Veeco Develops Advanced Ion Beam Etch Solutions for Nova Crystal For Development of High-Performance Lasers
Woodbury, NY. Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) today announced that it has partnered with Nova Crystals, Inc. in its development of high performance lasers, known as PICSELs (Photonic Integrated Circuit Surface Emitting Lasers). Nova Crystals has purchased a Veeco NEXUS(TM) Ion Beam Etch system, which is being delivered to their San Jose facility this quarter. The system utilizes advanced Reactive Ion Beam Etch (RIBE) and Chemically Assisted Ion Beam Etch (CAIBE) technology. Nova Crystal s 1310 nm PICSEL devices are to be used in a variety of optical networking environments for metro access communications.
According to Kenneth T. Barry, President of Veeco s NY Process Equipment business, ``Optical component manufacturers need a robust, production etch tool that provides the benefits of high etch rates for facets and controlled surface features, which can be used to pattern high quality optical films. Advanced CAIBE and RIBE technologies that were once primarily research applications are now entering production. Veeco s position as the world s leading provider of Ion Beam Etch equipment make us well qualified to address the processing needs of the gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP) based laser market. Veeco has received orders from other optical component customers for equipment to etch waveguides, laser facets, modulators, gratings and contact materials.
According to Ty Mitchell, Nova Crystals VP and COO, ``Our partnership with Veeco has enabled us to develop a production-worthy solution for the development of our 1310nm PICSELs. No other commercially available tool has the capability to tilt the substrate to enable better definition of the laser facet while at the same time optimizing its surface quality. Veeco s equipment and process development team have helped support our PICSEL design philosophy, which combines the attractive features of conventional VCSELs (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers) with the merits of edge emitting lasers. This allows Nova Crystals to integrate more functionality onto the device.
Nova Crystal s mission is to become a leading developer and supplier of optical communications components for telecommunications and data-communications networks. Nova Crystals is focusing its initial efforts on developing high performance long-wavelength surface emitting lasers that will significantly boost the performance of local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and Access networking environments.
Veeco Instruments Inc. is a worldwide leader in process equipment and metrology tools for the optical telecommunications/wireless, data storage, semiconductor and research markets. 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. Nova Crystals, Inc., founded in September 1998, develops and manufactures high-end fiber-optic data and telecommunications components based on their proprietary chip process and wafer technologies. Nova Crystals is a privately held corporation backed by strategic and venture capital. The company was founded by leading fiber-optic researchers at Cornell University, and is headquartered in San Jose, CA. For more information about Nova Crystals, Inc., call (408) 434-6682 or visit their website at http://www.novacrystals.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 optical telecommunications, data storage 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.
Contact: Veeco Instruments Inc., Woodbury Debra Wasser (financial) Vice President of Investor Relations Tel: 516 677-0200, ext. 1472 or Fran Brennen (trade media) Dir. of Marketing Comm. Tel: 516 677-0200, ext. 1222 or Nova Crystals Clari Nolet, Director of Marketing Tel: 408 869-2220
Veeco Instruments Inc., WoodburyDebra Wasser (financial) Vice President of Investor Relations
Tel: 516 677-0200, ext. 1472
or
Fran Brennen (trade media) Dir. of Marketing Comm.
Tel: 516 677-0200, ext. 1222
or
Nova Crystals
Clari Nolet, Director of Marketing
Tel: 408 869-2220
Web site: http://www.novacrystals.com