University of Cambridge Selects Veeco MOCVD System for Power Electronics and LED Development

PLAINVIEW, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Veeco Instruments Inc. VECO announced today that the University of Cambridge, one of the most highly regarded research universities in the world, has ordered the Propel™ Power Gallium Nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) System for GaN-on-silicon (Si) power electronics and light emitting diode (LED) research and development.

Headed by world-renowned Professor Sir Colin Humphreys, the system will be installed at the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride located in Cambridge, England. Since 2000, Professor Humphreys has carried out extensive studies of InGaN quantum wells used in LED development. GaN-on-silicon technology is considered a potential cost saving alternative to GaN-on-sapphire technology.

"After careful consideration, we concluded that Veeco's Propel MOCVD system provides a distinct advantage over other systems to improve and expand our GaN-on-silicon R&D capabilities," said Professor Sir Colin Humphreys, Director of Research at The University of Cambridge. "Gallium nitride is the most important semiconductor material since silicon for power electronics and LEDs. The Propel PowerGaN platform enables the growth of high performance device structures in a clean and stable process environment with low particle defects."

According to IHS Research, the GaN power electronics device market is expected to grow at greater than 90% compound annual growth rate from 2014 to 2020 as new devices are applied to power supplies, consumer electronics, automotive and other applications.

"The Propel PowerGaN single wafer system enables the development of highly-efficient GaN-based power electronic devices that we believe will accelerate the industry's transition from R&D to high volume production," said Jim Jenson, Senior Vice President, Veeco MOCVD Operations. "Since its introduction, our new Propel PowerGan system has quickly gained attention for its outstanding performance. We are very excited to have our technology recognized and adopted by such a distinguished university that is at the forefront of GaN-on-silicon development."

About Veeco Propel Power GaN Single-Wafer Reactor MOCVD System

Veeco's new Propel Power GaN MOCVD system is designed specifically for the power electronics industry. Featuring a single-wafer 200mm reactor platform, capable of processing six and eight-inch wafers, the system deposits high-quality GaN films for the production of highly-efficient power electronic devices. The single-wafer reactor is based on Veeco's leading TurboDisc® design with breakthrough technology including the new IsoFlange™ and SymmHeat™ technologies that provide homogeneous laminar flow and uniform temperature profile across the entire wafer. Customers can easily transfer processes from Veeco K465i™ and MaxBright® systems to the Propel Power GaN MOCVD platform.

About The Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride

The Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride is based in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. They are one of a small number of places in the world to have, in close proximity and on the same site, gallium nitride growth equipment, extensive advanced electron microscopy characterization facilities, advanced X-ray diffraction characterization facilities, atomic force microscopy, photoluminescence (PL) for measuring optical properties, Hall effect equipment for measuring electrical properties, and basic theory for understanding in detail physical properties. The research team is thriving as they move into exciting new GaN based research areas. To learn more, visit http://www.gan.msm.cam.ac.uk/

About Veeco

Veeco's process equipment solutions enable the manufacture of LEDs, flexible OLED displays, power electronics, compound semiconductors, hard drives, semiconductors, MEMS and wireless chips. We are the market leader in MOCVD, MBE, Ion Beam, Wet Etch single wafer processing and other advanced thin film process technologies. Our high performance systems drive innovation in energy efficiency, consumer electronics and network storage and allow our customers to maximize productivity and achieve lower cost of ownership. For information on our company, products and worldwide service and support, please visit 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, 2014 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.