount sufficient to cause the roller to apply a desired amount of shear stress to the film in the film-roller contact area during rotation of the roller,
• wherein the distance between the deposition area and the film-roller contact area is sufficient to permit a predetermined amount of evaporation of the solvent in the solvent-containing film between the deposition area and the film-roller contact area at the film velocity such that the solvent-containing film in the contact area of the film comprises a residual amount of solvent that is less than the starting amount of solvent.