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                                                                     EXHIBIT 4.1



                                  INTEVAC, INC.

                          EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN



        I.     PURPOSE OF THE PLAN

               This Employee Stock Purchase Plan is intended to promote the
interests of Intevac, Inc. by providing eligible employees with the opportunity
to acquire a proprietary interest in the Corporation through participation in a
payroll-deduction based employee stock purchase plan designed to qualify under
Section 423 of the Code.

               Capitalized terms herein shall have the meanings assigned to such
terms in the attached Appendix.

        II.    ADMINISTRATION OF THE PLAN

               The Plan Administrator shall have full authority to interpret and
construe any provision of the Plan and to adopt such rules and regulations for
administering the Plan as it may deem necessary in order to comply with the
requirements of Code Section 423. Decisions of the Plan Administrator shall be
final and binding on all parties having an interest in the Plan.

        III.   STOCK SUBJECT TO PLAN

               A. The stock purchasable under the Plan shall be shares of
authorized but unissued or reacquired Common Stock, including shares of Common
Stock purchased on the open market. The maximum number of shares of Common Stock
which may be issued over the term of the Plan shall not exceed one million
(1,000,000) shares.

               B. Should any change be made to the Common Stock by reason of any
stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, combination of shares, exchange
of shares or other change affecting the outstanding Common Stock as a class
without the Corporation's receipt of consideration, appropriate adjustments
shall be made to (i) the maximum number and class of securities issuable under
the Plan, (ii) the maximum number and class of securities purchasable per
Participant on any one Purchase Date and (iii) the number and class of
securities and the price per share in effect under each outstanding purchase
right in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of benefits thereunder.

        IV.    OFFERING PERIODS

               A. Shares of Common Stock shall be offered for purchase under the
Plan through a series of successive offering periods until such time as (i) the
maximum number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan
shall have been purchased or (ii) the Plan shall have been sooner terminated.

               B. Each offering period shall be of such duration (not to exceed
twenty-four (24) months) as determined by the Plan Administrator prior to the
start date. However, the initial offering

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period shall commence at the Effective Time and terminate on the last business
day in February 1998. The next offering period shall commence on the first
business day in February 1998, and subsequent offering periods shall commence as
designated by the Plan Administrator.

               C. Each offering period shall be comprised of a series of one or
more successive Purchase Intervals. Purchase Intervals shall run from the first
business day in February to the last business day in July each year and from the
first business day in August each year to the last business day in January of
the following year. However, the first Purchase Interval in effect under the
initial offering period shall commence at the Effective Time and terminate on
the last business day in July 1996.

               D. Should the Fair Market Value per share of Common Stock on any
Purchase Date within an offering period be less than the Fair Market Value per
share of Common Stock on the start date of that offering period, then that
offering period shall automatically terminate immediately after the purchase of
shares of Common Stock on such Purchase Date, and a new offering period shall
commence on the next business day following such Purchase Date. The duration of
that new offering period shall be established by the Plan Administrator within
five (5) business days following such start date.

        V.     ELIGIBILITY

               A. Each individual who is an Eligible Employee on the start date
of any offering period under the Plan may enter that offering period on such
start date or on any subsequent Semi-Annual Entry Date within that offering
period, provided he or she remains an Eligible Employee.

               B. Each individual who first becomes an Eligible Employee after
the start date of an offering period may enter that offering period on any
subsequent Semi-Annual Date within that offering period on which he or she is an
Eligible Employee.

               C. The date an individual enters an offering period shall be
designated his or her Entry Date for purposes of that offering period.

               D. To participate in the Plan for a particular offering period,
the Eligible Employee must complete the enrollment forms prescribed by the Plan
Administrator (including a stock purchase agreement and a payroll deduction
authorization) and file such forms with the Plan Administrator (or its
designate) on or before his or her scheduled Entry Date.

        VI.    PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS

               A. The payroll deduction authorized by the Participant for
purposes of acquiring shares of Common Stock during an offering period may be
any multiple of one percent (1%) of the Base Salary paid to the Participant
during each Purchase Interval within that offering period, up to a maximum of
ten percent (10%). The deduction rate so authorized shall continue in effect
throughout the offering period, except to the extent such rate is changed in
accordance with the following guidelines:

                           (i) The Participant may, at any time during the
offering period, reduce his or her rate of payroll deduction to become effective
as soon as possible after filing the appropriate



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form with the Plan Administrator. The Participant may not, however, effect more
than one (1) such reduction per Purchase Interval.

