Palo Alto-Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that a leading provider of advanced memory solutions has purchased multiple Agilent Versatest Series Model V5400s for testing NAND flash memory at wafer sort, targeting known good die (KGD) and data storage card applications. Agilent won the $25+ million agreement based on its industry-leading flash applications expertise, superior benchmark results and technology innovations, such as the ability to test up to 288 devices in parallel. The Agilent V5400 provides the lowest cost-of-memory-test through high parallelism test and lowest test-time overhead. The system’s proven Tester-Per-Site architecture and dynamic APG (algorithmic pattern generator) innovation enable best-in-class flexibility. The V5400 allows manufacturers to test both DRAM and flash memory die that are used in consumer electronic devices such as MP3 players, memory cards, digital cameras, USB stick drives and mobile communication devices. According to Soo-Kyoum Kim, an analyst at market research firm IDC, NAND demand will grow 214 percent this year based on an increase in content requirements for major applications, such as digital still cameras and MP3 players.? “Low pricing during the end of year to the first half of 2006 will help drive overall bit demand growth for the next year to 143 percent, which will drive supply and demand balance by mid-2006,” said Kim. “The mobile phone market will become a more significant contributor to bit demand by the second half of 2006.” “We are seeing a major trend of traditional DRAM manufacturers diversifying their production into both DRAM and NAND,” said Pascal Ronde, vice president of Agilent’s Semiconductor Test Solutions. “A flexible NAND tester, such as the Versatest models, can test both NAND and DRAM efficiently, while DRAM testers can test only DRAM devices. The Versatest models allow companies to remain competitive even when memory market demands suddenly shift.”