Bret Whiteside Email & Phone Number

Milpitas, California, Us

Managed large team of Optics Design and Optics Lifetime Engineers to develop next generation optical systems which are capable of propagating extreme high fluence DUV laser power to produce uniform illumination pattern onto wafer surface for scatterometry measurements of particles, haze, and other natural surface defects on bare wafer inspection systems. Also managed development of phase contrast and and autofocus systems capable of achieving extremely small step height resolutions as well as stable focus height error control loops for maintaining 0.97NA objective image quality without being affected by changes in thermal or ambient pressure environment.

Milpitas, California, Us

Manager of Optics development groupChief architect for entire scanned-spot wafer inspection station including DUV illumination, .966NA dual channel collector optics, high-speed autofocus optics, beam shape and drift monitor, and innovative prism based beam steering systemDeveloped alignment, metrology, and specifications for outsourcing to several high-precision optical module fabrication firms Drafted initial project schedule for entire opto-mechanical engineering development program including design activities, design review milestones, fabrication and integration phases, system testing and pilot manufacturingPrepared cost estimate rollups of opto-mechanical module as integrated and testedTwo patent applications filed

Optical designer with the Thin Film Metrology GroupDeveloped several extremely broadband (190-800nm) refractive objectives for integration with thin film metrology tools (reflectometers/ellipsometers)Prepared white papers documenting optical imaging and non-imaging techniques and modeling results of the effects of above techniques to identify critical design requirements, alignment/manufacturing sensitivities, and expected theoretical performance in terms of spot size, contrast, and SNR.Pioneered new method of correlating wavefront data to "Tool-Induced-Shift" (TIS) previously unknown to Germany based world-leader in microscope optics

Development and Metrology Engineer with the Wafer INspection DivisionDesigned several broadband UV and VISible, field and pupil aberration, afocal and focal, self- and system-correcting lenses for pattern defect inspectorsDeveloped several component qualification/optical characterization test fixtures and Fourier/mathematical system matching/performance evaluation toolsPerformed several optical lead/project management roles including participating in outsourcing project reviews/audits, establishing employee technical task lists/annual performance goals, and hosting group status and individual contributor evaluation meetings

Developed optical diagnostics tools for micro-g combustion research in spaceDesigned laser extinction measurement system including custom reflective off-axis parabolic collimator and refractive imaging/pupil relay decollimator lens fully space-qualified for vibration/shock, thermal and EMI susceptibility.Prepared NASA flight-line assembly and alignment procedures for first-ever on-site experiment package integration with Space Shuttle cargo bay hardwareSupported several feasibility studies aimed at droplet extinction/regression research and traveling planar-flame investigations

Tucson, Arizona, Us

Research assistant to remote-sensing full professor and researcher of atmospheric aerosols using coherent LIDAR in the Atmospheric Physics DeptDesigned compact coherent LIDAR at 10.6um using all OTS componentsPrepared analytical models for evaluation of SNR and other optical FOM'sResponsible for system alignment and backscatter data collection methodWrote FORTRAN data acquisition and file exporting codes for 16-bit ADC

Master Of Science, Optical Sciences

Master'S Degree, Education

Bachelor'S Degree, Physics