News: Microelectronics
18 November 2021
Aehr Test Systems joins PowerAmerica Institute
Aehr Test Systems of Fremont, CA, USA has joined the PowerAmerica Institute, a public-private research initiative between industry, government, national labs and academia dedicated to accelerating the adoption of high-performing, wide-bandgap (WBG) silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power electronics.
The collaboration is expected to result in bringing next-generation SiC and GaN power electronics to markets faster, reducing cost and risk factors associated with new-generation technologies. As an organization that brings together the semiconductor manufacturers and the companies that use power electronics in their products, PowerAmerica is well placed as an information hub, reckons Aehr. With the backing of the US Department of Energy (DoE) and the engagement of top researchers, knowledge and processes can be provided to educate the US workforce and provide more innovative product designs.
“Wafer test and burn-in equipment play a key role in high-volume SiC and GaN production, as wafer-level stress testing contributes to highly reliable SiC and GaN power electronic products,” says PowerAmerica’s executive director Victor Veliadis.
“We look forward to joining some of the brightest minds in WBG research, device manufacturing, power electronics and systems, with the objective of reducing cost and the inherent risks in this new technology,” comments Aehr’s president & CEO Gayn Erickson.
“Wide-bandgap semiconductors permit devices to operate at much higher temperatures, voltages and frequencies, making the power electronic modules using these materials significantly more powerful and energy efficient than those made from conventional semiconductor materials,” notes Erickson. “The benefits of bringing the more robust and cost-effective SiC and GaN technologies to market will drive longer range in electric vehicles, along with energy savings in consumer, data-center and industrial processes and help deliver renewable energy onto the electric grid.”
