Aehr Wins Major New Silicon Photonics Customer

High-Power FOX-XP Wafer-Level Burn-In System for Hyperscale Data Center Optical Interconnect Market

Mar. 31, 2026 at 2:54pm

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A highly detailed, glowing 3D illustration of a silicon photonics chip component, with intricate circuitry and geometric patterns illuminated by vibrant neon blue and pink lights, conceptually representing the advanced fiber optic technology transforming data center infrastructure.Cutting-edge silicon photonics technology enables the high-speed fiber optic links powering the rapid growth of hyperscale AI and cloud data centers.Fremont Today

Aehr Test Systems, a leading provider of test and burn-in solutions, has received an initial order from a major new customer that is a global leader in networking products and solutions and a major supplier to the data center optical transceiver market. The customer is developing advanced silicon photonics-based transceivers for data center networking and optical I/O applications to address the rapidly accelerating demand for high-speed fiber optic communication links in hyperscale AI and cloud data centers.

Why it matters

As data center architectures scale to support AI, cloud computing, and high-performance networking, fiber optic interconnects offer significant advantages over copper wiring, driving rapid adoption of silicon photonics transceivers across hyperscale and enterprise data centers worldwide and increasing demand for cost-effective, production-proven burn-in solutions.

The details

The order includes multiple systems for both engineering qualification and high-volume production, including a FOX-XP wafer-level burn-in (WLBI) system configured to test nine wafers in parallel, a fully integrated WaferPak Auto Aligner, multiple FOX-NP WLBI systems, and multiple full sets of FOX WaferPak full-wafer Contactors for production, engineering and new product introduction. The systems are scheduled to ship in Aehr's fiscal fourth quarter ending May 29, 2026.

  • The order is scheduled to ship in Aehr's fiscal fourth quarter ending May 29, 2026.
  • The customer has also provided Aehr with a forecast for additional systems, with follow-on orders possible as early as later this calendar year.

The players

Aehr Test Systems

A leading provider of test and burn-in solutions for semiconductor devices used in artificial intelligence (AI), data center, automotive, and industrial applications.

Gayn Erickson

President and Chief Executive Officer of Aehr Test Systems.

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What they’re saying

“Data center architectures are rapidly evolving as AI infrastructure scales, driving a major transition from traditional copper interconnects to fiber optic communication links to meet the increasing demands for bandwidth, latency, signal integrity, thermal performance, and power efficiency.”

— Gayn Erickson, President and Chief Executive Officer

“With our high-power FOX-XP configuration, which we began shipping last year, we offer the highest power-per-wafer WLBI capability in the industry – up to 3,500 watts per wafer.”

— Gayn Erickson, President and Chief Executive Officer

What’s next

The customer has provided Aehr with a forecast for additional systems, with follow-on orders possible as early as later this calendar year as it ramps capacity to support next generation hyperscale data center deployments.

The takeaway

This order highlights the growing demand for silicon photonics-based optical transceivers in hyperscale data centers and the importance of Aehr's wafer-level burn-in solutions in ensuring the quality and reliability of these critical components.