Plasma Dry Etch Engineer

Absolics Inc.; Covington (GA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Absolics Inc. in Covington, GA, seeks a Dry Process Engineer to lead plasma etch, PVD seed deposition, and plasma ablation development for advanced packaging interconnects.

You will own vacuum-based unit processes in early-stage R&D, optimize recipes, analyze defects, and collaborate with wet process and plating teams to ensure seamless handoffs.

PhD preferred; MS with relevant experience considered; strong DOE skills essential.

Qualifications

• Hands-on plasma etch process development (RIE/ICP/barrel) in semiconductor packaging.
• Seed-layer PVD sputter deposition with thickness uniformity and adhesion control.
• Plasma-based dielectric ablation techniques (ABF, PBO, PSPI, polyimide).
• Vacuum system fundamentals: chamber pressure, RF/ICP power, gas flow, end-point detection.
• Metrology/characterization: SEM, profilometry, XPS or AES; four-point probe for resistivity.
• DOE design and statistical analysis for process optimization.

Responsibilities

• Develop and qualify plasma etch, PVD seed deposition, and plasma ablation processes for RDL build up and interconnect structures.
• Establish recipes and tune plasma chemistry and tool parameters to optimize etch selectivity and minimize defects.
• Perform root-cause and failure analysis on dry-process defects using SEM, XPS/AES, and electrical metrology.
• Collaborate with wet process and plating teams to ensure clean handoff of seed layers and trench/via structures.
• Assess plasma-induced damage risk on dielectrics and downstream reliability.

Skills

Plasma etch process development

PVD seed deposition

Plasma-based dielectric ablation

Vacuum system fundamentals

Metrology & characterization

DOE design & statistics

Root-cause & failure analysis

Process optimization

Education

Ph.D. in Materials Science/ EE/ Chem Eng/ Physics

M.S. with 3+ years relevant experience

Tools

SEM

XPS/AES

Profilometry

Four-point probe

Job description

Job Title: R&D Engineer - Dry Process (Plasma Etch /Plasma Ablation/ PVD) Expert for Advanced Packaging applications

Location: Covington, GA

Job Type: Full-Time

About Us: Absolics is a leading provider of advanced packaging technologies and services, offering scalable solutions for businesses of high-performance computing. We offer smart, innovative services to dozens of clients globally. By dedicating our efforts to establishing large glass substrates with built-in active and passive elements, our goal is to provide significant improvement in signaling characteristics and power consumption compared to existing solutions.

Job Description:

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Dry Process Engineer to join our R&D team. In this role you will lead development of dry processing capabilities across plasma etch, physical vapor deposition, and plasma-based ablation steps for fabricating advanced packaging interconnect structures. This role sits at the intersection of thin-film metallization and dielectric patterning, requiring you to steer equipment and process qualification, process recipe development, and integration handoffs with lithography, wet process, and plating teams. You will be a primary technical owner for vacuum-based unit processes in a hands-on, early-stage R&D environment where design of experiment planning capabilities and rigorous root-cause analysis both matter.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and qualify plasma etch, PVD seed deposition, and plasma ablation processes for RDL build up and interconnect structures
• Help establish process flows that enable control of film uniformity, required via or trench step coverage and taper/sidewall profile, and layer-to-layer adhesion across the various plasma-based sub processes
• Establish recipes and tune plasma chemistry and tool parameters to optimize etch selectivity and minimize defects (micro-masking, residue, undercut)
• Perform root-cause and failure analysis on dry-process defects using SEM, XPS/AES, and electrical metrology
• Assess plasma-induced damage risk (charging, UV effects) on dielectrics and downstream reliability
• Collaborate with wet process and plating teams to ensure clean handoff of seed layers and trench/via structures

Required Skills

• Hands-on experience with plasma etch process development (RIE, ICP, or barrel plasma) in a semiconductor or packaging environment
• Direct experience with PVD sputter deposition of seed layers (Ti, TiW, Ta, Cu) including thickness uniformity, step coverage, and adhesion control
• Experience with plasma-based dielectric ablation techniques/descum on organic or inorganic dielectrics (ABF, PBO, PSPI, polyimide)
• Working knowledge of plasma chemistry fundamentals (O₂, CF₄, SF₆, Ar, N₂ chemistries) and their etch selectivity tradeoffs
• Proficiency with vacuum system fundamentals: chamber pressure control, RF/ICP power coupling, gas flow control, end-point detection
• Metrology and characterization skills: SEM, profilometry, XPS or AES for surface composition, four-point probe for film resistivity
• DOE design and statistical analysis for process optimization (Minitab, JMP, or equivalent)
• Root-cause and failure analysis experience for etch defects (micro-masking, undercut, residue, via taper control)

Preferred Skills

• Experience with plasma descum/etch-back for via clean prior to metallization (organic dielectric residue removal)
• Familiarity with PECVD or ALD for inorganic dielectric or barrier films (SiN, SiO₂, SiCN)
• Experience tuning trench taper angle, sidewall profile, and CD bias for fine-pitch micro structures (≤10 µm)
• Knowledge of dry plasma Ti seed removal as an alternative to wet etch (selectivity to underlying Cu RDL)
• Familiarity with plasma uniformity modeling, chamber matching, or tool-to-tool variation reduction
• Cross-process integration experience linking dry etch outcomes to downstream plating or CMP performance
• Experience with reliability impact assessment of plasma-induced damage (charging, UV exposure effects on dielectrics)

Education

• Ph.D. in Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or related field preferred
• M.S. with 3+ years of relevant industry or research experience considered
• 401K 6% matching (NO vesting period)
• Healthcare 100% support (Health, Dental, Vision)