                           (ii) The Participant may, prior to the commencement
of any new Purchase Interval within the offering period, increase the rate of
his or her payroll deduction by filing the appropriate form with the Plan
Administrator. The new rate (which may not exceed the ten percent (10%) maximum)
shall become effective as of the start date of the first Purchase Interval
following the filing of such form.

               B. Payroll deductions shall begin on the first pay day following
the Participant's Entry Date into the offering period and shall (unless sooner
terminated by the Participant) continue through the pay day ending with or
immediately prior to the last day of that offering period. The amounts so
collected shall be credited to the Participant's book account under the Plan,
but no interest shall be paid on the balance from time to time outstanding in
such account. The amounts collected from the Participant shall not be held in
any segregated account or trust fund and may be commingled with the general
assets of the Corporation and used for general corporate purposes.

               C. Payroll deductions shall automatically cease upon the
termination of the Participant's purchase right in accordance with the
provisions of the Plan.

               D. The Participant's acquisition of Common Stock under the Plan
on any Purchase Date shall neither limit nor require the Participant's
acquisition of Common Stock on any subsequent Purchase Date, whether within the
same or a different offering period.

        VII.   PURCHASE RIGHTS

               A. GRANT OF PURCHASE RIGHT. A Participant shall be granted a
separate purchase right for each offering period in which he or she
participates. The purchase right shall be granted on the Participant's Entry
Date into the offering period and shall provide the Participant with the right
to purchase shares of Common Stock, in a series of successive installments over
the remainder of such offering period, upon the terms set forth below. The
Participant shall execute a stock purchase agreement embodying such terms and
such other provisions (not inconsistent with the Plan) as the Plan Administrator
may deem advisable.

                           Under no circumstances shall purchase rights be
granted under the Plan to any Eligible Employee if such individual would,
immediately after the grant, own (within the meaning of Code Section 424(d)) or
hold outstanding options or other rights to purchase, stock possessing five
percent (5%) or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes
of stock of the Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate.

               B. EXERCISE OF THE PURCHASE RIGHT. Each purchase right shall be
automatically exercised in installments on each successive Purchase Date within
the offering period, and shares of Common Stock shall accordingly be purchased
on behalf of each Participant (other than any Participant whose payroll
deductions have previously been refunded in accordance with the Termination of
Purchase Right provisions below) on each such Purchase Date. The purchase shall
be effected by applying the Participant's payroll deductions for the Purchase
Interval ending on such Purchase Date to the purchase of whole shares of Common
Stock at the purchase price in effect for the Participant for that Purchase
Date.



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               C. PURCHASE PRICE. The purchase price per share at which Common
Stock will be purchased on the Participant's behalf on each Purchase Date within
the offering period shall not be less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the
lower of (i) the Fair Market Value per share of Common Stock on the
Participant's Entry Date into that offering period or (ii) the Fair Market Value
per share of Common Stock on that Purchase Date. However, for each Participant
whose Entry Date is other than the start date of the offering period, the clause
(i) amount shall in no event be less than the Fair Market Value per share of
Common Stock on the start date of that offering period. The Plan Administrator
shall establish the exact percentage for each offering period prior to the start
date of that period.

               D. NUMBER OF PURCHASABLE SHARES. The number of shares of Common
Stock purchasable by a Participant on each Purchase Date during the offering
period shall be the number of whole shares obtained by dividing the amount
collected from the Participant through payroll deductions during the Purchase
Interval ending with that Purchase Date by the purchase price in effect for the
Participant for that Purchase Date. However, the maximum number of shares of
Common Stock purchasable per Participant on any one Purchase Date shall not
exceed seven hundred fifty (750) shares, subject to periodic adjustments in the
event of certain changes in the Corporation's capitalization.

               E. EXCESS PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS. Any payroll deductions not applied
to the purchase of shares of Common Stock on any Purchase Date because they are
not sufficient to purchase a whole share of Common Stock shall be held for the
purchase of Common Stock on the next Purchase Date. However, any payroll
deductions not applied to the purchase of Common Stock by reason of the
limitation on the maximum number of shares purchasable by the Participant on the
Purchase Date shall be promptly refunded.

