2005 Agilent Technologies Europhysics Prize Awarded for Investigations of Magnetic Semiconductors.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced that the European Physical Society (EPS) has awarded the 2005 Agilent Europhysics Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Condensed Matter Physics to three scientists for their investigations of magnetic semiconductors and spin coherence in the solid state, which has paved the way for the emergence of spin electronics, or "spintronics." The honorees are David Awschalom, Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara; Tomasz Dietl, Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland; and Hideo Ohno, Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, Japan.

"We are proud to recognize these scientists for combining advanced materials engineering, insightful theoretical modeling, ingenious experimental techniques, and international collaboration to attain important breakthroughs in spintronics," said Jim Hollenhorst, director of molecular technology at Agilent Laboratories, the company's central research organization.

The Europhysics Prize is one of the most prestigious honors given by the EPS, with eight past awardees subsequently winning the Nobel Prize.

Agilent has sponsored the Europhysics Prize for the past 30 years (as Hewlett-Packard until 1999), based on the belief that fundamental advances in science have the potential to revolutionize the way people live and work. With a cash award of 51,000 Swiss francs, the prize recognizes scientific excellence and focuses on work that advances the fields of electronic, electrical and materials engineering. A committee appointed by the EPS, including one representative from Agilent, selects the recipients.

Scientific Background

Conventional electronics is based on controlling the flow of an electric charge using a transistor, a type of valve for electrons. As the size of transistors moves into nanoscale dimensions, the classical rules of physics are displaced by the bizarre rules of quantum mechanics. One of the strangest manifestations of this quantum world is a property called spin, which has led to the emergence of a new branch of electronics called spintronics. Something like the spinning of a top, spin gives the electron magnetic properties, such as those of an infinitesimally small bar magnet, but with strange quantum properties. The goal is to control the spin of electrons to make radically new electronic devices. For example, spintronic sensors are enabling the latest advances in the remarkable miniaturization of computer disk drives.

Awschalom, Dietl, and Ohno have pioneered a promising area of spintronics with their work on spin effects in semiconductor materials, the class of materials used to make transistors. They have demonstrated new material compositions, methods for injecting spins and novel methods for controlling the direction of spin. These discoveries open the door for new devices and systems that exploit the use of spin for storing, processing and communicating information. They have also demonstrated quantum coherence effects, which in the future could lead to quantum computers with unprecedented capabilities.

Additional information about the winners and the Agilent Europhysics Prize is available at www.agilent.com/contributions/europhysics.html.

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.

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