According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Manipulate valves, switches, and buttons, or key commands into control panels to start semiconductor processing cycles. | 89% |
| Maintain processing, production, and inspection information and reports. | 88% |
| Inspect materials, components, or products for surface defects and measure circuitry, using electronic test equipment, precision measuring instruments, microscope, and standard procedures. | 88% |
| Set, adjust, and readjust computerized or mechanical equipment controls to regulate power level, temperature, vacuum, and rotation speed of furnace, according to crystal growing specifications. | 88% |
| Etch, lap, polish, or grind wafers or ingots to form circuitry and change conductive properties, using etching, lapping, polishing, or grinding equipment. | 87% |
| Clean semiconductor wafers using cleaning equipment, such as chemical baths, automatic wafer cleaners, or blow-off wands. | 87% |
| Study work orders, instructions, formulas, and processing charts to determine specifications and sequence of operations. | 86% |
| Load semiconductor material into furnace. | 86% |
| Monitor operation and adjust controls of processing machines and equipment to produce compositions with specific electronic properties, using computer terminals. | 85% |
| Load and unload equipment chambers and transport finished product to storage or to area for further processing. | 85% |
| Count, sort, and weigh processed items. | 84% |
| Calculate etching time based on thickness of material to be removed from wafers or crystals. | 83% |
| Inspect equipment for leaks, diagnose malfunctions, and request repairs. | 82% |
| Align photo mask pattern on photoresist layer, expose pattern to ultraviolet light, and develop pattern, using specialized equipment. | 81% |
| Clean and maintain equipment, including replacing etching and rinsing solutions and cleaning bath containers and work area. | 81% |
| Place semiconductor wafers in processing containers or equipment holders, using vacuum wand or tweezers. | 81% |
| Stamp, etch, or scribe identifying information on finished component according to specifications. | 79% |
| Operate saw to cut remelt into sections of specified size or to cut ingots into wafers. | 78% |
| Scribe or separate wafers into dice. | 78% |
| Connect reactor to computer, using hand tools and power tools. | 76% |
| Mount crystal ingots or wafers on blocks or plastic laminate, using special mounting devices, to facilitate their positioning in the holding fixtures of sawing, drilling, grinding or sanding equipment. | 70% |
| Attach ampoule to diffusion pump to remove air from ampoule, and seal ampoule, using blowtorch. | 68% |
| Measure and weigh amounts of crystal growing materials, mix and grind materials, load materials into container, and monitor processing procedures to help identify crystal growing problems. | 67% |
| Locate crystal axis of ingot, and draw orientation lines on ingot, using x-ray equipment, drill, and sanding machine. | 44% |
