Agilent Technologies Unveils World's First Optocouplers for 3.3 Volt Logic; Devices Reduce Power Consumption and Costs in 21st-Century Designs.

Business Editors

MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2000

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced the world's first optocouplers directly compatible with today's 3.3-V low-power microcomputer chips and logic families, eliminating the need for an additional 5 volt power supply in many applications. The products are on display at Electronica, the 19th International Trade Fair for Components and Assemblies in Electronics, at the New Munich Trade Fair Center, November 21 to 24, 2000.

Optocouplers provide electrical isolation between different parts of a system that run at very different voltages. For example, if a "spike" from a very high-voltage part of a system were to cross into sensitive electronic circuits, it could cause permanent damage. Optocouplers turn current into light, and then back into a controlled current, so a voltage spike involves only a high-intensity flash of light that cannot cause damage.

Agilent's low-power optocouplers are valuable in telecommunication, computing and industrial applications, particularly battery-operated portable and handheld equipment. These are the first commercially available optocouplers designed to meet the industry standard(1) for low-voltage transistor logic.

"There is a clear market demand for these 3.3 volt optocouplers brought on by the shift of virtually all classes of semiconductors to the 3.3 volt level," said Rainer Ihra, World-wide Marketing Manager for optocouplers in Agilent's Electronics Components Division. "We have seen a high level of customer excitement as the first supplier of these devices."

These devices will reduce power consumption by at least 50 percent each if the losses in DC-to-DC converter circuits are included. The new family from 2.7 V to 3.3 V includes single- and dual-channel optocouplers in dual-inline and miniature SO-8 surface-mount packages. Performance characteristics include speeds from 1 MBd to 15 MBd, and isolation of up to25 kV/microsecond.

U.S. Price and Availability

The devices are available in production quantities today. U.S. pricing ranges from $0.80 to $1.40 for the single-channel optocouplers and $1.60 to $2.80 for dual channel optocouplers depending on packaging, capabilities and performance.

Information is available on the Web at www.semiconductor.agilent.com/isolator/

About Agilent Technologies Inc.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a diversified technology company, resulting from Hewlett-Packard Company's plan to strategically realign itself into two fully independent companies. With approximately 43,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries, Agilent Technologies is a global leader in designing and manufacturing test, measurement and monitoring instruments, systems and solutions, and semiconductor and optical components. The company serves markets that include communications, electronics, life sciences and healthcare. In fiscal year 1999, the businesses comprising Agilent, then a subsidiary of HP, had net revenue of more than $8.3 billion.

Information about Agilent Technologies can be found on the Web at www.agilent.com.

Note 1: the EIA /JEDEC interface specification JESD-8B for LVTTL (low-voltage technology transistor logic)