About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc. operates as a manufacturer of advanced semiconductor process equipment that solves an array of challenging materials engineering problems for the company’s customers. The company’s comprehensive collection of ion beam, laser annealing, metal organic chemical vapor deposition (‘MOCVD’), chemical vapor deposition (‘CVD’), advanced packaging lithography, single wafer wet processing, molecular beam epitaxy (‘MBE’), and atomic layer deposition (‘ALD’) technologies play an integral role in the fabrication of key devices that are enabling the 4th industrial revolution of all things connected. Such devices include leading advanced node application processors for AI chips, mobile devices, high-speed data communications, and radio frequency (‘RF’) filters and power amplifiers for fifth generation (‘5G’) networks and mobile electronics, photonics devices for 3D sensing, advanced displays, and thin film magnetic heads for hard disk drives in data storage. In close partnership with the company’s customers, the company combines applications and materials know-how with leading-edge systems engineering to deliver high-volume manufacturing solutions with competitive cost of ownership. Serving a global and highly interconnected customer base, the company has comprehensive sales and service operations across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America regions to ensure real-time close collaboration and responsiveness. Markets The company’s products are purchased by customers in the following four end-markets: Semiconductor; Compound Semiconductor; Data Storage; and Scientific & Other. The company’s array of process equipment systems is used in the production of a broad range of microelectronic components, including logic, dynamic random-access memory (‘DRAM’), photonics devices (including laser diodes and micro-LEDs), power electronics, RF filters and amplifiers, magnetic heads for hard disk drives, and other semiconductor devices. Many of the company’s systems are used to deposit advanced materials critical to the operation of the device and some of the company’s systems are used in cleaning and surface preparation, as well as the precise removal of critical materials. The company is also a leader in systems used in the advanced packaging process flow of microelectronic components, such as flip chip, fan-out wafer level packaging (‘FOWLP’), and other wafer level packaging approaches used in the modern integration of diverse semiconductor products, especially in consumer electronics. In general, the company’s customers purchase its systems to both produce current-generation devices in volume and to develop next-generation products, which deliver more efficient, cost-effective, and advanced technological solutions. System Products Laser Annealing Systems The company’s laser annealing systems meet the industry demand for ultra-short time-scale ‘millisecond’ annealing, heating the wafer up to temperatures just below the silicon melting point, enabling thermal annealing solutions at the most advanced semiconductor process nodes. This unique annealing technology provides a solution to the difficult challenge of fabricating ultra-shallow junctions and highly activated source/drain contacts at advanced logic nodes. In addition, the company’s proprietary hardware design enables outstanding temperature uniformity across the wafer and die, by minimizing the pattern-density effect, thus reducing absorption variations. The company’s next generation nanosecond annealing technology targets annealing advanced logic devices and memory devices at advanced nodes. As devices scale, achieving performance targets has become a challenge. To continue the roadmap, the industry is looking at new materials and the use of thermal processes that require nanosecond time-scale thermal annealing with temperatures exceeding the melting point. The company’s nanosecond annealing will be required to meet the device targets at future nodes and complements the company’s millisecond annealing solutions. Ion Beam Deposition and Etch Systems The company’s NEXUS Ion Beam systems and IBD300 systems are used to deposit and etch thin film layers for multiple end applications in the Semiconductor, Data Storage, RF and other various emerging markets. The company’s NEXUS IBD system has a leading position in multiple markets including EUV mask blank manufacturing in which it enables the company’s customers to deposit multilayers with high precision and ultra-low defects which is essential for EUV lithography. The company’s IBD300 system is being evaluated for 300mm front end semiconductor applications where low resistivity metals like tungsten, ruthenium and molybdenum are critical. The IBD systems are also critical in the manufacture of hard disk drive magnetic heads where they are used to deposit various magnetic and oxide layers and deliver best-in-class film properties. The company’s NEXUS IBE systems are used to precisely etch complex features on materials, which are challenging to pattern by traditional reactive ion etching techniques. These systems are widely used in the data storage industry for patterning of magnetic and oxide materials and are essential for forming the precise shape of the magnetic head. The NEXUS systems may be included on the company’s cluster system platform to allow either parallel or sequential deposition/etch processes. The company’s SPECTOR Ion Beam Sputtering system was developed for high precision optical coatings and offers manufacturers state of the art optical thickness monitoring, improved productivity, and target material utilization, for cutting-edge optical interference coating applications. The company also provides a broad array of ion beam sources. Advanced Packaging Lithography The company’s lithography equipment is used in the Advanced Packaging market for