Veeco Announces Capacity Expansion Plan for Laser Annealing Technology That Serves the World’s Leading Semiconductor Customers

PLAINVIEW, N.Y., Feb. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) today announced plans to expand its manufacturing capabilities in San Jose, California to meet growing demand for its advanced laser annealing technology that serves the world’s leading semiconductor technology companies. Veeco’s new, SEMI-compliant facility will serve as the company’s center of excellence for the development and production of laser annealing and advanced packaging lithography systems for semiconductor applications.

“As Veeco continues to deliver world-class laser annealing systems to our Semiconductor customers, it is essential that we begin our expansion process in the Silicon Valley area,” said William J. Miller, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Veeco. “We see clear indications that our laser annealing technologies are becoming an increasingly critical part of semiconductor manufacturing where device architecture and scale drive new material challenges. Veeco delivers the advanced solutions our customers need to bring new and more demanding applications to market. We are excited about the expansion not only as a crucial part of executing Veeco’s growth plan, but also as a catalyst in helping our customers bring new technologies to market.”

Advanced semiconductor device scaling requires higher temperature for dopant activation with shorter time at temperature to avoid dopant diffusion. Veeco’s patented LSA101^® and LSA201^® Laser Spike Annealing (LSA) Systems deliver the highest temperatures in the microsecond time scale. The unique nature of the LSA platform enables our customers to anneal complex patterns with high temperature uniformity and precision, which is highly desired in advanced device processing.

“We are excited to enter this stage of Veeco’s expansion plan for our laser annealing systems as demand accelerates for critical process steps at advanced nodes for logic and advanced memory applications,” commented Adrian Devasahayam, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Product Line Manager. “The configuration of the new facility will allow for accelerated product development, expedited system shipments and an enhanced customer demo experience.”

Veeco’s new, leased facility will feature approximately 70,000 square-feet of manufacturing and engineering lab space and 30,000 square-feet of office space. Manufacturing space will be nearly double that of Veeco’s current San Jose facility and will improve efficiency. The build-out of the new facility will result in a period of duplicate expenses until the transition is completed. Capital expenditures associated with this project are expected to be between $30 million and $40 million dollars over the next two years. The initial term of the lease is through 2037, with two renewal options for Veeco to extend the lease for a period of three years each.

About Veeco
Veeco (NASDAQ: VECO) is an innovative manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment. Our proven ion beam, laser annealing, lithography, MOCVD and single wafer etch & clean technologies play an integral role in the fabrication and packaging of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to optimize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds leading technology positions in the markets we serve. To learn more about Veeco’s systems and service offerings, visit www.veeco.com.

Veeco Contacts
Investors: Media:	Anthony Bencivenga Kevin Long	(516) 252-1438 (516) 714-3978	abencivenga@veeco.com klong@veeco.com

Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements”, within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, that are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “scheduled,” “estimates” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding anticipated growth and trends in our businesses and markets, industry outlooks and demand drivers, our investment and growth strategies, our development of new products and technologies, our business outlook for current and future periods, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our ongoing transformation initiative and the effects thereof on our operations and financial results; and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements and their underlying assumptions are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements include, without limitation: the level of demand for our products; global economic and industry conditions; the effects of regional or global health epidemics, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s operations and on those of our customers and suppliers; global trade issues, including the ongoing trade disputes between the U.S. and China, and changes in trade and export license policies; our dependency on third-party suppliers and outsourcing partners; the timing of customer orders; our ability to develop, deliver and support new products and technologies; our ability to expand our current markets, increase market share and develop new markets; the concentrated nature of our customer base; our ability to obtain and protect intellectual property rights in key technologies; our ability to achieve the objectives of operational and strategic initiatives and attract, motivate and retain key employees; the variability of results among products and end-markets, and our ability to accurately forecast future results, market conditions, and customer requirements; the impact of our indebtedness, including our convertible senior notes and our capped call transactions; and other risks and uncertainties described in our SEC filings on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, and from time-to-time in our other SEC reports. All forward-looking statements speak only to management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions as of the date of this press release or, in the case of any document referenced herein or incorporated by reference, the date of that document. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release.