Veeco Instruments Incorporated (VECO)

[Bart Myers]

Lazard Capital is out with its report today on Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ: VECO), raising its PT from $58 to $64.

In a note to clients, Lazard Capital writes, "Based on our new estimates we believe a higher price target is justified using the higher end of the historical multiple range for the cycle of 11-13x. Our $64 PT is based on 12x our new FY11 EPS. With $17 in net cash per share the stock remains very attractively valued at 6x (ex cash). The biggest risk is the MOCVD order cycle in China and the timing of the cycle."


Source: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/11/06/1136616/update-lazard-capital-raises-pt-on-veeco-instruments-to-#ixzz1OE0DOafQ

[Bart Myers]

Sterne Agee is out with its report today on Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ: VECO), raising its PT from $52 to $56.

In a note to clients, Sterne Agee writes, "We are sticking with the Buy rating based on valuation. Excluding more than $16.00 in net cash per share, the stock is trading at 6X our new 2011 EPS estimate of $5.55 (up from $5.17). Our new target price is $56, or 10X our calendar 2011 EPS estimate of $5.55. Maintain Buy."


Source: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/11/04/1032228/update-sterne-agee-raises-pt-on-veeco-instruments-to-56-#ixzz1Kdkrc2nG

[Watson9]

Its a tough call. Veeco makes the machines that make the LED's not the actual chips. The concern is that eventually all of the factories will have all the machines they need and sales will dry up.
The good news is that they basically only have one competitor and thus have a very strong market position and a high proft margin.
Its a fairly volatile stock that I jump in and out of.
Most recently I sold at $52 based on a report that said China was cutting back on subsidies for the machines. Other reports have disputed that claim and several analysts are still very bullish.
They just signed a deal with Samsung this week.
Hope that helps.

[joelipp]

I am new here but it seems that this stock should be doing better than it is. Does anyone here believe it will go higher?

[vanbookie]

They hit the frickin ball out of the park and noone follows this stock but institutions and me!!! Why don't some of you buy some frickin shares and make some money!!@


Vanbookie

[Picassa]

From 4$ to 20$ in 6 Months....

Too bad I didn't act...

[Picassa]

+ 10% today

Veco is on track to become a solar play and the market know this...

[Den]

nice one

[Picassa]

New Product: Veeco’s ‘FastFlex’ web coating platform ideal for CIGS cell production

Product Briefing Outline: Veeco Instruments has introduced its ‘FastFlex’ line of Web Coating Systems designed for manufacturing CIGS solar cells (those using copper, indium, gallium and selenium). Veeco’s ‘FastFlex’ web deposition platform offers high throughput and improved performance for flexible thin film solar cell production that is claimed to contribute to a lower cost of ownership, due to its high quantity of deposition zones in a compact footprint.

Problem: The high temperature and high-volume throughput demands of CIGS solar cell manufacturing requires highly uniform deposition while maintaining high tool up-time. Due to cost per watt requirements for thin film, greater levels of economic consumption of materials is required, resulting in the need for higher total material utilization.

Solution: Veeco claims to be the industry’s only thin film deposition equipment supplier that provides production-proven thermal sources integrated into a CIGS web coating system. This differentiation allows our FastFlex platform to provide CIGS customers with an excellent, high-throughput deposition solution as they move from R&D to production.” Veeco’s FastFlex systems offer superior material utilization, excellent thickness uniformity, and the ability to process web widths up to 350mm with an architecture that supports widths of 1m or more for metal as well as polyimide substrates.

Applications: CIGS solar cells

Platform: The FastFlex platform consists of three systems – one for the Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) utilizing reactive sputtering, one for metal deposition with sputtering (the Molybdenum layer), and one for the CIGS layer, integrating Veeco’s proven PV-Series Thermal Deposition Sources. To help deliver high throughput, the FastFlex system features flexible architecture that can be configured to specific needs, with a choice of rotary or planar magnetron cathode assemblies, loading and maintenance requirements, and more.

