Photonics Technician

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

A photonics technician could...

Overview Listen to this section

Do you enjoy watching cable television, texting on your phone, and surfing the Internet? Do you know anyone who has had eye surgery and been back to normal the next day? Are you curious how we obtain high resolution photos from outer space? Many of the advances in telecommunications, medicine and space are due to laser and fiber-optic technology. This technology has led to devices that provide faster and richer communication, advanced surgeries, and faster healing times, as well as amazing robotics for manufacturing and space exploration. But, as with all equipment, someone has to install and maintain it. That is what photonics technicians do. These professionals are responsible for building, installing, testing, and maintaining optical and fiber-optic equipment such as lasers, lenses, and optics systems. Photonics technicians contribute to the technology that has drastically changed how we communicate and how we live.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Photonics Technician?

1. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
2. Operations Monitoring: ? Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
3. Quality Control Analysis: ? Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
4. Active Listening: ? Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
5. Troubleshooting: ? Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

6. Complex Problem Solving: ? Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
7. Monitoring: ? Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
8. Equipment Maintenance: ? Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
9. Active Learning: ? Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
10. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Photonics Technician might do:

• Maintain clean working environments, according to clean room standards.
• Compute or record photonic test data.
• Adjust or maintain equipment, such as lasers, laser systems, microscopes, oscilloscopes, pulse generators, power meters, beam analyzers, or energy measurement devices.
• Set up or operate assembly or processing equipment, such as lasers, cameras, die bonders, wire bonders, dispensers, reflow ovens, soldering irons, die shears, wire pull testers, temperature or humidity chambers, or optical spectrum analyzers.
• Document procedures, such as calibration of optical or fiber optic equipment.
• Perform diagnostic analyses of processing steps, using analytical or metrological tools, such as microscopy, profilometry, or ellipsometry devices.
• Assist engineers in the development of new products, fixtures, tools, or processes.
• Mix, pour, or use processing chemicals or gases according to safety standards or established operating procedures.
• Assist scientists or engineers in the conduct of photonic experiments.
• Assemble fiber optical, optoelectronic, or free-space optics components, subcomponents, assemblies, or subassemblies.
• Set up or operate prototype or test apparatus, such as control consoles, collimators, recording equipment, or cables.
• Test or perform failure analysis for optomechanical or optoelectrical products, according to test plans.
• Assemble or adjust parts or related electrical units of prototypes to prepare for testing.
• Recommend optical or optic equipment design or material changes to reduce costs or processing times.
• Monitor inventory levels and order supplies as necessary.