Wafer Fab Technician – Photolithography & Wet Etch
About The Position
The Wafer Fab Process Technician is a production and technical leader responsible for volume production in support of daily wafer fabrication schedules and for maintaining process stability, recipe control, and yield performance across InP photonic device lines, including InP Buried Heterostructure (BH) DFB lasers and BH Gain Chips (GC). Most hands-on work focuses on operating photolithography equipment, including coat/develop track systems, steppers/scanners, and associated lithography metrology. The role also owns wet etch steps, including stripe and Mesa etch, supporting MOCVD epitaxial regrowth of InP current-blocking layers used to form buried heterostructures. Working with minimal supervision in a III-V cleanroom, the Technician supports fab throughput targets, leads root-cause investigations into process excursions, maintains Process-of-Record (POR) discipline, and mentors junior technicians and operators to support reliable, high-yield, high-volume manufacturing.
Requirements
- Associate degree in electronics, chemistry, materials science, or a related technical field is preferred; equivalent experience is considered.
- 5–10 years of experience in semiconductor or photonics wafer processing, including direct III-V/InP process experience.
- Strong working knowledge of photolithography, including coat/develop track, expose/align, CD and overlay control, wet etch, and in-line fab process steps.
- Hands-on proficiency operating lithography and metrology tools, including CD-SEM, overlay, defect inspection, and profilometry, in a volume production setting.
- 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 photolithography production bay.
- Strong ownership mentality and independent judgment.
- Effective communication with operators, technicians, and process engineers.
- Ability to mentor and train junior staff.
- Ability to work in a cleanroom environment for extended periods across multiple process bays, including sustained time in the photolithography bay.
- Ability to work around chemicals, including acids and solvents, while following proper safety procedures.
Nice To Haves
- Direct, hands-on experience operating photolithography track systems and steppers/scanners in a high-volume production environment.
- Hands-on wet etch and wet bench experience on III-V materials such as InP and InGaAsP.
- Working knowledge of wet etch chemistries, selectivity, and etch profile control for III-V semiconductors and dielectric masks.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary production technician for the photolithography module, executing coat, expose/align, develop, and descum steps to keep InP BH DFB laser and BH GC wafer lots moving through volume production on schedule.
- Operate and monitor lithography track systems and steppers/scanners, maintaining critical dimension (CD), overlay, and film thickness within specification.
- Execute stripe and Mesa wet etch steps that support MOCVD epitaxial regrowth of InP current-blocking layers; control etch time, temperature, and chemistry to meet mesa profile, undercut, and etch-depth targets.
- Perform wet bench operations, including dielectric mask removal, resist strip, and pre-regrowth surface cleans; maintain wet bench chemistry through bath changes, concentration checks, and etch-rate monitoring.
- Prioritize and sequence hot lots, engineering wafers, and standard production lots in lithography and wet etch bays to sustain tool utilization and meet throughput targets.
- Perform in-line CD, overlay, etch-depth, and defect inspections, as well as first-wafer and first-lot qualification checks before releasing lots downstream.
- Troubleshoot routine lithography tool, wet bench, and process issues in real time to minimize downtime and protect production schedules.
- Lead root-cause investigations for process excursions and drift, including lithography CD shifts, resist adhesion or defectivity, wet etch rate drift, and mesa profile or undercut variation.
- Design and run targeted process checks, including short-loop wafers and engineering splits, to isolate root causes.
- Partner with Process Engineering to design and verify corrective actions.
- Own SPC control charts and control-limit reviews for the assigned process area, including lithography CD and overlay and wet etch rate and depth metrics.
- Own and maintain process recipes and POR documentation, emphasizing photolithography track and expose recipes and wet etch procedures.
- Evaluate and implement engineering-approved recipe changes and verify process stability after changes.
- Support qualification of new or modified process steps, DOEs, process qualifications, and NPI process runs.
- Train and mentor Operators in photolithography and wet etch production operations, chemical handling, process control methods, and troubleshooting techniques.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
Associate degree
