I know, I’ve been AWOL from this space for months and months, but here’s a little blip on your radar screen as I come out of the fox hole in preparation for SPIE. Speaking of which, what exactly is that Advanced Lithography exhibit going to look like this year?

I had heard some time ago that ASML had pulled out of the exhibit, leaving just a banner in its wake. And now I hear that Cymer has decided to pull out as well. Could there be two companies more deeply rooted in lithography? If these two have decided not to exhibit at the biggest lithography show of the year, what are the others pondering about their exhibition investments?

Or maybe the point is just the opposite. Maybe ASML and Cymer both feel they don’t need to exhibit precisely because they are already firmly entrenched in the lithography space. It’s not like anybody is going to forget their names if they don’t fly the flag.

Or does it have more to do with the fact that SPIE has always been more about the conference than about the exhibit? There’s a reason the coffee breaks and dessert hours are located at the back of the tradeshow floor — to force the scientists and engineers out of the conference rooms and hallways, and past the booths. But time and again, we watch them walk by the displays, scarcely halting their conversations on the way to the caffeine and sugar boosts.

ASML, its subsidiary Brion, and Cymer have finally been taken off the exhibitor list at the Advanced Lithography website. Still there are toolmakers Nikon, Canon, Molecular Imprints; Cymer’s key adversary Gigaphoton; the big EDA names Mentor Graphics, Synopsys, Cadence; and many more, of course. By my count, there are 78 in all, although SPIE’s homepage mentions “100 Exhibitors.” Who else is missing? Photronics isn’t there, but competing maskmaker Toppan Photomasks is still listed. JSR’s in the ranks, but no DuPont. Microlithography World is listed, but from what I hear it will be its final issue that is on display.

In the current economy, companies are having to make some tough choices. Or rather, people are having to make some tough choices. Deciding to pull a booth out of a key conference is not nearly on par with deciding to lay off thousands of employees. And rest assured, ASML and Cymer — and the other big names that we see year after year — will still be flying the flag, giving presentations, chairing sessions, meeting with the press, and more. By a quick count, ASML looks to be involved in some 35 presentations during the conference, including a couple keynotes.

And although some of these companies will not have booths with chairs and tables to sit at for our usual meetings and updates, we will still gather, finding a few soft chairs tucked away somewhere, to get caught up on the technology — and business — of lithography. I always look forward to the event, and I think I’m even more eager this year, having been holed up in my editing and production quarters for long enough.

Let me know — will you be there? What do you expect to get out of Advanced Lithography this year? Who will you miss?