Agilent Technologies Inc. has introduced two side-firing, tricolor surface-mount LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that permit handset and PDA designers to mix separate red, green and blue light sources in any combination.

The company says the devices are intended primarily for backlighting and status indicators in handheld devices, such as mobile phones and PDAs.

In handsets and other handheld devices, separate colors can indicate incoming SMS (short messaging system) messages, e-mail and stock news. They can even identify different callers. The availability of an unlimited range of illumination colors provides a new degree of design flexibility in many other applications, such as backlighting and status indication in office and industrial equipment and home appliances.

The Agilent HSMF-C113 combines InGaN blue (470 nm dominant wavelength, 60 mcd typical brightness); AlInGaP green (572 nm, 50 mcd); and AlInGaP red (626 nm, 80 mcd) die. All brightnesses measure at 20 mA operating current. The premium HSMF-C115 uses brighter InGaN green, with 525 nm dominant wavelength and 170-mcd typical brightness.

The Agilent HSMF-C113 is priced at US$0.58 each, and the HSMF-C115 at US$1.00 each, both in 1,000-piece quantities.