Veeco Names SVP/General Manager of Compound Semiconductor Operations

    Business Editors

    WOODBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2005--Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) today announced that it has appointed Richard Wissenbach as Senior Vice President, General Manager for its Compound Semiconductor/Epitaxial Process Equipment Group. The Group includes Veeco's TurboDisc metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) operation in Somerset, NJ and its molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) operations in St. Paul, MN. MOCVD and MBE are the two critical epitaxial deposition steps that determine compound semiconductor device brightness and frequency.
    Veeco's 2004 aggregate revenue from these sites exceeded $93 million, more than doubling prior year results (including the impact of an acquisition); primarily due to the growth of high-brightness light emitting diodes (HB-LEDs) used in color display and keyboard backlighting in cell phones, as well as automotive, large area TV and specialty lighting applications. Research organization Strategies Unlimited currently forecasts that HB-LED sales will increase 15% per year to $7 billion by 2009.
    Prior to joining Veeco, Mr. Wissenbach's most recent positions were as Vice President, General Manager, E-Beam Defect Review Division for KLA-Tencor in San Jose, CA and Vice President, Motion Group/PacSci for Danaher Corporation in Wilmington, MA. Mr. Wissenbach received his MS in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his BSEE from Northeastern University. Mr. Wissenbach reports to Don Kania, Ph.D., Veeco's President and Chief Operating Officer.
    Edward H. Braun, Veeco's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Dick's management experience and leadership ability strengthens this important Veeco business segment. The continued penetration of HB-LEDs beyond cell phones, in large area TV, automotive, high resolution displays and eventually general lighting applications, represents a significant Veeco equipment growth opportunity."
    Veeco Instruments Inc. provides solutions for nanoscale applications in the worldwide semiconductor, data storage, compound semiconductor/wireless and scientific research markets.
    Our Metrology products are used to measure at the nanoscale and our Process Equipment tools help create nanoscale devices. 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 United States, Europe, Japan and Asia Pacific. Additional information on Veeco can be found at http://www.veeco.com/.

    To the extent that this news release discusses expectations about market condition, market acceptance and future sales of Veeco's products, Veeco's future financial performance or disclosures, 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 challenges of continuing weakness in end market conditions and the cyclical nature of the compound semiconductor/wireless, data storage, semiconductor and research markets, risks associated with integrating acquired businesses and the acceptance of new products by individual customers and by the marketplace and other factors discussed in the Business Description and Management's Discussion and Analysis sections of Veeco's Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K .

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CONTACT: Veeco Instruments Inc. Debra Wasser, 516-677-0200 x 1472

KEYWORD: NEW YORK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT CHANGES SOURCE: Veeco Instruments Inc.

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