Agilent Technologies' New Industry-First Per-Pin, Floating Licenses H

Agilent Technologies' New Industry-First Per-Pin, Floating Licenses Help Semiconductor Manufacturers Increase Profitability

    Business Editors/High-Tech Editors

    PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2005--

InstaPin Licenses for 93000 SOC Series Tester Lower Cost-of-Test through Higher Asset Utilization in High-Volume Test
    Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today introduced Agilent InstaPin for the Agilent 93000 SOC Series test system, the industry's first program to offer per-pin licenses that can be shared across pins of a testers, testers on a test floor, and production facilities around the world. This will allow semiconductor manufacturers to purchase only the capability they need, with the ability to quickly and cost-effectively upgrade in the future.
    "Agilent InstaPin provides the industry's only per-pin software configuration on an SOC platform," said Tom Newsom, vice president and general manager of Agilent's SOC Business Unit. "Each pin of the 93000 Pin Scale digital cards can be software-scaled over its wide memory depth and speed range, allowing test systems to be configured to match device requirements, pin by pin, resulting in maximum asset utilization and minimum capital expenditure."
    The Agilent InstaPin per-pin licenses can float between pins on a card, cards in a tester, and testers on a test floor or even different production facilities around the world. This allows the Agilent 93000 SOC Series tester to be software-configured instantly to match the next device to be tested. Because no hardware is moved, there is no need to recalibrate and therefore no risk of hardware damage or downtime between tests.
    Since the per-pin licenses float between pins in a test head, Agilent InstaPin enables instant sharing of the Pin Scale digital cards' features (memory and speed). This unprecedented control over asset utilization results in a test capacity that can be optimized for product mix -- anywhere, anytime, instantly. Because the per-pin licenses are not tied to a specific digital card or tester, the licenses can be used wherever they are needed. This results in maximum utilization of not only the testers but the individual pin features as well.
    With Agilent InstaPin, semiconductor manufacturers can buy only the capabilities they need to match current testing requirements on a pin-by-pin basis. If a test requires two differential pins at 2.5 Gb/s for PCI Express, a license needs to be purchased for only two pins, not the whole card. The result is lower cost and a smaller capital budget. When a test requirement changes, it is easy to upgrade the test system using software licenses to integrate test of high-speed interfaces, faster processors, or a new class of device.

    U.S. Pricing and Availability

    Individual per-pin licenses are priced between $180 and $1,000, and are available now for users of Agilent 93000 Pin Scale digital cards. More information is available at www.agilent.com/see/instapin.

    About the Agilent 93000 SOC Series

    The Agilent 93000 SOC Series is the industry's fastest-growing, lowest-cost scalable platform architecture with more than 900 installed systems worldwide. The Agilent 93000 SOC Series is designed to meet both the demanding performance and cost challenges of SOC testing. Models are configured to span the widest range of applications that may require ultra-high-speed digital data rates, up to 10 Gb/s, and the broadest range of mixed-signal and RF capabilities. With this range of capabilities, the 93000 SOC Series is the first choice for subcontract manufacturers and the preference for high-volume manufacturing. More information is available at www.agilent.com/see/soctest.
    More information about Agilent's semiconductor test products is available at www.agilent.com/see/atenews.

    About Agilent Technologies

    Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

    NOTE TO EDITORS: Further technology, corporate citizenship and executive news is available on the Agilent news site at www.agilent.com/go/news.

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CONTACT: Agilent Technologies Kim Tran, 408-553-2324 kim_tran@agilent.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE SOFTWARE MANUFACTURING PRODUCT SOURCE: Agilent Technologies

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