Aehr receives volume production order for wafepak full wafer contactors from major silicon carbide semiconductor customer for test and burn-in of silicon carbide semiconductor wafers

Aehr Test Systems , a worldwide supplier of semiconductor test and reliability qualification equipment, announced it has received an order from its second major silicon carbide semiconductor customer for production quantities of WaferPak™ full wafer Contactors to be used with previously ordered FOX-XP™ systems for test and burn-in of silicon carbide semiconductor wafers in their production facility. Shipments of these WaferPaks will begin in Aehr’s current fiscal fourth quarter that began March 1, 2023.

As previously announced, this customer has purchased Aehr’s FOX multi-wafer test and burn-in systems for silicon carbide wafers for devices such as electric vehicle drive unit inverters, electric vehicle chargers, and other devices for use in industrial and photovoltaic inverter applications. Aehr has installed both a FOX-NP system used for new product development and engineering characterization as well as the first of two FOX-XP systems already purchased that will be upgraded to include Aehr’s new fully integrated and automated WaferPak Aligner for volume production test and burn-in of their silicon carbide devices. The new WaferPak AutoAligner will begin shipments in Aehr’s current fiscal quarter.

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented, “We are excited to receive this order reflecting initial WaferPak purchases from this customer for use in volume production of devices to meet the incredible demand for silicon carbide power semiconductors used in power conversion applications for electric vehicles. We believe that this customer will purchase a large number of our FOX-XP systems to meet their publicly announced significant increase in planned capacity and revenue growth over the next several years and through the end of the decade.

“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.

“Aehr is adding infrastructure and capacity in design resources and tools, material suppliers, and manufacturing and test of our FOX-XP WaferPaks to meet the anticipated significant growth in demand for these full wafer contactors for the silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductor test and burn-in markets as well as several other markets.”

The FOX-XP and FOX-NP systems, available with multiple WaferPak Contactors (full wafer test) or multiple DiePak™ 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.