Agilent Technologies announces simulation breakthrough for highly non-linear circuits used in RFICs

Competitive trade-up program offered

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 16, 2006, Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced a breakthrough in its core electronic design automation (EDA) frequency-domain simulation technology for fast and accurate simulation of highly non-linear circuits, such as digital dividers used in RFIC circuits. This simulation breakthrough provides crucial circuit performance information that can help avoid design errors leading to an extra design turn. (Each design turn typically adds as much as 60 to 90 days to the development cycle.)

Agilent is also announcing a trade-up program for customers to receive complete credit for eligible competitive tools, providing easy access to this simulation technology.

“With this technology breakthrough, we have extended the reach of harmonic balance simulation to highly non-linear circuits,” said Steve Chen, research and development manager with Agilent’s EEsof EDA division. “In testing we now solve 90 percent of customer-supplied large and complex circuits, such as direct-conversion receivers, prescalers and complex LO generation networks, when in the past we solved roughly 50 percent of these types of circuits.”

Digital divider circuits are examples of highly non-linear circuits used as part of larger, mixed-signal and RF circuits, such as transceivers for cellular phones, for wireless communication devices such as WiFi, WiMAX and UWB, and for frequency generation of LO drives for frequency translation circuits or I/Q modulator/demodulators. In the past, these highly non-linear digital dividers and their attendant simulation problems often prevented a complete chip simulation in mixed-signal and RF circuits. Now, these complex chip circuits simulate and converge quickly -- shortening design cycles and, in many cases, eliminating an entire design turn.

The core circuit simulation technology of Agilent’s EEsof EDA Advanced Design System platform is frequency-domain harmonic balance. Agilent is the worldwide leader in harmonic balance technology and continues to be its leading innovator. Compared with weakly non-linear circuit simulators, Agilent’s solution delivers advanced simulation technology across the full spectrum of non-linear operation. This breakthrough enhancement strengthens the company’s commitment to leadership in RF simulation, extending its reach to the most complex simulation tasks and provides powerful analysis capabilities such as phase noise analysis, a key specification for frequency generation circuits with digital dividers.

This enhanced harmonic balance simulation technology is available as an update to the Advanced Design System (ADS) and RF Design Environment (RFDE) simulation software packages. Agilent ADS offers a complete set of system and circuit simulation technology and instrument links for RF and microwave design in a single, integrated flow. Agilent RFDE is an RF EDA software environment that tightly integrates leading RF simulation technologies from Agilent ADS into the Cadence Design System industry-standard analog and mixed-signal design flow.

“Our ability to do both RF and divider simulations together, rather than doing each one separately, increases the likelihood of a successful chip fabrication for our customers and shortens development time,” said John Barr, product manager with Agilent’s EEsof EDA division. “We expect the new trade-up program to make acquiring these innovative capabilities an attractive option for designers looking for better design flow efficiency.”

For a limited time, users of competitive tools may receive a credit of up to 100 percent of the purchase price of their current software toward the purchase of select Advanced Design System (ADS) or RF Design Environment (RFDE) products. Eligible items for this trade-up program include Xpedion Golden Gate, AWR Analog Office, and Ansoft Nexxim products.

More information about the trade-up program is available at www.agilent.com/find/eesof-hb_breakthrough.

More information about Agilent’s EDA solutions is available at www.agilent.com/find/eesof.

A high-resolution image of Agilent’s EDA solutions is available at www.agilent.com/find/eesof-hb_breakthrough_image.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

The enhanced simulator in ADS and RFDE is available free to supported ADS and RFDE customers. For new customers, it is available now for purchase with ADS 2005A and RFDE. Agilent ADS 2005A is available now, with prices starting at approximately $8,400. Yearly subscription prices for RFDE start at approximately $24,000.

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 20,000 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.

Contact Information

Janet Smith

Agilent Technologies Inc.

Contact via E-mail