Significant Accounting Policies (Details)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Significant Accounting Policies
Number of Weeks in Fiscal Quarter 52 Week Year	91 days
Revenue Recognition
Revenue retention percentage	10.00%veco_PercentageOfRetentionRevenue

Disclosure of the number of weeks in each fiscal quarter for a 52-week fiscal year.

No definition available.

Name:	veco_NumberOfWeeksInFiscalQuarter52WeekYear
Namespace Prefix:	veco_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration