Dr Anita Brady-Boyd

Dr Anita Brady-Boyd

Lecturer in Physics

Department of Physics

Contact Details

Profile

Anita obtained her PhD from Dublin City University in Ireland in 2018, with a focus on utilising surface science solutions to solve problems for nanoelectronics. She then started a PDRA position in Aberystwyth University, working in the area of photovoltaic cells with an emphasis on organic hole transporting materials and perovskite solar cells. Anita was awarded a Marie Skłodowska–Curie Individual Fellowship by the European Commission in 2020 and moved to Belgium to work for the nanoelectronics company Imec. Here Anita’s work focused on area selective deposition to allow “bottom up” nanofabrication of electronic devices. Recently, Anita has moved back to Aberystwyth University to take up a lectureship position. She remains committed to research and is continuing her work on area selective deposition.

Research

My current research interests lie in area selective deposition (ASD) as a means of bottom up nanofabrication for next generation electronic devices. This is an exciting and relatively new field of research. The aim of ASD is to selectively deposit on one area/material on a surface while simultaneously blocking the deposition on other areas/materials present on the surface. As the dimensions in our electronic devices continues to decrease the ability to deposit on smaller and smaller scales becomes more difficult and expensive. To continue the industry downscaling trend new materials and methods for deposition must be investigated and this is where ASD is expected to lead to a shift in how devices are fabricated. To block deposition  short 2d molecules called self-assembled monolayers are used. I use photoemission techniques (lab-based XPS and synchrotron based) to explore the thin films and organic molecules used in ASD and investigate how these materials interact with each other. I also use some microscopy techniques such as AFM and SEM.

My other research interests include high entropy metal alloys and 2D materials.

Publications

Colbeck Kirby, L, Lodha, JK, Astley, S, Skelton, D, Armini, S, Evans, A & Brady-Boyd, A 2024, 'Degradation of Perfluorododecyl-Iodide Self-Assembled Monolayers upon Exposure to Ambient Light', Nanomaterials, vol. 14, no. 11, 982. 10.3390/nano14110982
Brady-Boyd, A, Lodha, JK, O'neill, D, O'Connor, R & Armini, S 2023, Importance of Deposition Method of Self-Assembled Monolayers for Area Selective Deposition. in IOP Interdisciplinary Surface Science Conference 23. ISSC-23 Interdisciplinary Surface Science Conference, Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 17 Apr 2023.
Brady‐Boyd, A, Hazeldine, K, Cross, RE, Ren, G, Connell, A, Kershaw, CP, Holliman, PJ & Evans, DA 2023, 'Investigating the Molecular Orientation and Thermal Stability of Spiro‐OMeTAD and its Dopants by Near Edge X‐Ray Absorption Fine Structure', Advanced Physics Research. 10.1002/apxr.202200045
Brady-Boyd, A, Chery, E, O'Connor, R, O'Neil, D & Armini, S 2023, Surface Passivation of Polymer Based Redistribution Layers for Area Selective Deposition of an Oxygen Barrier. in 244th ECS Meeting October 8, 2023 - October 12, 2023 Gothenburg, Sweden. 29 edn, vol. MA2023-02, IOP Publishing, pp. 1461-1461, 244th ECS Meeting, Gothenburg, Sweden, 08 Oct 2023. 10.1149/MA2023-02291461mtgabs
Brady-Boyd, A, O'Connor, R, Armini, S, Selvaraju, S, Hughes, G & Bogan, J 2019, Characterisation of Electroless Deposited Cobalt by Hard and Soft X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy. in 18th International Conference on Nanotechnology, NANO 2018., 8626253, Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Nanotechnology, vol. 2018-July, IEEE Press, 18th International Conference on Nanotechnology, NANO 2018, Cork, Ireland, 23 Jul 2018. 10.1109/NANO.2018.8626253
More publications on the Research Portal