Availability: Currently available.

[Picassa]

Veeco agrees to supply CIGS equipment to Daiyang Metal Co. in multi-million dollar order

In an agreement that should see further collaboration and quite a few follow-on orders, Korea’s Daiyang Metal Co., Ltd. has selected Veeco Instruments, Inc. as its supplier of equipment for the manufacture of CIGS solar cells. Daiyang placed an initial multi-million dollar purchase order for Veeco’s FastFlex Web Coating Systems that it will use to construct a thin-film CIGS solar cell production line in Yesan, Korea.

The tool set comprises one Mo (Molybdenum) deposition system, one TCO deposition system and two CIGS deposition systems. Following the shipping of these tools at the end of 2009, it is expected that further orders from Daiyang will emerge.

Daiyang is planning an aggressive ramp-up to 200MW by 2011, with a further goal of achieving 1GW of CIGS cell production capacity by 2013.

[Picassa]

Veeco Instruments: Opportunities for Growth

Veeco designs equipment for manufacturers and researchers. The data storage market accounted for 34% of 2007 sales, scientific research and industrial applications accounted for 29%, high-brightness light emitting diodes [HB-LED] and wireless devices for 28%, and the semiconductor market for 9%. VECO generated about a third of its 2007 sales in the Asia Pacific region, a third in North America, 19% in Europe, and 14% in Japan.

LED & Solar Process Equipment is the company’s largest segment, producing 41% of Q1 sales. This segment makes molecular beam epitaxy systems used to fabricate semiconductors and solar panels. It also makes metal organic chemical vapor deposition systems, which produce HB-LEDs for large signs, mobile communications devices, and other applications. The Data Storage Process Equipment segment accounted for 24% of Q1 sales. It makes ion beam etch systems, ion beam deposition systems, diamond-like carbon deposition systems, physical vapor deposition systems, and precision lapping, slicing and dicing systems. The Metrology segment produced 35% of Q1 sales. It makes atomic force microscopes, optical interferometers, and stylus profilers for measuring semiconductor devices and thin film magnetic heads. The segment’s largest customers are manufacturers of semiconductor and data storage devices.

Net sales for 2007 fell 8.7% year-over-year to $402.5 million because two major customers merged and a third closed a manufacturing facility. The pro forma EBITA margin fell 779 basis points to 3.79%. Pro forma net income dropped 74.9% to $2.24 million or 7 cents per share. Management launched a comprehensive plan to cut costs and focus on products with the greatest potential for growth. During the second half of the year,VECO significantly reduced its workforce and discontinued two product lines.

Q1 net sales grew 3.2% to $102.3 million. LED Solar segment sales jumped 87.9% to $42.1 million, but Data Storage sales plunged 32.5% to $24.1 million even though orders were up 26.1%. Metrology sales declined 12.1% to $36.1 million as demand waned in the semiconductor market. The Asia Pacific and European markets grew 16.5% and 25.5%, respectively. North America and Japan fell 6.1% and 15.8%, respectively. VECO took a $2.9 million non-recurring charge to pay for consolidation of its headquarters and employee severance. The pro forma EBITA margin fell 54 basis points year-over-year, but rose 136 basis points sequentially to 5.15%. Pro forma net income fell 10.2% to $2.89 million or 9 cents per share.

Challenges remain, but current trends are encouraging. Total orders in Q1 grew 3.2% to $109.3 million, giving VECO a 1.07 book-to-bill ratio. Management expects Q2 revenues to grow 3-11% to $102-110 million driven by LED and solar process equipment sales. Net sales for the full year are expected to grow 10% to $440 million. Profits should accelerate during the second half of the year thanks to better pricing and cost reductions.

Longer-term prospects are also promising. Demand should remain strong for hard disk drives and markets for HB-LEDs should continue to grow, driven largely by geographic expansion and technological innovation. Furthermore, solar cells and nanotechnology continue to represent opportunities for growth.

