Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Dylan Patel: So in the past, I think it might have even been like a year ago, you mentioned that sort of you’d expect people to change WaferPak maybe every two to three years or designs every two to three years. Do you think that still remains the case? Or do you think that people will have to have more WaferPaks relative to, say, an XP can fit 18 or 9 of them, they might have more than that 18 or 9 because there’s three or four different designs across their third of major customers, and then they might have to switch them out more often. I’m just trying to get a sense of that.

Gayn Erickson: So I’m pretty sure I would have said because I remember I probably was pricing three or four years. I think two to three might be aggressive, but we weren’t sure. We know like in memory, for example, every like 18 months to 24 months, the probe cards are all swapped out. But that’s probably the most extreme. Generally speaking, automotive lasts longer. But the issue with silicon carbide is it’s in the sort of infant phase where people are going Gen 2, Gen 3, Gen 4, Gen 5, they’re going from 150 to 200 millimeter. And as those happen, there is more evolution. To me, if you can look at it over 15 years, my guess is there’s more activity in the next five to seven years than there will be in the back half of seven years.

But for sure, we’re going to see customers with more than one WaferPak per blade, like an 18-blade or 18 tester XP. If you ask me in three years to what do I think? I bet you, for every WaferPak that’s in the system, there’s a couple on the shelf that wouldn’t shock me for just how they will do it to meet customer demand.

Dylan Patel: Thank you so much.

Gayn Erickson: Thanks Dylan.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] The next question is from Larry Chlebina with Chelbina Capital. Please go ahead.

Larry Chlebina: Hi, Gayn.

Gayn Erickson: Hi, Larry.

Larry Chlebina: Sorry, I’m looking at my notes. Can you expect a follow-on order from the recently accepted fully automated XPs. They use those machines almost four months. Wouldn’t they be needing some more capacity here soon?

Gayn Erickson: Is that going to need more capacity soon? How’s that?

Larry Chlebina: So, no idea…

Gayn Erickson: I think they’re going to buy more systems and we’re going to ship them within our fiscal year. Yes.

Larry Chlebina: And then the three-year long development company that you referred to that you said they were going to go with GaN first before silicon carbide. Is that what I heard? Is that correct?

Gayn Erickson: I kind of stitch myself into a little bit of a …I didn’t give myself much wiggle room… It prepares that way, yes.

Larry Chlebina: And if it goes that way, would you expect them to start with an NP first and then progress through an XP or they jump right to an XP? Do you have a sense there?

Gayn Erickson: Yes, I would think it would be an NP first.

Chris Siu: Yes.

Larry Chlebina: Okay. On the optical IO, the customer that asked for accelerated delivery, should we sell for our model plan on fiscal year to the February quarter. I think you spelled out that it was going to be in the calendar first quarter. But does that mean should we assume that it will definitely happen in the February quarter fiscal…