PLAINVIEW, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 2000--Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) today announced the receipt of nearly $4.0 million in orders from Read-Rite Corporation (NASDAQ: RDRT) for multiple units of its Ion Tech Spector(TM) Ion Beam Deposition systems to be used in the manufacture of thin film filters for the fiber optic marketplace. The first system is currently scheduled to ship this month. Read-Rite announced yesterday that it has formed Scion Photonics, Inc. to manufacture Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) filters and other optical communication components.

Alan Lowe, President and CEO of Read-Rite Corporation, commented, "We are pleased that the combination of Read-Rite's core compentencies in process technology and automated manufacturing and Veeco's optical filter ion beam deposition technology permitted our rapid launch of Scion Photonics. It is our intention to become the leading independent supplier of optical components."

Edward H. Braun, Veeco's Chairman and CEO, commented, "We view these orders in the optical filter market as an extension of our long-term relationship with Read-Rite. This as an example of how strategic partnering favorably benefits our optical telecommunications customers' time-to-market opportunities."

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.

Read-Rite Corporation is one of the world's leading independent manufacturers of magnetic recording heads, head gimbal assemblies (HGAs) and head stack assemblies (HSAs) for disk drives and tape drives. The Company is headquartered in Fremont, California and has operations in California, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and Singapore. The company's website is located at http://www.readrite.com.

Scion Photonics, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures and sells both custom and standard Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexers (DWDM) and other optical communication components to address the rapidly growing worldwide fiber-optic network expansion. The company is well funded by the backing of Read-Rite Corporation, Tyco Ventures and Integral Capital Partners. The company's website is located at http://www.scionphotonics.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 data storage, optical telecommunications 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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