Aehr Announces New Customer and Initial Order for FOX-XP Multi-Wafer Test and Burn-in System for Volume Production of Silicon Carbide MOSFETs

FREMONT, Calif., June 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ: AEHR), a worldwide supplier of semiconductor test and production burn-in equipment, today announced a new silicon carbide semiconductor customer and initial order for a FOX-XP^TM multi-wafer test and burn-in system, multiple WaferPak^TM Contactors, a WaferPak Aligner, and a high-volume production support kit to be used for volume production of silicon carbide MOSFETs for electric vehicles, trucks, and train traction inverter modules. The turnkey system including the FOX-XP, WaferPak Contactors and WaferPak Aligner is expected to ship within the next two quarters. 

In addition, Aehr has also signed a long-term supply agreement with this new customer covering FOX-XP systems, WaferPaks, WaferPak Aligners, and support. This new customer is a multinational industrial conglomerate and manufacturer of semiconductors, including power semiconductors.

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented, “We are very excited that after conducting an evaluation of technical and commercial requirements, this new customer has decided to move very quickly to purchasing our production FOX-XP solution to accelerate their time to market. This evaluation included cost of ownership, customer device module yield improvement, system capacity and throughput, and device test, burn-in, and stabilization coverage. They see the enormous opportunity in the silicon carbide market, particularly for the traction inverters used in electric vehicles including trucks, and in electric commuter trains where they believe they can provide a superior product of long-term reliability and useful life. Importantly, these new applications represent new market drivers for our system. This customer is forecasting to grow their silicon carbide business significantly, which we believe will drive incremental capacity for our FOX systems as well as WaferPak Contactor purchases for capacity and new designs.

“Our momentum with this newest customer reflects the acceleration in customer benchmarks and evaluations we are seeing, including shifting from on-wafer evaluations and moving straight to placing orders for our systems and WaferPaks. 

“Several companies are describing an even stronger and broader shift to multi-die modules for the electric vehicle market, particularly for the main traction inverters used on each electric engine or drive unit. The reduction in size and cost of implementing traction inverters using multi-die modules becomes more critical in achieving cost reductions in electric vehicles that are smaller and that have multiple drive units per vehicle. Unlike traditional internal combustion vehicles with only one engine per vehicle, it is becoming more and more typical to see electric vehicles that come standard or have the option of more than one motor or drive unit in them.