Day-to-Day Responsibilities
Receive rejected or returned wafers and chips, and log each failure with its test data, lot number and process history.
Run electrical tests on failing devices to find which circuit block or transistor is behaving abnormally.
Use microscopes and sample preparation, such as cross-sectioning, to see the physical defect on the chip.
Classify the defect, for example particle contamination, a crystal fault or a patterning or etching error.
Trace the root cause back through process steps such as thermal oxidation, photolithography, plasma etching and doping.
Work with process, design and yield engineers to recommend fixes and verify that they work on new lots.
Write failure reports and present findings to cross-functional teams and, sometimes, to customers.
