Agilent Technologies Introduces Industry's First Super Bright White LEDs with Electrostatic Discharge Protection.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 2004

White Lamps Provide Superior High Brightness for

Outdoor Signs, Signals

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today introduced the industry's first super bright white InGaN (indium gallium nitride) LEDs with electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. The high brightness and weather-resistant packaging technology makes these LEDs ideal for outdoor applications such as pedestrian crossing signs, speed limit and exit signs, scoreboards and other variable message signs, as well as backlighting for transparent sign panels.

Agilent's HLMP-CWx8 and HLMP-CWx9 series lamps are built with a new InGaN flip-chip die technology for higher brightness, and include a protective zener diode for ESD protection. They are the first white InGaN LED lamps to be specified with a Class-2 ESD damage threshold as specified by MIL-STD-1686A. Conventional InGaN LEDs fall under the lower Class-1 classification and can be damaged by discharges of several hundred volts based on the human body model (HBM)(1), whereas this new Agilent LED family can withstand over 8,000 V. In addition to reduced susceptibility to ESD, the new lamps are designed for a higher pulsed duty factor for increased brightness. Their rating of 30 percent duty factor at 100 mA is three times that of similar white LEDs offered by other manufacturers.

"Our new series of super bright, ESD-protected LED lamps showcase Agilent's technical innovation and attention to customer requirements," said Soo-Ghee Lee, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Optoelectronic Products Division. "As a market leader, we have established manufacturing capacity ahead of demand, with a less than one week product line cycle time. This allows us to meet customers' urgent and high-volume demands for these high-performance LEDs."

The Agilent HLMP-CWx8 and HLMP-CWx9 series, 5-mm (T-1 3/4) white LED lamps are untinted, nondiffused, and incorporate Agilent's Precision Optical Performance packaging design and materials. They are available in the following viewing angles, with minimum luminous intensities of up to: 15 degrees, 4200 mcd; 23 degrees, 2500 mcd; and 30 degrees, 1900 mcd (all intensities measured at 20 mA current). The packaging design coupled with carefully selected materials allows the lamps to perform with high reliability over the -45 C to +100 C temperature range and in applications where the lamp is exposed to UV radiation and high humidity.

Agilent also offers complementary super bright Precision Optical Performance LED lamps in blue, green and cyan using the same flip-chip InGaN material incorporating protective diodes. Their 470 nm typical dominant wavelength for blue and 530 nm typical wavelength for green are well suited to color mixing in full color signs, and the 500 nm typical dominant wavelength for cyan is suitable for traffic signal applications. These lamps are specified with a Class-3 ESD damage threshold.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

Pricing of the HLMP-CWx8 and HLMP-CWx9 series super bright LED lamps is $0.47 each in 1,000,000-piece quantities. Samples are now available from Agilent and through its worldwide distribution partners. There is a guaranteed four-week delivery lead time for these products.

Further information about Agilent's light-emitting diode products is available at www.agilent.com/view/led.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 29,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $6.1 billion in fiscal year 2003. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

(1) Classifications of ESD damage threshold are specified by MIL-STD-1686A. Class 1: susceptible to damage from human body model (HBM) ESDs of 1999 V or less. Class 2: susceptible to damage from HBM ESDs from 2000 to 3999 V. Class 3: susceptible to damage from HBM ESDs from 4000 to 15,999 V.

When a charged person comes in contact with an uncharged device, a rapid discharge takes place. The HBM simulates this type of ESD event by modeling the human capacitance and resistance value. The representation is usually an equivalent circuit with a charged 100-pF capacitor in series with a 1500-ohm resistor.

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