               F. TERMINATION OF PURCHASE RIGHT. The following provisions shall
govern the termination of outstanding purchase rights:

                           (i) A Participant may, at any time prior to the next
scheduled Purchase Date in the offering period, terminate his or her outstanding
purchase right by filing the appropriate form with the Plan Administrator (or
its designate), and no further payroll deductions shall be collected from the
Participant with respect to the terminated purchase right. Any payroll
deductions collected during the Purchase Interval in which such termination
occurs shall be refunded as soon as possible.

                           (ii) The termination of such purchase right shall be
irrevocable, and the Participant may not subsequently rejoin the offering period
for which the terminated purchase right was granted. In order to resume
participation in any subsequent offering period, such individual must re-enroll
in the Plan (by making a timely filing of the prescribed enrollment forms) on or
before his or her scheduled Entry Date into that offering period.

                           (iii) Should the Participant cease to remain an
Eligible Employee for any reason (including death, disability or change in
status) while his or her purchase right remains outstanding, then that purchase
right shall immediately terminate, and all of the Participant's payroll
deductions for the Purchase Interval in which the purchase right so terminates
shall be immediately refunded. However, should the Participant cease to remain
in active service by reason of an



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approved unpaid leave of absence, then the Participant shall have the right,
exercisable up until the last business day of the Purchase Interval in which
such leave commences, to (a) withdraw all the payroll deductions collected to
date on his or her behalf for that Purchase Interval or (b) have such funds held
for the purchase of shares on his or her behalf on the next scheduled Purchase
Date. In no event, however, shall any further payroll deductions be collected on
the Participant's behalf during such leave. Upon the Participant's return to
active service, his or her payroll deductions under the Plan shall automatically
resume at the rate in effect at the time the leave began.

               G. CORPORATE TRANSACTION. Each outstanding purchase right shall
automatically be exercised, immediately prior to the effective date of any
Corporate Transaction, by applying the payroll deductions of each Participant
for the Purchase Interval in which such Corporate Transaction occurs to the
purchase of whole shares of Common Stock at a purchase price per share equal to
eighty-five percent (85%) (or such greater percentage as the Plan Administrator
may have established for the offering period in which the Corporate Transaction
occurs) of the lower of (i) the Fair Market Value per share of Common Stock on
the Participant's Entry Date into the offering period in which such Corporate
Transaction occurs or (ii) the Fair Market Value per share of Common Stock
immediately prior to the effective date of such Corporate Transaction. However,
the applicable limitation on the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable
per Participant shall continue to apply to any such purchase, and the clause (i)
amount above shall not, for any Participant whose Entry Date for the offering
period is other than the start date of that offering period, be less than the
Fair Market Value per share of Common Stock on that start date. The Corporation
shall use its best efforts to provide at least ten (10)-days prior written
notice of the occurrence of any Corporate Transaction, and Participants shall,
following the receipt of such notice, have the right to terminate their
outstanding purchase rights prior to the effective date of the Corporate
Transaction.

               H. PRORATION OF PURCHASE RIGHTS. Should the total number of
shares of Common Stock to be purchased pursuant to outstanding purchase rights
on any particular date exceed the number of shares then available for issuance
under the Plan, the Plan Administrator shall make a pro-rata allocation of the
available shares on a uniform and nondiscriminatory basis, and the payroll
deductions of each Participant, to the extent in excess of the aggregate
purchase price payable for the Common Stock pro-rated to such individual, shall
be refunded.

               I. ASSIGNABILITY. The purchase right shall be exercisable only by
the Participant and shall not be assignable or transferable by the Participant.

               J. STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS. A Participant shall have no stockholder
rights with respect to the shares subject to his or her outstanding purchase
right until the shares are purchased on the Participant's behalf in accordance
with the provisions of the Plan and the Participant has become a holder of
record of the purchased shares.

        VIII.  ACCRUAL LIMITATIONS

               A. No Participant shall be entitled to accrue rights to acquire
Common Stock pursuant to any purchase right outstanding under this Plan if and
to the extent such accrual, when aggregated with (i) rights to purchase Common
Stock accrued under any other purchase right granted under this Plan and (ii)
similar rights accrued under other employee stock purchase plans (within the
meaning of Code Section 423) of the Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate,
would



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otherwise permit such Participant to purchase more than Twenty-Five Thousand
Dollars ($25,000) worth of stock of the Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate
(determined on the basis of the Fair Market Value per share on the date or dates
such rights are granted) for each calendar year such rights are at any time
outstanding.

