FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ: AEHR), a worldwide supplier of semiconductor test and burn-in equipment, today announced it has received an order from a new customer for a FOX-NP TM Test and Burn-in System and DiePak® Carrier as the first step in its commitment to utilize Aehr’s FOX-P TM Platform for qualification and production burn-in of their new family of integrated silicon photonics chips.

This new customer will begin initial production test and burn-in using Aehr’s new low cost, small footprint entry-level FOX-NP system for initial product development, qualification and production, and then plans to transition to high volume production test and burn-in of 100% of their silicon photonics chips using Aehr’s FOX-XPTM multi-wafer and singulated die/module test solution. The order includes a custom DiePak® carrier for performing both electrical and optical tests per integrated die at 512 singulated die per DiePak carrier, enabling test and burn-in of over 1000 singulated die devices in parallel with the FOX-NP system and over 4,600 devices in parallel with the FOX-XP system.

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr, commented, “We are pleased to announce another new customer for our FOX-P Platform, beginning with this initial order for our new FOX-NP test and burn-in system to support their product development and to begin production ramp of their silicon photonics chips. They then plan to transition to high volume production test and burn-in of their singulated bare die using our FOX-XP system.

“The FOX-NP system is a new product within our FOX-P family that offers a lower cost entry-level system to provide a configuration and price point for companies to do initial production qualification and new product introduction, enabling an easier transition to the FOX-XP system for full production test. This new FOX-NP system is 100% compatible with the FOX-XP system and is configurable with up to two blades per system compared to up to 18 blades in the FOX-XP system.

“We are very optimistic about the silicon photonics and photonics sensors markets and believe they will be significant growth drivers for Aehr. Market research company Yole Développement predicts silicon photonics technology will grow from being used in a few percent of the total optical transceiver market in 2016 to 35% of the market in 2025, with a market value for transceivers of almost $4 billion in 2025. The rapid growth of integrated optical devices in high-performance servers and data centers, mobile devices, automotive applications, and now wearable biosensors is driving substantially higher requirements for initial quality and long-term reliability, and the requirements are increasing with every new product generation. We believe these new applications are driving an entirely new level of quality and reliability expectation for these systems and pose a significant long-term growth opportunity for Aehr.”

For further perspective on the silicon photonics market, the Yole Développement article is available at http://www.yole.fr/SiPhotonics_MarketStatus.aspx.

Aehr’s FOX-P Platform is the company’s next-generation multi-wafer and singulated die/module test solution that is capable of functional test and burn-in/cycling of photonics devices, flash memories, microcontrollers, sensors, and other leading-edge ICs before they are assembled into single or multi-die stacked packages. The FOX wafer-level systems utilize Aehr’s FOX WaferPakTM contactors, which provide cost effective solutions for making electrical contact with a full wafer or substrate in a multi-wafer environment. The configuration with the DiePak® Carriers enables burn-in of singulated die and multi-die modules to screen for defects in both the die and the module assembly process. The resulting known-good die, single-die or stacked-die packaged parts can then be used for high reliability and quality applications such as enterprise solid state drives, automotive devices, highly valuable mobile applications, and mission critical integrated circuits and sensors.

The key features of the FOX-P Platform that contribute to the cost-effectiveness of the solution include the ability to provide up to 2,048 “Universal Channels” per wafer or DiePak carrier, which allows the system to test all the devices on the wafer or DiePak carrier in parallel. The innovative “Universal Channel” architecture allows any channel to be any function (I/O, Device Power Supply (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. A single FOX-XP test system may be configured with up to 18 blades of wafer test resources, enabling up to 18 wafers to be tested simultaneously. The footprint of the 18-wafer test system is similar to the footprint of typical semiconductor Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) that can only test one wafer at a time. The highly integrated 2-blade FOX-NP system has a very small footprint and is designed to be easily integrated into product design, reliability and test lab applications.

About Aehr Test Systems

Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a worldwide provider of test systems for burning-in and testing logic, optical and memory integrated circuits and has over 2,500 systems installed 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 products in package, wafer level, and singulated die/module level test. Aehr has developed and introduced several innovative products, including the ABTS™ and FOX-P™ families of test and burn-in systems and the FOX WaferPak™ 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 system used for burn-in and functional test of complex devices, such as leading-edge memories, digital signal processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, systems-on-a-chip, and integrated optical devices. 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 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’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 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’s expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding its products, including statements regarding future market opportunities and conditions, expected product shipment dates and customer orders or commitments. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, customer demand and acceptance of Aehr’s products, the ability of new products to meet customer needs or perform as described, as well as general market conditions and Aehr Test’s ability to execute on its business strategy. See Aehr’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’s business. 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 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