July 25, 2006 – Veeco Instruments Inc. announced that it received an order during the second quarter of 2006 for its new NEXUS Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Multi-Target Sensor tool from a leading manufacturer of thin film magnetic heads. The system is used to deposit high-quality, extremely uniform, thin film multi-layer stacks and will be used by the customer to manufacture high areal density Tunneling Magneto-Resistive heads.
The company also said it received a record $17 million in second quarter 2006 orders for its automated AFMs. Customers placing orders included those from the semiconductor and data storage industries. In addition, the company said several photomask manufacturers have selected Veeco’s automated AFMs for metrology needs at 45nm and below. Applications for the tool include measurement of critical dimension & 3D metrology on a variety of mask materials (such as MoSi, chrome-on-glass, and resist), and for high-resolution defect review for photomask repair.