               B. For purposes of applying such accrual limitations to the
purchase rights granted under the Plan, the following provisions shall be in
effect:

                           (i) The right to acquire Common Stock under each
outstanding purchase right shall accrue in a series of installments on each
successive Purchase Date during the offering period on which such right remains
outstanding.

                           (ii) No right to acquire Common Stock under any
outstanding purchase right shall accrue to the extent the Participant has
already accrued in the same calendar year the right to acquire Common Stock
under one (1) or more other purchase rights at a rate equal to Twenty-Five
Thousand Dollars ($25,000) worth of Common Stock (determined on the basis of the
Fair Market Value per share on the date or dates of grant) for each calendar
year such rights were at any time outstanding.

               C. If by reason of such accrual limitations, any purchase right
of a Participant does not accrue for a particular Purchase Interval, then the
payroll deductions which the Participant made during that Purchase Interval with
respect to such purchase right shall be promptly refunded.

               D. In the event there is any conflict between the provisions of
this Article and one or more provisions of the Plan or any instrument issued
thereunder, the provisions of this Article shall be controlling.

        IX.    EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERM OF THE PLAN

               A. The Plan was adopted by the Board on September 14, 1995 and
subsequently approved by the stockholders in October 1995. The Plan became
effective at the Effective Time.

               B. On March 18, 1997, the Board of Directors authorized an
increase in the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the
Plan from two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) to five hundred thousand
(500,000) shares, subject to stockholder approval at the 1997 Annual Meeting. No
purchase rights shall be granted under the Plan in reliance on such two hundred
fifty thousand (250,000)-share increase, and no shares of Common Stock shall be
issued on the basis of such increase, unless and until such increase has been
approved by the Corporation's stockholders at the 1997 Annual Meeting.

               C. Unless sooner terminated by the Board, the Plan shall
terminate upon the earliest of (i) the last business day in January 2005, (ii)
the date on which all shares available for issuance under the Plan shall have
been sold pursuant to purchase rights exercised under the Plan or (iii) the date
on which all purchase rights are exercised in connection with a Corporate
Transaction. No further purchase rights shall be granted or exercised, and no
further payroll deductions shall be collected, under the Plan following such
termination.



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        X.     AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN

               The Board may alter, amend, suspend or discontinue the Plan at
any time to become effective immediately following the close of any Purchase
Interval. However, the Board may not, without the approval of the Corporation's
stockholders, (i) materially increase the number of shares of Common Stock
issuable under the Plan or the maximum number of shares purchasable per
Participant on any one Purchase Date, except for permissible adjustments in the
event of certain changes in the Corporation's capitalization, (ii) alter the
purchase price formula so as to reduce the purchase price payable for the shares
of Common Stock purchasable under the Plan, or (iii) materially increase the
benefits accruing to Participants under the Plan or materially modify the
requirements for eligibility to participate in the Plan.

        XI.    GENERAL PROVISIONS

               A. All costs and expenses incurred in the administration of the
Plan shall be paid by the Corporation.

               B. Nothing in the Plan shall confer upon the Participant any
right to continue in the employ of the Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate
for any period of specific duration or interfere with or otherwise restrict in
any way the rights of the Corporation (or any Corporate Affiliate employing such
person) or of the Participant, which rights are hereby expressly reserved by
each, to terminate such person's employment at any time for any reason, with or
without cause.

               C. The provisions of the Plan shall be governed by the laws of
the State of California without resort to that State's conflict-of-laws rules.



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                                   SCHEDULE A

                  CORPORATIONS PARTICIPATING IN EMPLOYEE STOCK
                     PURCHASE PLAN AS OF THE EFFECTIVE TIME

Intevac, Inc.

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                                    APPENDIX

        The following definitions shall be in effect under the Plan:

        A. BASE SALARY shall mean the regular base salary paid to a Participant
by one or more Participating Companies during such individual's period of
participation in one or more offering periods under the Plan, plus any pre-tax
contributions made by the Participant to any Code Section 401(k) salary deferral
plan or any Code Section 125 cafeteria benefit program now or hereafter
established by the Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate. The following items
of compensation shall NOT be included in Base Salary: (i) all overtime payments,
bonuses, commissions (other than those functioning as base salary equivalents),
profit-sharing distributions and other incentive-type payments and (ii) any and
all contributions (other than Code Section 401(k) or Code Section 125
contributions) made on the Participant's behalf by the Corporation or any
Corporate Affiliate under any employee benefit or welfare plan now or hereafter
established.

