FREMONT, Calif., May 29, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aehr Test Systems (Nasdaq: AEHR ), a worldwide supplier of semiconductor test and burn-in equipment, today announced it has shipped ABTS Burn-in and Test Systems to two new customers in China, one to a Chinese semiconductor foundry to fill a previously announced order and the other to a Chinese government research institute.
"China is a rapidly growing market for semiconductor manufacturing and we are pleased to ship our systems to these customers in the region," said Mark Allison, vice president of sales at Aehr Test Systems. "Increased reliability and quality needs for automotive and mobility devices are driving new requirements in the test and burn-in market, and the state-of-the-art systems we provide are designed to fill these requirements both today and for the foreseeable future, and at a compelling price."
According to industry research firm TechNavio, the semiconductor market in China is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 24.4% over the period 2012-2016. The firm notes that one of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the globally increasing demand for smartphones and tablets, and their data also show that the semiconductor market in China has been witnessing large capital expenditures by global companies to set up a semiconductor manufacturing base in China.
Mr. Allison continued, "As part of this shipment, one of these systems also includes the capability to perform a low-temperature operating life (LTOL) test, in which the devices are subjected to temperatures as low as -40C for an extended period. In addition to being a more rigorous screen for various failure mechanisms, LTOL is important for identifying failure modes for automotive applications, since automobiles are often subjected to extremely low temperatures."
The ABTS family of products is based on a new 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. The ABTS system can be configured with up to 72 burn-in boards with up to 320 I/O channels each and 32M of test vector memory per channel. The ABTS offers the option of high voltage Device Power Supplies configurable with programmable voltage ranges to 60 or 230 volts, which are needed for automotive and power-line applications. The ABTS system is optimized for use with the Sensata iSocket* and VTR Thermal Management Technologies, which provide a scalable cost-effective solution using individual device temperature control for ICs up to 75 watts or more. Individual temperature control enables higher-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 and hot-swap capability for many key components in the system to maximize system uptime.
*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 TM 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 expected shipping dates of our ABTS systems and uses of our ABTS systems. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, general world economic conditions and events, the state of the semiconductor equipment market, our ability to maintain sufficient cash to support operations, acceptance by customers of the ABTS technology, acceptance by customers of the ABTS systems shipped upon receipt of a purchase order and the ability of new products to meet customer needs or perform as described. 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 our 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.
Aehr Test Systems Carl Buck V.P. of Marketing (510) 623-9400 x381 MKR Group Inc. Todd Kehrli or Jim Byers Analyst/Investor Contact (323) 468-2300