applications, such as FOWLP, Flip Chip (including Copper Pillar), Fan In Wafer Lever Packaging, 3D stacking, interposers and embedded die. The Advanced Packaging market is driven by the need for improved performance, reduced power consumption, and the ability to image smaller geometries for mobile and automotive applications. These applications continue to demand increasingly complex packaging techniques and heterogeneous device integration from integrated device manufacturers (‘IDMs,’), Foundries, and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (‘OSAT’) companies. The company’s Advanced Packaging tools are designed to optimize productivity for leading-edge 200mm and 300mm Advanced Packaging applications by delivering proven reliability and low cost of ownership in high-volume manufacturing environments. The company’s products are known for best-in-class yield coupled with outstanding resolution and depth of focus. Single Wafer Wet Processing The company offers single wafer wet processing, and surface preparation systems which target growth opportunities in advanced packaging applications in the Semiconductor market as well as RF filters and amplifiers in the Compound Semiconductor market. The WaferStorm platform is based on the company’s unique ImmJET technology, which provides improved performance at a lower cost of ownership than conventional wet bench-only or spray-only approaches. This highly flexible platform targets solvent-based cleaning applications that require a significant level of process control and flexibility. The WaferEtch platform provides highly uniform, selective etching with onboard end-point detection for improved process control and yield in bumping applications. In addition, the company has developed a state-of-the-art solution with the WaferEtch platform to address the requirements of wafer thinning. Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Systems and Chemical Vapor Deposition Systems MOCVD production systems are used to make GaN and As/P-based devices for applications, including power electronics, RF devices, specialty LED, display, and many other photonics applications. The company’s proven TurboDisc technology is at the heart of the company’s MOCVD systems and is the key to enabling best-in-class deposition uniformity, yield performance and cost per wafer savings for the company’s customers with a combined advantage of high operating uptime and low maintenance costs. The company’s Lumina platform is used for As/P deposition, and features long campaigns and low defectivity for exceptional yield and flexibility. The company’s Propel series enables the development of highly-efficient GaN-based power electronics, RF devices and advanced GaN-on-silicon micro-LEDs. The Propel system offers 200mm and fully-automated 300mm technology and incorporates single-wafer reactor technology for outstanding film uniformity, yield, and device performance. The company’s SiC CVD system has a base single wafer reactor concept based on a time-tested industry validated architecture and is used for SiC power electronics applications primarily driven by adoption of electric vehicles. Molecular Beam Epitaxy Systems MBE is the process of precisely depositing atomically-thin epitaxial crystalline layers, or epilayers, of elemental materials onto a substrate in an ultra-high vacuum environment. The company is a leading supplier of MBE systems worldwide. The company’s MBE systems, sources, and components are used to develop and manufacture compound semiconductor devices in a wide variety of applications such as quantum computing, high-power fiber lasers, infrared detectors, mobile phones, radar systems, high efficiency solar cells, and advanced materials science research in academic, governmental, and industrial organizations. The GENxplor MBE system creates high quality epitaxial layers and is ideal for cutting-edge research on a wide variety of materials, including III-V GaAs, nitride, and oxide, materials on substrates up to 3’ diameter. Atomic Layer Deposition Systems ALD is a thin-film deposition method in which a film is deposited on a substrate uniformly with precise control down to the atomic scale. Veeco offers a full suite of ALD systems for non-semiconductor front-end production applications across a wide range of markets and applications, such as Quantum Computing, optical, electronics, micro-electro mechanical systems (‘MEMS’), nanostructures, and biomedical. Other Systems The company has other deposition systems, including Physical Vapor Deposition, Diamond-Like Carbon Deposition, and Chemical Vapor Deposition Systems primarily sold to the data storage market. In addition, the company has mechanical systems, such as saws and lappers for the data storage industry, as well as the power semiconductor market. Finally, the company has Gas-mixing systems primarily sold to the semiconductor market. The company also continues to focus on penetrating adjacent markets with organically developed and acquired technology. Sales and Service The company sells its products and services worldwide through various strategically located facilities in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. The company provides service and support on a warranty, service contract, and an individual service-call basis. Customers The company sells its products to many of the world’s semiconductor IDMs and Foundries, OSAT, HDD, and photonics manufacturers, as well as research centers and universities. Intellectual Property The company has over 350 patents in the United States and other countries. Competition The company’s principal competitors include Aixtron; Applied Materials; Canon; Grand Plastics Technology; Mattson; Screen Semiconductor Solutions; Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment; and Suss MicroTec. History Veeco Instruments Inc. was founded in 1945. The company was incorporated in 1989.