SANTA CLARA, Calif., and STATE COLLEGE, Penn., 12 September 2006. Agilent Technologies Inc. and privately held Remcom Inc. announced that Agilent has licensed 3D Electro-Magnetic simulation technology from Remcom, a provider of time-domain 3D EM technology. Financial details were not disclosed. Remcom will continue to develop, sell, and support XFDTD, which is based on this technology.
This multi-year agreement is an expansion of Agilent EEsof EDA division's strategy to develop an extensive 3D EM product line, which began earlier this year with the announcement and release of the Electro-Magnetic Design System (EMDS) 3D EM simulator.
While Remcom's Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) technology has many applications, it is currently used for antenna design of wireless appliances that are constrained by mechanical design. Remcom's FDTD technology is proven in this application and integrates with mechanical CAD tools, such as Parametric Technologies' Pro/Engineer. Because the technology can mesh an entire wireless appliance, such as a cell phone, it integrates into an engineer's design flow. Time Domain simulation technology is also well suited for multi-processor computers and compute farms, providing designers with dramatic time-savings.
As a result of this agreement, Agilent will expand EM research and development activities in Ghent, Belgium, and expects to begin offering new FDTD products for antenna designers later this year through its worldwide sales and marketing organizations. Agilent also expects to offer investment protection options to customers who purchase EMDS between now and when a new FDTD product becomes available.
Today's announcement is part of a larger strategy to expand Agilent's overall high-frequency EDA offering with a combination of internal development, partnerships, and acquisitions.
