Wafer Fab Technician – Metallization, Dry Etch & Wet Etch

Semtech•City of Industry, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Wafer Fab Process Technician serves as a production and technical leader supporting daily wafer fabrication schedules and process stability, recipe control, and yield performance for InP photonic device lines, including InP Buried Heterostructure (BH) DFB lasers and BH Gain Chips (GC). Most hands-on work focuses on the metallization module, including e-beam evaporation and/or sputter deposition, lift-off processing, and contact alloy. The role also owns dry etch and wet etch steps supporting contact opening and surface preparation for low-resistance p- and n-type ohmic contacts. Working with minimal supervision in a III-V cleanroom, the Technician supports fab throughput, investigates process excursions, maintains Process-of-Record (POR) discipline, and mentors junior technicians and operators. The role involves operating and maintaining deposition, etch, wet bench, annealing, and metrology equipment; monitoring process results; and coordinating production priorities. It may require flexibility to support engineering runs or excursions outside standard shift hours.

Requirements

Associate degree in electronics, chemistry, materials science, or a related technical field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
5–10 years of experience in semiconductor/photonics wafer processing, with direct III-V/InP process experience.
Strong working knowledge of metallization, including e-beam evaporation, sputtering, lift-off, and contact alloy; plasma dry etch; wet etch; and in-line fab process steps.
Hands-on proficiency operating deposition, etch, and metrology tools, including a profilometer, four-point probe, TLM test structures, microscope, and defect inspection equipment, in a volume production setting.
Working knowledge of ohmic contact formation on InP and related III-V materials, including the effects of surface preparation on contact resistance and adhesion.
Ability to independently lead complex process troubleshooting and root-cause investigations.
Demonstrated ability to sustain lot throughput and cycle-time targets in a high-volume metallization production area.
Strong ownership mentality and independent judgment.
Effective communication with operators, technicians, and process and equipment engineers.
Ability to mentor and train junior staff.
Ability to work in a cleanroom for extended periods across multiple process bays, including sustained time in the metallization bay.
Ability to work around chemicals such as acids and solvents, process gases, and precious metals using proper safety and material-control procedures.

Nice To Haves

Direct, hands-on experience operating e-beam evaporation and/or sputter deposition systems in a high-volume production environment.
Hands-on dry etch and wet etch/wet bench experience on III-V materials and dielectrics.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary production technician for the metallization module and keep InP BH DFB laser and BH GC lots moving through volume production on schedule.
Operate e-beam evaporation and/or sputter deposition systems to deposit p- and n-contact metal stacks while maintaining film thickness, deposition rate, and uniformity within specification.
Execute lift-off, metal etch, and solvent resist strip processes, and operate RTA or furnace systems for ohmic contact alloy.
Operate ICP/RIE and plasma descum/ash systems for dielectric contact-window opening and resist-residue removal.
Execute wet etch and wet bench steps, including BOE oxide removal and pre-metal surface cleans; maintain bench chemistry through scheduled bath changes and concentration checks.
Perform source loading, crucible and target management, chamber pump-down, and scheduled preventive maintenance on deposition tools; qualify tools with monitor wafers before returning them to production.
Prioritize and sequence hot lots, engineering wafers, and standard production lots across metallization and etch bays to sustain tool utilization and meet throughput targets.
Perform in-line metal thickness, sheet resistance, contact resistance (TLM), adhesion, and defect inspections, plus first-wafer and first-lot qualification checks before releasing lots downstream.
Troubleshoot routine metallization, dry etch, and wet bench tool and process issues to minimize downtime and protect production schedules.
Lead root-cause investigations for process excursions and drift, and design and run targeted process checks such as short-loop wafers and engineering splits.
Partner with Process Engineering and Equipment Engineering to develop and verify corrective actions.
Own SPC control charts and control-limit reviews for assigned process areas, including metal thickness, sheet resistance, contact resistance, and dry/wet etch rate and depth metrics.
Own and maintain process recipes and POR documentation, particularly for metal deposition, lift-off, and contact alloy recipes.
Evaluate and implement engineering-approved recipe changes and verify process stability afterward.
Support qualification of new or modified process steps, including new metal stacks and source or target changes.
Support DOEs, process qualifications, and NPI process runs.
Train and mentor Operators in metallization, dry etch, and wet etch production operations, precious metal handling, process control, and troubleshooting.