FREMONT, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 25, 2023 / Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR), a worldwide supplier of semiconductor production test and reliability qualification equipment, today announced that a new customer has selected its FOX-P^TM test and burn-in system to be used for qualification and production wafer level test and burn-in of their silicon carbide devices for automotive electric vehicles.

This new customer, who is a supplier of silicon carbide and gallium nitride semiconductors, selected Aehr's FOX solution based on its proven ability to cost-effectively implement their target burn-in and stabilization requirements including 100% traceability that every device on the wafer is properly burned in.

This customer will begin their device qualification using a world leading outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) supplier that has partnered with Aehr and has FOX-P system capacity installed and capable of doing silicon carbide full wafer level test and burn-in of 100% of devices per wafer in a single insertion. The customer will purchase the proprietary FOX WaferPak^TM full wafer contactors and applications test programs from Aehr, and testing services from the assembly and test supplier for the initial device qualification. Upon qualification of the devices, the customer is expected to purchase new FOX-P system and WaferPak capacity directly from Aehr or through this OSAT.

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented, "We are very excited to announce another new customer that has selected our FOX solution to test and burn-in their silicon carbide devices. Traceability and proof that each device is burned in for the needed test duration, without any chance of a test escape that might allow a device to get through the process and later fail in the field, is critical to the automotive applications these devices will be used in. In the case of silicon carbide used in the traction inverters that convert the high voltage DC battery power to AC current that drives the electric engines, a device failure results in a ‘walk home event,' where the driver and all passengers get out of the vehicle and walk home.

"Aehr's FOX-P systems and proprietary WaferPak full wafer Contactors enable our customers to do economical production volume test and reliability burn-in with processes such as High Temperature Gate Bias (HTGB) and High Temperature Reverse Bias (HTRB) very cost effectively and ensure extremely high device quality. Our systems provide test cycle duration lasting for 12, 18, or 24 hours or more for pennies or cents per device capital depreciation cost, and in a footprint that is up to 18 times less than a typical test system on a standard semiconductor wafer prober offered by alternative suppliers.

"Aehr has teamed with this OSAT to provide turnkey support of multiple applications including silicon photonics devices used in data, 5G, and future central processing units (CPUs) and chipsets, in addition to silicon carbide and gallium nitride used in electric vehicles, solar, industrial and other infrastructure. We encourage companies interested in learning more about this OSAT partnership with Aehr to contact our sales department to learn more.

"Forecasts from William Blair estimate that the silicon carbide market for devices in electric vehicles alone, such as traction inverters and on-board chargers, is expected to grow from 119,000 6-inch equivalent silicon carbide wafers for electric vehicles in 2021 to more than 4.1 million 6-inch equivalent wafers in 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.4%. This equates to almost 35 times larger in 2030 than in 2021. In addition, 6-inch equivalent silicon carbide wafers for other markets such as solar, industrial, and other electrification infrastructure are expected to grow to another three million wafers by 2030.

"The FOX family of compatible systems including the FOX-NP and FOX-XP multi-wafer test and burn-in systems and Aehr's proprietary WaferPak full wafer contactors provide a uniquely cost-effective solution for burning in multiple wafers of devices at a single time to remove early life failures of silicon carbide devices, which is critical to meeting the initial quality and long-term reliability the automotive, industrial, and electrification infrastructure industry needs. The FOX-XP system can be configured with up to 9 or 18 wafers depending on the customer's specific test requirements and power configuration and is fully compatible with Aehr's FOX-NP system, which is a two-wafer system that is a great fit for new product introduction and qualification."

The FOX-XP and FOX-NP systems, available with multiple WaferPak Contactors (full wafer test) or multiple DiePak^TM Carriers (singulated die/module test) configurations, are capable of functional test and burn-in/cycling of devices such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductors, silicon photonics as well as other optical devices, 2D and 3D sensors, flash memories, magnetic sensors, microcontrollers, and other leading-edge ICs in either wafer form factor, before they are assembled into single or multi-die stacked packages, or in singulated die or module form factor.

About Aehr Test Systems

Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a worldwide provider of test systems for burning-in semiconductor devices in wafer level, singulated die, and package part form, and has installed over 2,500 systems worldwide. Increased quality and reliability needs of the Automotive and Mobility integrated circuit markets are driving additional test requirements, incremental capacity needs, and new opportunities for Aehr Test products in package, wafer level, and singulated die/module level test. Aehr Test has developed and introduced several innovative products, including the ABTS^TM and FOX-P^TM families of test and burn-in systems and FOX WaferPak^TM Aligner, FOX WaferPak Contactor, FOX DiePak^® Carrier and FOX DiePak Loader. The ABTS system is used in production and qualification testing of packaged parts for both lower power and higher power logic devices as well as all common types of memory devices. The FOX-XP and FOX-NP systems are full wafer contact and singulated die/module test and burn-in systems used for burn-in and functional test of complex devices, such as leading-edge silicon carbide-based power semiconductors, memories, digital signal processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, systems-on-a-chip, and integrated optical devices. The FOX-CP system is a new low-cost single-wafer compact test and reliability verification solution for logic, memory and photonic devices and the newest addition to the FOX-P product family. The WaferPak Contactor contains a unique full wafer probe card capable of testing wafers up to 300mm that enables IC manufacturers to perform test and burn-in of full wafers on Aehr Test FOX systems. The DiePak Carrier is a reusable, temporary package that enables IC manufacturers to perform cost-effective final test and burn-in of both bare die and modules. For more information, please visit Aehr Test Systems' website at www.aehr.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Aehr's future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "going to," "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern Aehr's expectations, strategy, priorities, plans, or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, future requirements and orders of Aehr's new and existing customers; bookings forecasted for proprietary WaferPak^TM and DiePak consumables; and expectations related to long-term demand for Aehr's productions and the attractiveness of key markets. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Aehr's recent Form 10-K, 10-Q and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Aehr disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

Contacts:

Aehr Test Systems
Vernon Rogers
EVP of Sales & Marketing
(510) 623-9400 x215
vrogers@aehr.com

MKR Investor Relations Inc.
Todd Kehrli or Jim Byers
Analyst/Investor Contact
(213) 277-5550
aehr@mkr-group.com

SOURCE: Aehr Test Systems