[Picassa]

23-Feb-09 REIN JOHN F JR
Officer 12,000 Direct Purchase at $4.78 per share. $57,360
12-Feb-09 PEELER JOHN R
Officer 6,530 Direct Purchase at $5.01 per share. $32,715
11-Feb-09 PEELER JOHN R
Officer 53,470 Direct Purchase at $5.07 per share. $271,092

[buhg1b]

Most surface metrology needs can be met by one of three complementary tools that can be supplied by Veeco - the white light interferometer, the atomic force microscope and the stylus profilometer.

Quantitative measurement of surface topography is now a key QC/QA requirement in an increasingly broad range of industries, products and materials. This includes measurements on finished products, research and development (R&D) into new surfaces and surface treatments and in-process monitoring during volume production.

Materials include metals, composites, plastics, paper, painted and plated surfaces, porous surfaces and glass.

Drivers for these measurements range from critical functional and performance impact, as in the case of a partially processed semiconductor wafer surface, to expected lifetime, such as for hip implant bearing surfaces, to aesthetic considerations, an example being orange peel in automotive paint.

A number of different contact and noncontact techniques currently support this application diversity, the two most widely used being white light interferometry and stylus profilometry. Now another technique with even higher resolution - atomic force microscopy - is poised to transition from the lab to atline and on-line applications.

Figure 1. Optical profilers are well-suited for measuring surface roughness on razor blades and other blade types.
White Light Interferometry

White light interferometry, often referred to as optical profilometry, is a versatile and powerful optical method that uses light waves as an extremely precise ruler. This is accomplished using the same interference phenomenon that produces colored bands when sunlight is reflected off a very thin film of gasoline floating on a water puddle.

An optical profiler is a type of microscope in which light from a lamp is split into two paths by a partially reflecting mirror called a beam splitter.

One path directs light on to the surface under test, the other path directs light to a very flat reference surface.

Reflections from the two surfaces are recombined in the microscope and imaged at a digital camera. When the path difference between the recombined beams is on the order of a few wavelengths of light or less, interference occurs. This produces a series of dark and light bands, called fringes. These fringes correspond to the surface contours of the test surface, mapping its vertical (Z axis) topography at a resolution as high as 0.1 nanometer.

The XY resolution depends on the choice of objective and the number of camera pixels, and can be as fine as 500 nanometers. The technique also provides absolute accuracy ±3 nanometers in the Z-axis.

Current commercially available optical profilers range from benchtop R&D systems to instruments offering streamlined functionality for on-line or at-line process monitoring. The most advanced of these generate statistical surface topography data, such as Ra and Rq (Average & RMS roughness), and even include image analysis software that calculates feature widths and relative positions, and which can be customized to identify deviations from an ideal shape. They also enable screening for defects, such as scratches and pits, at operator-specified lateral and vertical thresholds, with automatic part rejection, and cause-logging for improved process control.

Figure 2. This example highlights the benefits of phase imaging with a AFM. Topography (left) and phase image (right) of a cryo-microtomed multilayer polyethylene sample. While topography is dominated by large-scale undulations, phase provides a clean view of the layered structure. Additional fine structure shows the presence of small droplets.
White Light Interferometry Applications

The advantages of optical profilometry are versatility, speed and wide Z-axis dynamic range. Plus, this is a completely noncontact method. The large dynamic range of today’s digital cameras allows its use with surface reflectivities ranging from 0.5% up to more than 90%. Moreover, because the optical profiler is an imaging tool that makes area measurements with each data acquisition event, it can profile a surface much faster than a tool that has to proceed serially point by point.

And one of the advantages of it being an optical, noncontact tool is that the instrument can make measurements through transparent windows, such as in vacuum chambers or product packaging. Plus the latest software and hardware suites enable these instruments to study dynamic and stopped motion of moving surfaces as in MEMS devices such as the micromirror chips used in projection televisions.

Lastly, the optical profiler offers a very large Z-axis range, from a few nanometers up to feature heights as great as 10,000 microns.

