Agilent Technologies Announces High-Frequency/High-Speed EDA Release for Integrated Circuit, Package and Board

Agilent Technologies Announces High-Frequency/High-Speed EDA Release for Integrated Circuit, Package and Board Co-Design

Advanced Design System 2009 Co-Design Capabilities Help Design Partners Share Models, Minimize Rework

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 23, 2009

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced the 2009 release of Advanced Design System (ADS) for high-frequency/high-speed co-design of integrated circuits (IC), packages and boards. The ADS electronic design automation (EDA) release helps circuit, package, board and system designers work with a single EDA platform to share simulation models and minimize design rework, costs and delays in communications product design.

The ADS EDA co-design platform enables verification of high-frequency or high-speed system performance as soon as IC, package and PC board designs become available, either in real parts or in simulated models. With the common system-verification test benches in ADS 2009, designers can identify and correct component interactions that can negatively affect the ability to meet system performance specifications. Catching these interactions early in the design cycle prevents costly rework during final hardware integration.

Applications include:

designing the latest 4G LTE phones, where multimode/multiband compatibility with 3G, 2G, WiFi and Bluetooth(r) must be maintained in the size and price demanded by consumers;

signal integrity analysis and fast eye-diagram optimization of multigigabit, high-speed serial links, where layout geometry, pre-emphasis and equalization are optimized for the lowest bit error rate; and

aerospace-defense communication and radar system integration with costly military-specification components procured through long purchase cycles, where failure leads to project delay, cost overrun and eventual cancellation.

Agilent’s ADS EDA co-design platform is the result of more than two decades of continuous innovation and refinement. Its industry-proven wireless, high-speed and aerospace-defense system integration includes the co-design of Agilent’s own test and measurement instruments.

ADS 2009 offers unique capabilities for co-design with the widest variety of models available today, including:

X-parameters — the latest Agilent innovation in accurate, non-linear measurement — can be used directly in ADS simulation to accurately represent off-the-shelf components such as amplifiers and transistors;

3D electromagnetic parameterized components representing metal shields, antenna radomes, absorbers, packages, interconnects, finite dielectric substrates and wire bonds;

transistor-level circuits on RFIC, MMIC, LTCC or laminate RF modules and PC boards;

behavioral models of all types, including Verilog-A/AMS, HDL, MATLAB(r), IBIS, C++ and neural networks;

netlists from HSPICE and Spectre;

measured signal stimulus and data from Agilent signal, network and logic analyzers; and

prebuilt simulation libraries and sources compliant with the latest wireless standards such as LTE, WiMedia and VWAN wireless HD with MIMO antenna characteristics.

“Prebuilt simulation libraries and standards-compliant sources mean that IC and component design houses can collaborate with their system-integration customers to refine specifications and designs before committing to costly and time-consuming hardware sampling and system integration trials,” said How-Siang Yap, ADS product marketing manager with Agilent’s EEsof EDA division. “Reducing even one month-long hardware spin can save up to $1 million. Our customers are excited about this potential savings.”

ADS 2009 also interoperates with Cadence and Mentor back-end design platforms, allowing designers to import:

Cadence Allegro PCB, Advanced Package Designer and System-In-Package physical design data for co-designing with active components; and

Design Rule Check results from Cadence Assura, Mentor Calibre or Triquint MailDRC for viewing and correcting within ADS cost-effective layout environment.

More information about ADS 2009 is available at www.agilent.com/find/eesof-ads2009. To request a demo of ADS 2009, visit www.agilent.com/find/eesof-ads2009-demo.

A high-resolution image of Agilent’s ADS 2009 software is available at www.agilent.com/find/eesof-ads2009_images.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

ADS 2009 is available now, with prices starting at approximately $18,000. It is also available in time-based bundles with ADS, starting at approximately $20,000 per year.

About Agilent EEsof EDA Software

Agilent EEsof EDA is an industry-leading provider of RF-mixed signal circuit and system-design software. Agilent EEsof EDA software is compatible with and is used to design the company’s test and measurement equipment. Additional information is available at www.agilent.com/find/eesof.

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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 19,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $5.8 billion in fiscal 2008. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

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