<PAGE>


                                                                   Exhibit 10.10

                              EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT



This Employment Agreement (the "Agreement") is made and entered into effective
as of October, 1, 2000, by and between Robert P. Akins (the "Employee") and
Cymer, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the "Company").


                                 R E C I T A L S

A.       The Company may from time to time need to address the possibility of an
acquisition transaction or change of control event. The Board of Directors of
the Company (the "Board") recognizes that such events can be a distraction to
the Employee and can cause the Employee to consider alternative employment
opportunities. The Board has determined that it is in the best interests of the
Company and its stockholders to assure that the Company will have the continued
dedication and objectivity of the Employee, notwithstanding the possibility,
threat or occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined below) of the Company,
although no such Change is now contemplated.

B.       The Board believes that it is in the best interests of the Company and
its stockholders to provide the Employee with an incentive to continue his
employment and to motivate the Employee to maximize the value of the Company
upon a Change of Control for the benefit of its stockholders.

C.       The Board believes that it is imperative to provide the Employee with
certain benefits upon a Change of Control and, under certain circumstances, upon
termination of the Employee's employment in connection with a Change of Control,
which benefits are intended to provide the Employee with financial security and
provide sufficient incentive and encouragement to the Employee to remain with
the Company notwithstanding the possibility of a Change of Control.

D.       To accomplish the foregoing objectives, the Board has directed the
Company, upon execution of this Agreement by the Employee, to agree to the terms
provided herein.

E.       Certain capitalized terms used in this Agreement are defined in Section
7 below.


                                A G R E E M E N T

In consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, and in consideration
of the continuing employment of the Employee by the Company, the parties agree
as follows:

1.       DUTIES AND SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT. The Company shall employ the Employee
in the position of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, as such
position has been defined in terms of responsibilities and compensation as of
the effective date of this Agreement; provided, however, that the Board shall
have the right, at any time prior to the occurrence of a Change of Control, to
revise such responsibilities and compensation as the Board in its discretion may
deem necessary or appropriate. The Employee shall comply with and be bound by
the Company's operating policies, procedures and practices from time to time in
effect during his employment. During the term of the Employee's employment with
the Company, the Employee shall continue to devote his full time, skill and
attention to his duties and responsibilities, and shall perform them faithfully,
diligently and competently, and the Employee shall use his best efforts to
further the business of the Company and its affiliated entities.

2.       BASE COMPENSATION. The Company shall pay the Employee as compensation
for his services a base salary at the annualized rate of $350,000.04. Such
salary shall be paid periodically in accordance with normal Company payroll
practices. The Board or the Compensation Committee of the Board shall review the
base salary of the


                                     Page 1
<PAGE>


Employee according to normal Company practice, but no less frequently than
annually, and may in its discretion increase but not decrease the base salary
below the amount specified in this agreement.

3.       ANNUAL INCENTIVE. Beginning with the Company's current fiscal year and
for each fiscal year thereafter during the term of this Agreement, the Employee
shall be eligible to receive an annual bonus under the Company's annual
incentive plan (the "Annual Incentive") based upon performance targets approved
by the Compensation Committee of the Board (the "Target Incentive"). The Annual
Incentive payable hereunder shall be payable in accordance with the Company's
normal practices and policies.

4.       EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. The Employee shall be eligible to participate in the
employee benefit plans and executive compensation programs maintained by the
Company applicable to other key executives of the Company, including (without
limitation) retirement plans, savings or profit-sharing plans, stock option,
incentive or other bonus plans, life, disability, health, accident and other
insurance programs, paid vacations, and similar plans or programs, subject in
each case to the generally applicable terms and conditions of the applicable
plan or program in question and to the sole determination of the Board or any
committee administering such plan or program.

5.       EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP. The Company and the Employee acknowledge that
the Employee's employment is and shall continue to be at-will, as defined under
applicable law. If the Employee's employment terminates for any reason, the
Employee shall not be entitled to any payments, benefits, damages, awards or
compensation other than as provided by this Agreement, or as may otherwise be
available in accordance with the Company's established employee plans and
policies at the time of termination.

6.       TERMINATION BENEFITS.

         (a)      Subject to Sections 8 and 9 below, in the event the Employee's
         employment terminates as a result of an Involuntary Termination other
         than for Cause upon or within eighteen (18) months after a Change of
         Control, then the Employee shall be entitled to receive severance and
         other benefits as follows:

                  (i)      PAY CONTINUATION. The Employee shall be entitled to
                  monthly payments equal to the Employee's monthly Base
                  Compensation as in effect immediately prior to the Change of
                  Control plus one-twelfth (1/12) of the average of the annual
                  bonus amount paid to the Employee with respect to the three
                  previous calendar years. Such monthly amounts shall be paid
                  according to the normal payroll practice of the Company for 24
                  months following the date of termination (the "Termination
                  Period").

                  (ii)     ANNUAL INCENTIVE. The Employee shall be entitled to
                  receive a percentage of the Employee's Target Incentive for
                  the calendar year in which such termination occurs. Such
                  percentage shall equal a fraction, the numerator of which
                  shall be the number of days in such calendar year up to and
                  including the date of such termination and the denominator of
                  which shall be the number of days in such calendar year. Such
                  amount shall be payable according to the normal practice of
                  the Company with respect to the payment of bonuses.

                  (iii)    OPTIONS. The unvested portion of any stock option(s)
                  held by the Employee under the Company's stock option plans
                  shall vest and become exercisable in full upon the date of
                  such termination.