Quality applications for optical profilers span everything from cleanroom applications in aerospace and medical devices to factory floor applications in heavier industries such as automotive.

In terms of high profile applications, this technology is now used by one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of kitchen and bathroom faucets and related fittings. The instruments are used to examine the surface of parts before and after chromium plating.

Originally used for process development, these measurements were developed into process QC specifications that correlate with perceived cosmetic quality as well as resistance to chromium peeling and pitting.

Another optical profiler application is at a major manufacturer of razor blades. Here the instruments are used for two key QC measurements—grind angle of the blade edge and the depth and quality of score marks. The blades are created as a continuous spool of up to tens of thousands of blades, which are then automatically singulated by snapping at these mechanically created score lines. The grind angle is a particularly critical QC measurement because up to 1 million blades are dispositioned based solely on optical profiler data from only a few statistical samples in each batch.

In a very different low volume/high value application, NASA contractors use this type of optical profiler to examine and evaluate the space shuttle windows for micro-pits caused by micro meteorite impacts. Based on the results of these measurements, the expensive sapphire windows are replaced typically after four to five missions.

Figure 3. Optical profilers are widely used in the manufacturer of medical devices as illustrated in these measurements of a variety of implant surfaces: (A) hip implant head, (B) hip implant cup, (C) knee implant (load bearing surface) and (D) dental implant.
Stylus Profilometry

Stylus profilometry has been around for decades, yet it remains the tool of choice in several key applications, in part because of its excellent performance to cost ratio. In a stylus profilometer, a diamond-tipped needle or stylus is drawn across a surface by a precision motion stage. Variations in surface topography cause vertical stylus movement that is sensed by a Linear Variable Differential Transducer (LVDT ). Instrument resolution depends on the stylus tip radius, and can be as fine as 1 nanometer in height.

Although it is clearly a surface contact tool, the low stylus application force of instruments typically makes this technique nondestructive. The advantages of stylus profilometry are its ability to rapidly perform long linear scans - up to 200 millimeters - its capacity to quantify relatively large step heights, and its low cost.

It is best used for generating transect data; while area data can be accumulated by raster scanning, this is typically accomplished at higher speed and throughput using optical profilometry.

The market for stylus profilometers is dominated by quality applications involving films and coatings. One current example is quality control of the copper plating on the write element of virtually every hard disk drive made.

Another is gaging the shape of the microlens used in DVD or similar optical disc players. A key application in the semiconductor industry is control of film stress, both compressive and tensile. This stress warps the wafer and the stylus is used to rapidly measure its curvature and compute the magnitude of the stress from this data.

Figure 4. In a typical optical profiler, a digital camera records fringes that result from reflections off a test surface and a reference surface. The system computer converts these fringes into high resolution
topographic information.
Atomic Force Microscopy

The latest tool in the arsenal of solutions for QC metrology is the atomic force microscope (AFM). In an AFM, a hyper-fine tip, such as a single crystal of silicon or diamond, is mounted on a lightweight cantilever arm and brought into contact with a surface. Interatomic forces cause deflection in the relatively soft cantilever. At first these forces are weakly attractive, but they become strongly repulsive as surface contact is made. The tiny cantilever deflections are sensed by bouncing a laser beam off the cantilever and onto a positionsensing photodetector.

In a modern commercial AFM, the cantilever, or the sample, is mounted on a three-dimensional precision actuator, usually a piezoelectric tubelike structure. Most commonly this is used to maintain a constant interaction force between the sample and the tip. By raster-scanning the tip relative to the sample, a quantitative topographic surface map can be created based on the piezo voltage needed to maintain constant interaction strength. The in-plane (or XY) resolution of an AFM is mainly limited by the tip radius, and it is often 10 nanometers or sometimes better. The resolution in the vertical (Z) dimension is not directly related to the tip, and may be in the range of 0.05 nanometer (0.5 Å).

