News Details

Veeco Introduces High Throughput “FastFlex” Web Coating Platform For Production of Flexible Thin Film Solar Cells

August 25, 2008

PLAINVIEW, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2008--Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), announced today the introduction of its FastFlex(TM) line of Web Coating Systems ideally suited for manufacturing CIGS solar cells (those using copper, indium, gallium and selenium). Veeco's advanced FastFlex web deposition platform offers high throughput and excellent performance for flexible thin film solar cell production, contributing to a lower cost of ownership, due to its high quantity of deposition zones in a compact footprint.

Piero Sferlazzo, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Veeco Solar Equipment, commented, "Veeco now provides comprehensive, fully integrated manufacturing solutions for the Moly, CIGS and TCO layers--enabling customers to achieve full-scale commercialization of flexible solar cells. Our CIGS systems can be tailored to our customers' requirements and help drive down their cost per watt."

According to Dr. Sferlazzo, "Veeco is 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.

About Veeco's FastFlex 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(TM) 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.

About Veeco

Veeco Instruments Inc. manufactures enabling solutions for customers in the HB-LED, solar, data storage, semiconductor, scientific research and industrial markets. We have leading technology positions in our three businesses: LED & Solar Process Equipment, Data Storage

Process Equipment, and Metrology Instruments. Veeco's manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona, Massachusetts 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.
             Investors:
             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.