Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) announced today that the Korean Photonics Technology Institute (KOPTI) has purchased a GEN20™ Molecular Beam Epitaxy system. The system will be shipped to KOPTI’s Laser-IT Research Center and Photonics System Lab in Gwangju, S. Korea for high-powered GaAs-based laser diode research.

According to Swook Hann, Ph.D., Head of KOPTI’s Laser-IT Research Center and Photonics Systems Lab, “We have selected the MBE GEN20 system for our work in development of high-powered GaAs laser diodes because of its process flexibility and Veeco’s impressive track record in supplying tools to the III-V laser diode market. These are critical elements for KOPTI since we are developing technologies that can be taken from lab to fab.”

Jim Northup, Vice President, General Manager of Veeco’s MBE Operations, commented, “KOPTI is known worldwide for developing pioneering breakthroughs which bridge the gap between pure research and industrial production. We are pleased to partner with such an important technology center in Korea supporting the further commercialization of high power laser diodes with our GEN20 MBE system.”

The GEN20 MBE System is an ultra-flexible tool with a design configurable for III-V and emerging materials. For more information on the system please visit the Veeco website at: http://www.veeco.com/GEN20.

About KOPTI

KOPTI is an Industrial Technology Research Institute specializing in Photonics Technology. KOPTI primarily supports the Photonics Industry through new technologies and products as a result of Research and Development Activities and Industry Support Services such as Joint R&D, Pilot Production, Test & Reliability Assessment, Patent Analysis and Distribution. The Institute consists of high-performance laboratory equipment and clean room facilities. KOPTI shares these resources with photonics companies for developing LEDs, Optical Communication Modules, Precision Optical Components, High Speed/Capacity Communications, and High Performance Optical Instruments. For more information visit: http://www.kopti.re.kr/index.sko.

About Veeco

Veeco’s process equipment solutions enable the manufacture of LEDs, 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, 2011 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.