FREMONT, Calif., March 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aehr Test Systems (Nasdaq:AEHR), a worldwide supplier of semiconductor test and burn-in equipment, today announced that it is participating in the sixteenth annual Burn-in and Test Strategies (BiTS) Workshop taking place March 15-18, 2015 in Mesa, Arizona.

The BiTS Workshop is the world’s premier workshop dedicated to providing a forum for the latest information about burn-in and test tooling and related fields. It includes a comprehensive technical program, exhibits of the latest products and services, and opportunities to meet, network and explore ideas with other test and burn-in strategies professionals. Additional details on the conference can be found on the BiTS website, www.bitsworkshop.org.

In concert with the theme of the conference, Aehr Test is showcasing its solutions for burn-in and test systems to enhance the reliability of devices produced by semiconductor manufacturers. These solutions include its ABTS^TM family of packaged part burn-in and test systems and its FOX^TM family of wafer-level systems.

“The ABTS systems, with their individual device temperature control option for high-power devices, are a key part of the quality and reliability programs for manufacturers of automotive and high-reliability computing, communications and portable devices,” said Carl Buck, vice president of marketing at Aehr Test Systems. “As infotainment, safety and communications systems are being increasingly used in vehicles, the manufacturers of the components of these systems are required to meet the exacting quality and reliability standards of the automotive market. Our systems provide our customers with the ability to screen out devices with latent defects in order to meet the stringent reliability requirements of automotive manufacturers.”

Buck continued, “FOX systems, using Aehr Test WaferPak contactors, allow parallel testing of thousands of die on a wafer with only a single touchdown. Aehr Test’s FOX family of products is focused on high reliability test needs and long-duration full wafer burn-in and test of products such as automotive ICs, memories and devices with embedded memories, including microcontrollers and smart card devices. The FOX-15 system has a capacity of up to 15 WaferPak single-touchdown full wafer contactors for burn-in and test of state-of-the-art integrated circuits. As each wafer contains thousands of ICs, the throughput and capacity of the systems are quite large and suitable for production as well as reliability qualification applications. With the increasing popularity of stacked and multi-die packaging, each of the die in the package must be highly reliable in order to ensure the highest possible package part yields and to enable the multi-die package to meet the stringent reliability demands of automotive and enterprise server manufacturers. Aehr Test’s FOX systems provide full wafer contact parallel test and burn-in solutions for the die before they are assembled into the package.

“With the highest channel count available in the ATE industry, the flexibility of Aehr Test’s new “Universal Channel” architecture, and the ability to perform both functional pattern verification and parametric testing at full-wafer parallel test, the new FOX-1P system provides a highly differentiated solution from competitive alternatives for microcontroller test, flash wafer test, embedded memory or any wafer with long test times. One of the key emerging markets for the FOX-1P is Built In Self Test (BIST)/Design For Test (DFT) testing and extended early failure or “burn-in” testing of automotive devices such as microcontrollers, safety, and mission-critical components at the wafer level. Up to now, extended early failure or “burn-in” tests have been performed at the packaged part level, resulting in higher than acceptable failure rates. With the FOX-1P system’s single touchdown full wafer test capability, this extended testing can be moved from packaged part to wafer level testing with test results that provide much higher package/device yields,” Buck concluded.

The ABTS family of products is based on a hardware and software platform that is designed to address not only today’s devices, but also future devices for many years to come. It can test and burn-in both logic and memory devices, including resources for high pin-count devices and configurations for high-power and low-power applications. ABTS systems can be configured with up to 72 burn-in boards, up to 320 I/O channels, 32M of test vector memory per channel and up to 16 independent device power supplies. The ABTS system is optimized for use with the Sensata iSocket* Thermal Management Technology, which provides a scalable cost-effective solution using individual device temperature control for up to 64 devices per burn-in board and up to 75 watts per device or more. Individual temperature control enables high-power devices with a broad range of power dissipation to be burned-in simultaneously in a single burn-in chamber while maintaining a precise device temperature. The ABTS system also uses N+1 redundancy technology for many key components in the system to maximize system uptime.

The FOX family of products includes multi-wafer test solutions that are capable of functional test and burn-in/cycling of flash memories, microcontrollers and other leading-edge ICs in wafer form before they are assembled into multi-die stacked packages. These stacked packages can then be used for high reliability and quality applications such as enterprise solid state drives, automotive devices, mission critical integrated circuits and sensors. The FOX systems utilize Aehr Test’s FOX WaferPak contactor, which provides a cost effective solution for making electrical contact with a full wafer or substrate in a multi-wafer environment. Aehr Test’s WaferPak contactors contain up to tens of thousands of probes to contact all devices on wafers and substrates up to 300mm simultaneously.

The FOX-1P system is Aehr Test’s second generation of the FOX-1 platform originally introduced in 2006. With up to 12,000 device power supplies (DPS), 3,500 signal channels (I/O), and electronics optimized for BIST/DFT testing, the FOX-1 system has proven to be a cost saving production solution for single touchdown 300mm full-wafer parallel test. The FOX-1P system has expanded the capabilities of the FOX-1 system including adding Aehr Test’s new “Universal Channel” architecture that allows any channel to be any function (I/O, DPS or Per-pin Precision Measurement Unit (PPMU)). This enhanced architecture now allows customers to perform per pin parametric testing, more extensive digital pattern test with deeper data stimulus / capture memory (32M per pin), and deeper scan (768M) optimized for BIST/DFT testing. Its zero footprint design reduces floor space requirements. The FOX-1P Test System is compatible with industry standard wafer probers and probe cards.

*iSocket is a trademark of Sensata Technologies, Inc.

About Aehr Test Systems

Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a worldwide provider of test systems for burning-in and testing logic and memory integrated circuits and has an installed base of more than 2,500 systems worldwide. Increased quality and reliability needs of the Automotive and Mobility integrated circuit markets are driving additional test requirements, capacity needs and opportunities for Aehr Test products in package and wafer level test. Aehr Test has developed and introduced several innovative products, including the ABTS and FOX families of test and burn-in systems and the DiePak^® carrier. The ABTS system is used in production and qualification testing of packaged parts for both lower-power and higher-power logic as well as all common types of memory devices. The FOX system is a full wafer contact test and burn-in system used for burn-in and functional test of complex devices, such as leading-edge memories, digital signal processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers and systems-on-a-chip. The DiePak carrier is a reusable, temporary package that enables IC manufacturers to perform cost-effective final test and burn-in of bare die. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.aehr.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to Aehr Test as of the date hereof and actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied due to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Aehr Test’s expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future including statements regarding future market opportunities and conditions, expected customer orders or commitments and future operating results. The risks and uncertainties that could cause Aehr Test’s results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, general market conditions, customer demand and acceptance of Aehr Test’s products and Aehr Test’s ability to execute on its business strategy. See Aehr Test’s recent 10-K, 10-Q and other reports from time to time filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more detailed description of the risks facing Aehr Test’s business. Aehr Test 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 Sales and 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