In one of the bigger launches, ASML Holding NV will enter the double-patterning lithography race and could field a standalone metrology tool, sources said.

But putting a damper on the event, the business climate remains cloudy in the cyclical fab-tool sector. For example, the semiconductor-equipment sector is projected to hit $47.6 billion in 2008, down 16.3 percent over 2007, according to VLSI Research Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.).

It's not all doom and gloom. The flat-panel display equipment market is projected to reach $7.4 billion in 2008, up 20.4 percent over 2007, according to the firm. And the solar-equipment sector is booming.

Overall, capital spending budgets are projected to fall 20-to-25 percent in 2008, according to analysts. ''There's no relief for equipment makers as we head towards the 3Q,'' according to VLSI Research. ''Order activity remains very anemic.''

Still, vendors are scrambling to roll out their new products at Semicon West. At the event, ASML of the Netherlands is reportedly rolling out the NXT:1950, a 193-nm immersion scanner for double-patterning applications, sources said. The NXT:1950 has an overlay below 4-nm and throughput of 175 wafers an hour, sources said.

ASML could also jump into the metrology market, by introducing a scatterometry system. This system--which competes with KLA-Tencor Corp.'s tools--does overlay, CD and profile measurements in one tool, sources said.

Also on the lithography front, Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) has rolled out its new 300-mm coater/developer, dubbed the Clean Track Lithius Pro V. Due out in the spring of 2009, the tool increases litho-cell output and also can support double patterning applications, according to TEL (Tokyo).

Meanwhile, seeking to solve some major problems in the industry, KLA-Tencor Corp. (San Jose) rolled out the latest version of its computational lithography tool, Prolith 11. The new tool enables users to evaluate double-patterning schemes and explore alternate solutions.

It also supports single-pass patterning and immersion technologies. ''The emergence of double-patterning lithography has challenged circuit designers and chipmakers because of the dramatic increase in lithography complexity and experimental costs,'' said Ed Charrier, vice president and general manager of KLA-Tencor's Process Control Information Division. ''Computational lithography has become an essential tool for controlling these costs.''

Looking at the technology from another angle, Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials announced the opening of its new $60 million immersion lithography facility. The facility supports the company's efforts to develop 193-nm photoresists and advanced patterning materials, such as anti-reflectants and topcoats, for immersion lithography.

The new facility, which is housed in the company's Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Marlborough, Mass, includes an ASML's Twinscan XT: 1900Gi 193-nm immersion scanner, a 300-mm coat/develop track and defect and metrology tools.