Veeco Launches New LED Production System

Plainview, NY; January, 2010. Veeco Instruments Inc. has announced the introduction of the TurboDisc K465i gallium nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) System for the production of high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB LEDs). Veeco's beta site customers recently qualified the K465i for volume production, and the company says it has received orders for the system from LED customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Based on Veeco's K-Series platform, the new TurboDisc K465i combines high productivity with the capability of driving LED yields approaching 90 percent in a 5nm bin. Fully automated with only a short recovery period required after maintenance, the TurboDisc K465i enables reduced cost of ownership.

Demand for HB LEDs is high and expected to increase in the coming years. In an August 2009 report, "High-Brightness LED Market Review and Forecast 2009," research firm Strategies Unlimited forecast the HB LED market to grow from $5.1 billion in 2008 to $14.9 billion in 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate of 24%.

"Our research indicates the fundamental drivers for the HB LED market have become even stronger in recent years as new applications for LEDs in lighting and backlights continue to emerge," said Robert V. Steele, Director, LED practice at Strategies Unlimited. "To meet the overwhelming demand that we expect this will create over the next few years, LED makers will need to quickly ramp up their manufacturing capabilities, including the addition of substantial MOCVD capacity."