Veeco Receives Over $10.0 Million In Orders for Automated Semiconductor Metrology Tools.

Business Editors

PLAINVIEW, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 10, 2000

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) today announced receipt of over $10.0 million in orders for its automated atomic force microscope and profiler semiconductor metrology tools during the recently completed second quarter of 2000.

These systems are scheduled to be shipped to major semiconductor customers in the U.S., Taiwan, Europe and Japan by the first quarter of 2001.

Edward H. Braun, Veeco's Chairman and CEO, commented, "During the second quarter of 2000, Veeco's total metrology orders were approximately $45.0 million, an approximately 80% increase over the second quarter of last year. This strength was primarily driven by orders for our family of automated semiconductor tools. Semiconductor manufacturers are rapidly adopting the Vx Atomic Force Profiler and the Dimension 9000 as their tools of choice for 0.13 micron feature sizes and control of demanding Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) processes. Both metrology tools are 300mm capable."

Don Kania, Ph.D., President of Veeco's Metrology Group, added, "We are pleased that leading international semiconductor manufacturers have recognized the superior technology, productivity and cost savings of our fab tools. Five of the Vx orders were for 300mm wafer production programs, which is quite significant given the industry's move to next-generation wafer sizes."

Veeco Instruments Inc., headquartered in Plainview, New York, is a worldwide leader in metrology tools for the data storage, semiconductor and research markets, and process equipment etch and deposition tools for the data storage and optical telecommunications industry. Manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, 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 conditions or about market acceptance and future sales of Veeco's products, 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 cyclical nature of the data storage, optical telecommunications and semiconductor industries, risks associated with 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 Report on Form 10-K and Annual Report to Shareholders.