The instrument also may be operated in TappingMode. Here the cantilever is made to oscillate rapidly like a tuning fork, lightly tapping on the surface. In this mode of operation, the amplitude and phase of the oscillating cantilever are used to gage surface topography. This mode is widely used because it is ideal for delicate samples - even wet membranes - because it avoids lateral forces between the tip and surface. TappingMode is advantageous for hard samples such as metals, because it permits greater precision of force control.

In addition to simply measuring surface topology, the AFM surface-tip interaction can be adapted to make a host of physical, chemical and electromagnetic measurements. Examples include mapping lateral force on the tip (nanoscale friction) and determining piezoelectric activity levels.
Configuring AFM for QC Applications

Because of its nanoscale resolution, the AFM is usually considered the ultimate surface metrology instrument, by some. It can profile surfaces literally at the single molecule level. And unlike earlier research tools, it can work on a variety of surfaces, with no special preparation required. It can even probe surfaces that are immersed in water and other liquids.

However, until very recently, the majority of AFM applications have been confined to the research laboratory and R&D facilities. This is because AFMs did not offer the requisite ruggedization and operational simplicity for use by semi-skilled operators in the production environment. An exception to this has been the semiconductor industry, which now extensively employs AFMs to validate several stages of the memory and logic chip production processes.

A typical commercial research application is at 3M, a major component supplier for disposable diaper products. The adhesive tape on these products should be securely closed by a single hand press to give a secure feeling to the parent changing a child. But this depends on a uniform application of adhesive with no bare spots or unequal adhesion levels. The company recently acquired an AFM to study the adhesive strip using a technique called phase imaging.

This is an extension of TappingMode imaging. By mapping out the phase of the oscillating cantilever, phase imaging goes beyond simple topographical mapping. Specifically, it is sensitive to variations in adhesion and viscoelasticity and can provide information about sample composition and microphase separation.

According to 3M, this technique has revealed interesting features that had not been detected by any other technique. Moreover, 3M believe that these features could be important morphological changes in the formulation.

AFMs also have been successfully used in a number of failure analysis and product improvement applications.

For example, a fish canning company needed to analyze why their tuna had a shorter than expected shelf life. The AFM was used to analyze coating deterioration on the inner can surface. This revealed that characteristics in the specific water used by the cannery was deteriorating the polymer protective coating used to protect the tuna from the exposure to bare metal.

Now a new generation of compact ruggedized AFMs is poised to take these same capabilities from the R&D lab into mainstream QC operations. Early applications for these new instruments are for monitoring surface roughness and defects in coated surfaces and fine finishes. Other early adopters are in the area of films and foils such as aluminized polymer film.

In conclusion, QC measurements of surface topography in a variety of applications can be serviced with three basic types of instruments - the optical profiler, the atomic force microscope and the stylus profilometer.

However, it is not always clear to the uninitiated which of these approaches is best for a given use. Therefore, choosing the right instrument for a particular application requires partnering with a supplier that understands the capabilities and limitations of each of these technologies.

Source: Veeco

http://www.azonano.com/details.asp?ArticleId=2143

[buhg1b]

Veeco Instruments Posts Q1 Loss On Charge; Guides Q2 [VECO]

4/28/2008 8:33:41 PM Veeco Instruments Inc. (VECO), a Woodbury, New York-based manufacturer of equipment in the data storage, on Monday reported a first quarter net loss, compared to profit in the previous year period, largely due to a restructuring and asset impairment charge.

The company reported a first quarter net loss of $1.6 million or $0.05 per share, compared to net income of $0.3 million or $0.01 per share in the previous year period. The latest quarter includes a restructuring and asset impairment charge of $3.2 million principally related to the consolidation and relocation of Veeco's Corporate headquarters.

Veeco's earnings per share, excluding certain items, was $0.09 compared to earnings per share of $0.10 last year. On average, eight analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected earnings of $0.03 per share.

