Veeco Ion Beam Deposition Technology Reaches Significant Milestone to Support EUV Commercialization Roadmap

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

Veeco Instruments Inc. VECO announced today that its new Odyssey™ Ion Beam Deposition (IBD) Upgrade for the NEXUS® IBD-LDD™ System has repeatedly produced photomask blanks with zero deposition defects larger than 70 nanometers. This represents a significant milestone toward the manufacture of semiconductor devices with advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

EUV mask blank defects are, as a practical matter, impossible to repair and can render a semiconductor device useless. Because of this, mask blank defects have been a key obstacle toward high volume manufacturing. Veeco's low-defect Odyssey IBD technology clears the way for further EUV manufacturing advancements for semiconductor devices.

“EUV lithography brings chipmakers the ability to manufacture higher performing devices at lower cost compared to manufacturing methods which rely on multiple patterning steps,” said Ron Kool, Senior Vice President of EUV Product and Service Marketing at ASML. “As ASML is making steady progress preparing the scanner and light source for industrial high volume manufacturing, the readiness of the EUV industry, including mask blanks, is critically important to our customers. Veeco's dedication to the Odyssey upgrade program, done in coordination with customers, consortia, and other industry stakeholders, is a model for EUV infrastructure advancements.”

Veeco IBD technology leads the industry in high film quality, featuring extremely low particulate deposition and precise control of optical properties for single or multi-layer processes. These technology features are required for defect-free, high volume EUV manufacturing. Currently, all of the leading EUV mask blank manufacturers use the Veeco NEXUS IBD-LDD system.

“Veeco is committed to working with our customers and industry partners to advance the EUV roadmap and increase the output of defect-free mask blanks,” said Jim Northup, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Veeco Advanced Deposition & Etch. “We have made significant investments in the Odyssey upgrade and consolidated our optical coating and ion beam resources in a single R&D site to ensure ongoing development of our industry-leading IBD technology.”

About Ion Beam Deposition Systems for EUV Photomasks

Ion beam deposition tools are used in the fabrication of EUV masks. The nanometer-scale patterns on masks are projected onto a semiconductor wafer to define a chip. A single mask may be used to print millions of chips during its life, requiring strict mask defect control. Advanced-technology EUV masks are used to define chips with smaller geometries, which results in improved power and performance as required for an increasing number of mobile devices.

About Veeco

Veeco's process equipment solutions enable the manufacture of LEDs, flexible OLED displays, power electronics, hard drives, MEMS and wireless chips. We are the market leader in MOCVD, MBE, Ion Beam 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, 2013 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.