Order boost for Veeco from large LED backlights
Epitaxy equipment vendor Veeco Instruments has revealed a huge upturn in orders for MOCVD and MBE machines.
The company, whose epitaxy divisions are located in St Paul, MN, and Somerset, NJ, posted just under $18 million in sales of III-V process equipment for the quarter that ended on June 30, up from $15 million in the preceding quarter.
Although that represented only 16% of Veeco's total sales, the order book showed that a much stronger performance from the compound semiconductor divisions is in the pipeline.
Equipment orders from makers of HB-LED and RFIC epiwafers more than doubled over the equivalent period in 2005 to reach $27.4 million.
According to Veeco CEO Edward Braun, the strong order book has been bolstered by the emerging market for HB-LED backlighting of small-area flat-panel displays.
The wider company is also performing strongly, with total bookings for the forthcoming quarter of $143.2 million, well above the company's previous guidance of $125 million-$130 million.