Gross profit declined to $42.63 million from $43.70 million. Revenue rose to $102.3 million from $99.2 million posted last year, falling short of Street estimate of $103.87 million.

For the second quarter, Veeco's earnings per share are currently forecasted to be between $0.02-$0.07 on a GAAP basis, and between $0.05 and $0.11 on a non-GAAP basis.

The company expects second quarter 2008 revenues to be in the range of $102-$110 million. Analysts expect second quarter earnings of $0.08 per share on revenues of $108.10 million.

VECO closed Monday's regular trade at $17.89, up $0.40 from the previous close, on 434,028 shares. The stock dropped 23 cents in the extended trade.

[buhg1b]

Veeco Instruments Inc. Earnings Conference Call (Q1 2008)
Scheduled to start Mon, Apr 28, 2008, 5:00 pm Eastern

http://biz.yahoo.com/cc/3/91453.html

After the event has finished, the audio will be available
from that page until Wed, Apr 29, 2009

[buhg1b]

Veeco EnviroScope(TM) Selected by French National Scientific Research Center and Thales Joint Laboratory
Thursday April 3, 8:00 am ET

WOODBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO - News), a leading provider of instrumentation to the nanoscience community, announced today that the prestigious ‘Unité mixte de Physique’ (UMP), a joint laboratory between the French National Scientific Research Center (CNRS) and Thales Group, has selected the EnviroScope™ Atomic Force Microscope to aid in the lab’s cutting-edge physics research. Professor Albert Fert, the 2007 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics, manages the UMP laboratory, which is based in Palaiseau, France.

The UMP laboratory performs cutting-edge research in spintronics and other small-scale electrical measurements. Veeco’s AFMs have a long history of enabling such innovative research and technologies, and the EnviroScope was chosen for its capability to deliver electrical characterization in very high resolution enabled by its vacuum environment.

UMP research engineer Karim Bouzehouane commented, "Veeco's EnviroScope is ideal for our research because of the strong features of the tool. For example, the EnviroScope, while designed to operate under vacuum, is as easy to use as an "in air" system, and it offers flexible software and a powerful controller. In addition, we have had good prior experience with Veeco's products and their excellent customer support."

David Rossi, Vice President, Business Unit Manager of Veeco’s Nano-Bio AFM Business commented, "The scientists at CNRS/Thales are leading innovators in the field of advanced physics research. The EnviroScope AFM enables high resolution electrical characterization in vacuum, and we are pleased that they have selected the EnviroScope to aid their research."

Veeco's innovative, high-performance EnviroScope AFM has been engineered specifically to facilitate advanced research under stringent requirements, in vacuum and/or with environmental control. The EnviroScope is ideal for a wide array of cutting-edge applications, such as advanced electrical measurements, temperature-sensitive applications, surface/gas interactions and electrochemistry.

About the Unité mixte de Physique CNRS/Thales Laboratory

The laboratory "Unite mixte de Physique" (UMP) was created in January 1995 and is a joint laboratory between the French CNRS and the industrial company Thales (ex-Thomson-CSF). The UMP has been affiliated with the University Paris-Sud since January 2000. The creation of the UMP strengthened an existing collaboration between Professor Fert at the University Paris-Sud and a group at Thales’ central laboratory. This collaboration, centered on studies of magnetic metal multilayers, led to the discovery of the Giant Magnetoresistance effect (GMR) in 1988. This important discovery is applied in the hard disk read process in most computers today. It also brought the development of the research domain to an entity now called Spintronic. Professor Fert received the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics together with Professor Peter Grünberg for the discovery of the GMR effect.

About Veeco

Veeco Instruments Inc. manufactures Process Equipment and Metrology and Instrumentation solutions for the data storage, HB-LED, solar, wireless, semiconductor and scientific research markets. Veeco’s manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona and Minnesota. Global sales and service offices are located throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan and APAC. http://www.veeco.com/

To the extent that this news release discusses expectations or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include the risks discussed in the Business Description and Management's Discussion and Analysis sections of Veeco's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and press releases. Veeco does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements.


