Multilayer thin films, often also referred to as polyelectrolyte multilayers, multilayer films, multilayered thin films, or simply multilayers, are a class of smart materials characterized by the layer-by-layer (LbL) fabrication technique, i.e. they are built up one layer at a time. As illustrated in Figure 6.1A, alternating exposure of a surface to two or more solutions of complementary macromolecules can result in the assembly of thin layers of these materials. The products of such a LbL assembly process are thin multilayers possessing intricate architectures on the molecular level. The properties of each layer can be tuned by the deposition...