EXHIBIT 99.1


[LOGO VEECO]     NEWS

Veeco Instruments Inc., 100 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797
Tel. 516-677-0200 Fax 516-677-0380
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FINANCIAL CONTACT: DEBRA WASSER, VICE PRESIDENT OF INVESTOR RELATIONS,
516-677-0200, X1472 TRADE MEDIA CONTACT: FRAN BRENNEN, DIR. OF MARKETING COMM.,
516-677-0200 X1222

                     VEECO COMPLETES MERGER WITH APPLIED EPI


Woodbury, NY, Wednesday, September 19, 2001 - Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:
VECO) today announced that it has completed its merger with Applied Epi, Inc.,
the world's leading supplier of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) equipment used in
the manufacture of high-speed compound semiconductor devices for
telecommunications, optoelectronic and wireless markets.

Applied Epi received approximately 4 million shares of Veeco common stock and
$30 million in cash. The merger will be accounted for using the purchase method
of accounting.

Edward H. Braun, Chairman, President and CEO of Veeco commented, "We are pleased
to have completed this merger ahead of schedule. As we have mentioned, Applied
Epi adds a critical "high-value" deposition product line, molecular beam epitaxy
(MBE), to our current line of process equipment. By adding Applied Epi's MBE
capabilities, we will be well positioned to play a leading role in the future
integration of III-V compound semiconductor and silicon device development. In
fact, since the merger was announced, Applied Epi has shipped a dual reactor
GEN2000 to IQE, the world's leading merchant epiwafer supplier for the compound
semiconductor industry."

The GEN 2000 is the world's first high volume production MBE system integrating
ultra high vacuum (UHV) with cluster tool architecture.


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Paul Colombo, founder of Applied Epi, said the company will "leverage Veeco's
worldwide service network and its investment in Applied Epi R&D to better serve
our expanding customer base of compound semiconductor manufacturers."

Veeco Instruments Inc. is a worldwide leader in process equipment and metrology
tools for the optical telecommunications, 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.

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.


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