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Agilent Technologies Opens Custom Optics Shop to External Customers; 35-Years' Experience in Precision Optics Design and Manufacturing Capability Available to All Customers

Business Wire, April 11, 2006

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced that its precision optics design and manufacturing capability, grown for more than 35 years as an internal resource, is now available to external customers. Agilent has end-to-end design and fabrication capabilities in-house to assure that it can reliably bring customer designs to market quickly.

Agilent developed the ability to produce high-precision optical components and opto-mechanical assemblies at competitive costs to support its demanding laser interferometer business and a handful of customers. "We are not new to the precision-optics business, but until now our expertise has been mostly locked up within Agilent and only available to support our internal products," said Vince Barich, Precision Optics operations manager. "Our design engineers, working with our in-house production staff, have the proven ability to meet the needs of the end user in product performance and design for manufacturability."

Agilent offers an array of custom capabilities for flat and monolithic optics, starting with design services. The company works one-on-one with customers to design and produce the product they need. Comprehensive metrology processes and volume manufacturing capability allow Agilent to dependably manufacture custom optics at competitive prices.

"We were searching for a new vendor that could make our high-precision optic consistently and for an attractive price," said Neal Brock, director of New Technology Development at 4D Technology Corporation. "We chose Agilent over others because they demonstrated a clear understanding of the manufacturing issues regarding our component. Now that they have proven that they can deliver, we continue to give them our business."

Precision optics are used in a variety of products, many for growing nanotechnology applications, and include lithography systems, medical and scientific instruments, optical fabrication equipment, lasers, astronomy, metrology systems, process-control systems, optical test and measurement equipment, and interferometers.

Agilent solutions meet the increasing need for precision optics and components to support existing and emerging requirements for nanotechnology applications. Nanotechnology is important to Agilent because it is a common denominator between the two chief areas of the company's business: electronic measurement and bio-analytical measurement, which concentrates on life sciences and chemical analysis. Many customers in each of these business segments have requirements for products that use custom optics and assemblies, or are using optical components in the design of their own systems.

Additional information about Agilent's precision optics capabilities can be found at www.agilent.com/find/optics, by sending an e-mail to POA-info@agilent.com, or by calling 1 877 481 8487 (North America) or 31 20 547 2160 (Europe).

A backgrounder is available at www.agilent.com/find/precisionoptics_backgrounder.> 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.

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