        B. BOARD shall mean the Corporation's Board of Directors.

        C. CODE shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

        D. COMMON STOCK shall mean the Corporation's common stock.

        E. CORPORATE AFFILIATE shall mean any parent or subsidiary corporation
of the Corporation (as determined in accordance with Code Section 424), whether
now existing or subsequently established.

        F. CORPORATE TRANSACTION shall mean either of the following
stockholder-approved transactions to which the Corporation is a party:

                  (i) a merger or consolidation in which securities possessing
more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the
Corporation's outstanding securities are transferred to a person or persons
different from the persons holding those securities immediately prior to such
transaction, or

                  (ii) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or
substantially all of the assets of the Corporation in complete liquidation or
dissolution of the Corporation.

        G. CORPORATION shall mean Intevac, Inc., a California corporation, and
any corporate successor to all or substantially all of the assets or voting
stock of Intevac, Inc. which shall by appropriate action adopt the Plan.

        H. EFFECTIVE TIME shall mean November 21, 1995, the time at which the
Underwriting Agreement was executed and finally priced. Any Corporate Affiliate
which becomes a Participating Corporation after such Effective Time shall
designate a subsequent Effective Time with respect to its employee-Participants.

        I. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE shall mean any person who is employed by a
Participating Company on a basis under which he or she is regularly expected to
render more than twenty (20)


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hours of service per week for more than five (5) months per calendar year for
earnings considered wages under Code Section 3401(a).

        J. ENTRY DATE shall mean the date an Eligible Employee first commences
participation in the offering period in effect under the Plan. The earliest
Entry Date under the Plan shall be the Effective Time.

        K. FAIR MARKET VALUE per share of Common Stock on any relevant date
shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions:

                  (i) If the Common Stock is at the time traded on the Nasdaq
National Market, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling price
per share of Common Stock on the date in question, as such price is reported by
the National Association of Securities Dealers on the Nasdaq National Market or
any successor system. If there is no closing selling price for the Common Stock
on the date in question, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling
price on the last preceding date for which such quotation exists.

                  (ii) If the Common Stock is at the time listed on any Stock
Exchange, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling price per
share of Common Stock on the date in question on the Stock Exchange determined
by the Plan Administrator to be the primary market for the Common Stock, as such
price is officially quoted in the composite tape of transactions on such
exchange. If there is no closing selling price for the Common Stock on the date
in question, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling price on
the last preceding date for which such quotation exists.

                  (iii) For purposes of the initial offering period which begins
at the Effective Time, the Fair Market Value shall be deemed to be equal to the
price per share at which the Common Stock is sold in the initial public offering
pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement.

        L. 1933 ACT shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

        M. PARTICIPANT shall mean any Eligible Employee of a Participating
Corporation who is actively participating in the Plan.

        N. PARTICIPATING CORPORATION shall mean the Corporation and such
Corporate Affiliate or Affiliates as may be authorized from time to time by the
Board to extend the benefits of the Plan to their Eligible Employees. The
Participating Corporations in the Plan as of the Effective Time are listed in
attached Schedule A.

        O. PLAN shall mean the Corporation's Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as
set forth in this document.

        P. PLAN ADMINISTRATOR shall mean the committee of two (2) or more Board
members appointed by the Board to administer the Plan.

        Q. PURCHASE DATE shall mean the last business day of each Purchase
Interval. The initial Purchase Date shall be July 31, 1996.



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        R. PURCHASE INTERVAL shall mean each successive six (6)-month period
within the offering period at the end of which there shall be purchased shares
of Common Stock on behalf of each Participant.

        S. SEMI-ANNUAL ENTRY DATE shall mean the first business day in February
and August each year.

        T. STOCK EXCHANGE shall mean either the American Stock Exchange or the
New York Stock Exchange.

        U. UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT shall mean the agreement between the
Corporation and the underwriter or underwriters managing the initial public
offering of the Common Stock.



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