Semiconductor Technician's Bad Night - Mistakes Happen

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A technician in the semiconductor industry experienced a series of costly mistakes, starting with a $7,500 lens damaged by melted plastic from a power meter due to inattention. This incident highlighted the challenges of maintaining focus in a high-stakes environment where errors can lead to significant financial loss. The technician reflected on their struggle with multitasking, admitting that concentrating too much on one task often results in overlooking critical details. They shared another near-miss involving an experiment where they mismanaged the timing of wafer processing, which could have led to disastrous consequences if not for a fortunate turn of events. The discussion underscores the reality that mistakes are an inherent part of technical work, prompting a shared understanding among peers about the pressures and learning opportunities that come from such experiences.
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ARGH! Bad night!

Just a few minutes of inattention. I neglected to remove a rubber/plastic cover from a power meter, the meter was then placed in the beam path of a 7W UV laser, the melting plastic deposited on the nearby lens, toasting the coating, trashing the ~12K$ lens! I don't like making little mistakes, big ones haunt me for weeks.

Such is the life of a technician in the semiconductor industry. If are working you WILL f*ck up sometimes. I hate it when it happens.
 
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Sorry to hear about that, Integral.
Speaking of inattention, a problem I've long had is being focused too much on only one thing and not noticing the house is falling down (or that I’m about to walk into a sharp object). I've never been a good 'multitasker' on account of that. My attempts to run several operations simultaneously usually results in disaster…

Well, I hope you didn’t catch too much hell for that mistake.
Were you addressing your duties as mentor at PF at the time it happened? (ouch)
 
Once, in a machine shop, I was doing the last operation on some very intricate parts that had been milled on the CNC. All I had to do was ream a hole to size on the drill press. I got the correct reamer and whipped through the task. Turns out there was a specific depth they were supposed to be reamed to. I had overshot it on every one and ruined the whole run of fifty odd parts. I wasn't in the mood to ask what this cost.
 
Actually I was off on the cost of the lens, it was "only" $7500, gee I feel a lot better now!

That was not the only disaster for the night, I was helping an engineer do an experiment on a wet bench, I was supposed to let 50 wafers set in a bath for 2 hrs. I missed that email, I knew he wanted them in the bath, but I thought he wanted them left till they disolved, fortunately he never found out about my error, Unfortuanely the acid tank errored out and dumped his experiment down the drain. Not caused by anything I did but I am still eating at myself for screwing up the times, that would have trashed the experiment. I do not find any pleasure in mistakes what go unnoticed.
 
Sorry to hear that integral, times like these are messed up...But we all make mistakes so we can learn not to make them again. But then again, if I screwed up and I remind myself that mistakes are made to be learned from, it doesn't make any sense...Sorry about the sh*t man
 
Originally posted by Integral
Actually I was off on the cost of the lens, it was "only" $7500, gee I feel a lot better now!

That was not the only disaster for the night, I was helping an engineer do an experiment on a wet bench, I was supposed to let 50 wafers set in a bath for 2 hrs. I missed that email, I knew he wanted them in the bath, but I thought he wanted them left till they disolved, fortunately he never found out about my error, Unfortuanely the acid tank errored out and dumped his experiment down the drain. Not caused by anything I did but I am still eating at myself for screwing up the times, that would have trashed the experiment. I do not find any pleasure in mistakes what go unnoticed.

LOL! I hate days like that.
Many years ago I shorted out an entire hospital.
Boy was I popular...esp with the doctors!
 

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