Contact:

Veeco Instruments Inc.
Corporate:
Debra Wasser, 516-677-0200 x1472
SVP, Investor Relations & Corp. Communications
or
European Media:
Stephanie Pietri, 33 1 64 59 35 20
European Marketing Communication Manager
or
Metrology & Instrumentation:
Karen Gertz, 805-967-2700 x2412
Metrology Marketing Communications

Source: Veeco Instruments Inc.

[buhg1b]

Semiconductor toolmakers had $1.23B in orders in Feb., 12% below year ago
The Business Review (Albany)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted about $1.23 billion in orders in February 2008, according to a report by trade organization SEMI.

The San Jose, Calif.-based group reported late Tuesday that manufacturers also had a book-to-bill ratio of 0.93 -- meaning that $93 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The bookings figure is about 8 percent greater than the January 2008 level of $1.14 billion, but 12 percent less than the $1.40 billion in orders posted in February 2007.

The Albany, N.Y., area is increasingly focusing on the semiconductor industry as a result of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s plans to build a $3.2 billion computer chip manufacturing plant in Luther Forest Technology Campus. AMD (NYSE: AMD) has until July 2009 to commit to the project and still receive $1.2 billion in state incentives.

Besides AMD's plans, a number of semiconductor equipment makers have research efforts at the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. UAlbany's NanoCollege is located at the Albany NanoTech research complex. Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) of Santa Clara, Calif., Tokyo Electron Ltd. of Japan and ASML of The Netherlands have announced research efforts at Albany NanoTech. And Veeco Instruments Inc., a Long Island toolmaker, received $2.4 million last year to develop a tool for Sematech's research at Albany NanoTech. Sematech is an Austin, Texas-based consortium of computer chip manufacturers.

http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/03/17/daily32.html?ana=yfcpc

[buhg1b]

Veeco TurboDisc K465 GaN MOCVD Tool Accepted by Leading Japanese Device Manufacturer
Thursday February 21, 8:00 am ET

WOODBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO - News) announced today that a leading Japanese high brightness light emitting diode (HB-LED) manufacturer has process accepted the TurboDisc® K465™ gallium nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) System to support their capacity expansion of blue HB-LEDs. This manufacturer received the tool in December and, with Veeco’s support, was able to install and process accept the tool by the end of January.

Sam DiRenzo, Vice President, General Manager of Veeco's MOCVD Operations commented, “Demand for GaN-based blue LEDs is expected to grow at the annual rate of nearly 20% over the next five years, mainly due to market drivers such as signs and displays, automotive, general illumination and LCD backlighting. We are pleased that this customer has chosen our TurboDisc K465, the industry’s highest throughput MOCVD tool, for their capacity expansion.”

The new TurboDisc K465 GaN MOCVD System features Veeco's most advanced TurboDisc reactor technology and delivers the industry's highest throughput available today for high volume production of GaN-based blue and green LEDs. Veeco's TurboDisc "K-Series" MOCVD platform includes the K300 and K465 models, offering a modular, upgradeable path to higher throughput, larger diameter reactor chamber and reduced cost of ownership.

About Veeco

Veeco Instruments Inc. manufactures Process Equipment and Metrology and Instrumentation solutions for the data storage, HB-LED, solar, wireless, semiconductor and scientific research markets. Veeco’s manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona and Minnesota. Global sales and service offices are located throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan and APAC. http://www.veeco.com/

To the extent that this news release discusses expectations or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include the risks discussed in the Business Description and Management's Discussion and Analysis sections of Veeco's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and press releases. Veeco does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements.


Contact:

Veeco Instruments Inc.
Investor:
Deb Wasser, 1-516-677-0200 x 1472
SVP Investor Relations
or
Trade Media:
Fran Brennen, 1-516-677-0200 x1222
Senior Director of Marcom

Source: Veeco Instruments Inc.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080221/20080221005275.html?.v=1