Agilent Technologies Signs $25+ Million Deal with Leading NAND Manufacturer.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced that a leading provider of advanced memory solutions has purchased multiple Agilent Versatest Series Model V5400s for testing NAND flash memory at wafer sort, targeting known good die (KGD) and data storage card applications. Agilent won the $25+ million agreement based on its industry-leading flash applications expertise, superior benchmark results and technology innovations, such as the ability to test up to 288 devices in parallel.

The Agilent V5400 provides the lowest cost-of-memory-test through high parallelism test and lowest test-time overhead. The system's proven Tester-Per-Site architecture and dynamic APG (algorithmic pattern generator) innovation enable best-in-class flexibility. The V5400 allows manufacturers to test both DRAM and flash memory die that are used in consumer electronic devices such as MP3 players, memory cards, digital cameras, USB stick drives and mobile communication devices.

According to Soo-Kyoum Kim, an analyst at market research firm IDC, NAND demand will grow 214 percent this year based on an increase in content requirements for major applications, such as digital still cameras and MP3 players.(1) "Low pricing during the end of year to the first half of 2006 will help drive overall bit demand growth for the next year to 143 percent, which will drive supply and demand balance by mid-2006," said Kim. "The mobile phone market will become a more significant contributor to bit demand by the second half of 2006."

"We are seeing a major trend of traditional DRAM manufacturers diversifying their production into both DRAM and NAND," said Pascal Ronde, vice president of Agilent's Semiconductor Test Solutions. "A flexible NAND tester, such as the Versatest models, can test both NAND and DRAM efficiently, while DRAM testers can test only DRAM devices. The Versatest models allow companies to remain competitive even when memory market demands suddenly shift."

About the Agilent Versatest Series

The Agilent V5400 high-volume manufacturing wafer sort tester delivers the lowest cost-of-test across a full spectrum of memory devices. The dynamic algorithmic pattern generator (APG) and patented tester-per-site architecture provide up to four times improvement over existing systems in throughput for memory wafer sort. The unmatched configuration flexibility enables the V5400 to support parallel testing of up to 288 NAND devices and test full-pin-count NOR, NAND, Synch Flash, DRAM, and embedded memory.

The V5000 is a single-site engineering development system. Its compact size and low cost allow test engineers to develop programs within an office setting, without consuming valuable production tester resources. Combining the V5000 with the V5400 gives semiconductor contract manufacturers, fabless design houses and memory integrated device manufacturers a complete solution for a broad spectrum of memory test.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 27,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $5.1 billion in fiscal 2005. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

(1) Source: IDC "Worldwide NAND Flash Memory Demand and Supply 1Q05-4Q06 Forecast and Analysis," Report number 34037, September 2005, by Soo-Kyoum Kim.

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