A Tunable Hydrogen-Bond-Mediated Polymer-Based Mechanical Approach for Non-Destructive Cleaning of Silver Films

Silver films are key building blocks for plasmonic and nanophotonic devices, whose optical performance and device reliability are highly sensitive to particulate contamination introduced during fabrication and operation. Herein, a non-destructive surface cleaning strategy specifically applicable to silver film systems is proposed, based on the synergistic regulation of the mechanical properties of a polymer layer and its interfacial adhesion to the silver film. Such regulation is achieved by tuning hydrogen-bond-mediated interactions within a modified poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) layer, enabling effective control over the locus of fracture during peeling, such that fracture preferentially occurs at the polymer/silver interface. Unlike conventional polymer-assisted cleaning methods that suffer from an inherent trade-off between bulk cohesion and interfacial adhesion, this approach decouples the two properties through molecular-level hydrogen-bond redistribution. As a result, particulate contaminants can be efficiently removed from the silver surface while preserving the structural integrity of the silver film. The proposed method achieves a particle removal efficiency of up to 98% for contaminants larger than 30 nm and can be stably applied to silver films with lateral dimensions ranging from 1 inch to 12 inches, demonstrating excellent scalability. By further adjusting the processing parameters and compositional ratios of the polymer layer, this strategy is expected to be adaptable to silver films with different thicknesses and structural configurations, providing a reliable surface cleaning solution for improving the performance and reliability of plasmonic and optoelectronic thin-film devices.