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Agere Systems sold its RF LDMOS product line to Ciclon Semiconductor Device Corp. on April 12, 2005. The announced deal covered certain assets, inventory, intellectual property, and software tied to Agere’s ARF4 and ARF5 technologies—not Agere as a whole. Agere said it was leaving RF power to focus on technologies it considered core to its long-term business.
What Agere sold to Ciclon
Ciclon’s announcement described the transaction as an acquisition of Agere’s RF LDMOS product line. Its scope included certain research and development and manufacturing assets, and inventory associated with the ARF4 and ARF5 high-voltage technologies. Agere also agreed to license and assign critical intellectual property and software related to the line. The announcement did not disclose a sale price. Ciclon’s April 12, 2005 announcement and EE Power’s contemporaneous report describe the transaction.
This was a product-line transaction with specified associated assets. It should not be described as Ciclon buying all of Agere or all of Agere’s RF operations.
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Agere said it was exiting RF power to concentrate resources on technologies central to its long-term business. Sohail Khan, then Agere’s executive vice president and chief strategy and development officer, said: “We decided to exit the RF power business as part of our plans to focus our resources on core technologies critical to the long-term success of Agere’s business.”
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What Ciclon planned to do
Ciclon CEO Mark Granahan presented the acquisition as a way to extend the company’s high-frequency power strategy and build on Agere’s investment. He said the deal offered “a unique opportunity to leverage the investment Agere has made in the technology” and would give Ciclon capability to focus on customers and advance technology development.
Granahan also said the transaction “solidifies our strategy in the high frequency power space.” These were statements by company executives at the time; they describe their intentions and assessments, not independently verified outcomes.
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Contemporaneous EDN coverage reported that Ciclon had been created in 2004 and was made up primarily of former Agere members. It also noted that key members of the team had worked on Agere’s first-generation ARF4 technology.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWhat RF LDMOS meant in the 2005 announcement
LDMOS stands for laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor. Agere’s announcement described the technology as a high-voltage option for high-power applications, with an application-frequency range of 400 MHz to 3 GHz. It connected the technology to wireless infrastructure, power amplifiers, and the then-anticipated 3G rollout. That range and market framing are descriptions from 2005, not a present-day limit or forecast.
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The announcement also cited an Allied Business Intelligence estimate of nearly $700 million in annual sales for the relevant market. That is a historical estimate attributed to the firm, not a current market-size figure; EE Power’s April 11, 2005 report repeated the estimate.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does the Agere ARF4/ARF5 line remain available?
The transaction announcement and contemporaneous coverage do not establish Ciclon’s current corporate status, who owns the specific former Agere ARF4/ARF5 line today, or whether those particular devices remain available. Current RF LDMOS parts do exist as a broader component category: STMicroelectronics’ RF LDMOS catalog and DigiKey’s RF transistor listings show category-level products. Those listings do not establish that a part is an Agere ARF4/ARF5 device, a compatible replacement, or a product transferred to Ciclon. Availability in distributor catalogs can also change.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
