Significant Accounting Policies - Basis of Presentation and Revenue Recognition (Details)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Significant Accounting Policies
Duration of each fiscal quarter for 52-week fiscal year	91 days
Revenue Recognition
Revenue retention percentage	10.00%

Disclosure of the duration of 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