Lucent Technologies and Siros Expand Intellectual Property Agreement; License Agreement Expands Market Potential For Very Small Aperture Laser Technology

Business Wire, June 12, 2000

Business & High Tech Editors

MURRAY HILL, N.J. and SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 2000

Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU) and Siros Technologies, Inc., a privately held company in the forefront of emerging optical technologies, today announced an expansion of their alliance, enlarging the scope of their relationship and their intellectual property agreement.

The new agreement gives greater latitude to the corporate partnership that was forged in early 1999 for the development and commercialization of Very Small Aperture Laser (VSAL) technology.

VSAL, an innovative laser technology invented at Lucent's Bell Laboratories for high capacity optical data storage, represents the most compact and simple source of highly focused light developed to date. With VSAL, spot sizes as small as tens of nanometers in diameter (millionths of an inch) have been demonstrated, without the use of complex lens systems or more expensive short wavelength lasers.

Inherent in the technology is the additional capability to configure a single laser for two-way operation as both a write and read element. The unique scalability of VSAL lends itself to application in other optical and electronic devices and systems beyond those in data storage.

"Our agreement is an example of how we seek strong partners to help us commercialize Bell Labs technology beyond Lucent's core businesses," said Steve Socolof, vice president in Lucent's New Ventures Group. "Siros' strategic relationships with industry leaders are key to strengthening their position as a leader in the advancement of new technologies like VSAL, and also to realizing broader market potential than originally envisioned when those technologies were first developed."

"We are very pleased that our relationship with Lucent is continuing to grow," said Dr. Barbara Grant, president and CEO of Siros. "The expansion of VSAL technology into broader markets enhances Siros' growth and promotes the continued development and commercialization of this important technology. Lucent Technologies is highly regarded for innovation across many fields and our new agreement opens a gateway to a wealth of potential in technological development."

About Siros Technologies, Inc.

Siros Technologies, Inc., located in San Jose, California, is an innovator of new ultra-high density, optical storage products with the capacities and performance capabilities required by continually evolving information-based applications. The company's three-dimensional recording (3DR) technology utilizes the third dimension (depth) to store data resulting in volumetric capacity gains. Siros' very-small-aperture laser (VSAL) technology produces smaller data 'bits' to create real capacity gains. More information on Siros can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sirostech.com.

About Lucent Technologies

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as optical and wireless networks; Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications semiconductors and optoelectronics; Web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.