News: Suppliers
1 February 2023
Veeco acquires silicon carbide CVD system maker Epiluvac
Epitaxial deposition and process equipment maker Veeco Instruments Inc of Plainview, NY, USA has acquired Epiluvac AB of Lund, Sweden, which was founded in 2013 and makes silicon carbide (SiC) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment. It is reckoned that Epiluvac’s technology platform, combined with Veeco’s global go-to-market capabilities, create a significant long-term growth driver for Veeco.
The desire for clean, efficient and reduced fossil-fuel energy is driving tremendous growth in the electric vehicle market, notes Veeco. Applications such as on-board charging, fast charging and powertrain inverters are ideally suited for silicon carbide (SiC) power devices, it adds. The SiC device market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 30% from 2023 through 2027, according to market research firm Yole Group. Correspondingly, the SiC epitaxy equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of about 15%, according to Yole Group and internal Veeco estimates.
“The Epiluvac team has developed a superior platform and process know-how aligned with markets that are a great strategic fit for Veeco,” comments Veeco’s CEO Bill Miller. “Their well-designed CVD platform achieves high productivity, is easy to maintain and has superior process control capability that make it uniquely qualified to produce devices that enable lighter, smaller and more efficient power conversion systems. We see this acquisition as a great complement to our metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) epitaxy product line. This acquisition accelerates our penetration into the emerging, high-growth SiC equipment market by reducing our time to market,” he adds.
“Our complementary technology platforms, along with Veeco’s extensive worldwide sales, service and manufacturing capabilities, will position us well to help our customers enable accelerated SiC adoption,” reckons Epiluvac’s CEO Per-Anders Eriksson. “The decades of research and development the Epiluvac team has invested in this demanding epitaxial process will be a great asset to Veeco’s already impressive process capabilities.”
Epiluvac is an early-stage revenue company with 11 employees. The purchase price, all payable in cash, is $30m, paid at the time of closing, with a potential additional $35m in performance-based earn-outs. The impact to Veeco’s financial results are not expected to be material in 2023, and volume revenue is expected to begin in 2024.
Epiluvac supplies CVD reactors to Polish institute
Sweden's Epiluvac launches as manufacturer of SiC CVD equipment