                  (iv)     MEDICAL BENEFITS. The Company shall reimburse the
                  Employee for the cost of the Employee's group health, vision
                  and dental plan coverage in effect until the end of the
                  Termination Period. The Employee may use this payment, as well
                  as any other payment made under this Section 6, for such
                  continuation coverage or for any other purpose. To the extent
                  the Employee pays the cost of such coverage, and the cost of
                  such coverage is not deductible as a medical expense by the
                  Employee, the Company shall "gross-up" the amount of such
                  reimbursement for all taxes payable by the Employee on the
                  amount of such reimbursement and the amount of such gross-up.


                                     Page 2
<PAGE>


                  (b) In the event the Employee voluntarily resigns his
                  employment with the Company within the 30-day period beginning
                  one year after a Change of Control, the Employee shall receive
                  the severance and other benefits set forth in Sections
                  6(a)(i)-(iv) above.


7.       DEFINITION OF TERMS. The following terms referred to in this Agreement
shall have the following meanings:

         (a)      CAUSE. "Cause" shall mean (i) any act of personal dishonesty
         taken by the Employee in connection with his responsibilities as an
         employee and intended to result in substantial personal enrichment of
         the Employee, (ii) conviction of a felony that is injurious to the
         Company, (iii) a willful act by the Employee which constitutes gross
         misconduct and which is injurious to the Company, and (iv) continued
         violations by the Employee of the Employee's obligations under Section
         1 of this Agreement that are demonstrably willful and deliberate on the
         Employee's part after there has been delivered to the Employee a
         written demand for performance from the Company which describes the
         basis for the Company's belief that the Employee has not substantially
         performed his duties.

         (b)      CHANGE OF CONTROL. "Change of Control" shall mean the
         occurrence of any of the following events:

                  (i)      The acquisition by any "person" (as such term is used
                  in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) (other than
                  the Company or a person that directly or indirectly controls,
                  is controlled by, or is under common control with, the
                  Company) of the "beneficial ownership" (as defined in Rule
                  13d-3 under said Act), directly or indirectly, of securities
                  of the Company representing fifty percent (50%) or more of the
                  total voting power represented by the Company's then
                  outstanding voting securities; or

                  (ii)     A change in the composition of the Board of Directors
                  of the Company occurring within a two-year period, as a result
                  of which fewer than a majority of the directors are Incumbent
                  Directors. "Incumbent Directors" shall mean directors who
                  either (A) are directors of the Company as of the date hereof,
                  or (B) are elected, or nominated for election, to the Board of
                  Directors of the Company with the affirmative votes of at
                  least a majority of the Incumbent Directors at the time of
                  such election or nomination (but shall not include an
                  individual not otherwise an Incumbent Director whose election
                  or nomination is in connection with an actual or threatened
                  proxy contest relating to the election of directors to the
                  Company); or

                  (iii)    A merger or consolidation of the Company with any
                  other corporation, other than a merger or consolidation which
                  would result in the voting securities of the Company
                  outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent
                  (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into
                  voting securities of the surviving entity) at least fifty
                  percent (50%) of the total voting power represented by the
                  voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity
                  outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation, or
                  the approval by the stockholders of the Company of a plan of
                  complete liquidation of the Company or of an agreement for the
                  sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all
                  the Company's assets.

         (c)      DISABILITY. "Disability" shall mean that the Employee has been
         unable to substantially perform his duties under this Agreement as the
         result of his incapacity due to physical or mental illness, and such
         inability, at least 26 weeks after its commencement, is determined to
         be total and permanent by a physician selected by the Company or its
         insurers and acceptable to the Employee or the Employee's legal
         representative (such agreement as to acceptability not to be
         unreasonably withheld).

         (d)      EXCHANGE ACT. "Exchange Act" shall mean the Securities
         Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

         (e)      INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION. "Involuntary Termination" shall mean
         (i) without the Employee's express written consent, the significant
         reduction of the Employee's duties or responsibilities relative to the
         Employee's duties or responsibilities in effect immediately prior to
         such reduction; provided, however, that a reduction in duties or
         responsibilities solely by virtue of the Company being acquired and
         made part of a


                                     Page 3
<PAGE>


         larger entity (as, for example, when the Chief Financial Officer of
         Company remains as such following a Change of Control and is not made
         the Chief Financial Officer of the acquiring corporation) shall not
         constitute an "Involuntary Termination"; (ii) without the Employee's
         express written consent, a substantial reduction, without good business
         reasons, of the facilities and perquisites (including office space and
         location) available to the Employee immediately prior to such
         reduction; (iii) without the Employee's express written consent, a
         material reduction by the Company in the Base Compensation or Target
         Incentive of the Employee as in effect immediately prior to such
         reduction, or the ineligibility of the Employee to continue to
         participate in any long-term incentive plan of the Company; (iv) a
         material reduction by the Company in the kind or level of employee
         benefits to which the Employee is entitled immediately prior to such
         reduction with the result that the Employee's overall benefits package
         is significantly reduced; (v) the relocation of the Employee to a
         facility or a location more than 50 miles from the Employee's then
         present location, without the Employee's express written consent; (vi)
         any purported termination of the Employee by the Company which is not
         effected for death or Disability or for Cause, or any purported
         termination for which the grounds relied upon are not valid; or (vii)
         the failure of the Company to obtain the assumption of this agreement
         by any successors contemplated in Section 10 below.

8.       LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.

         (a)      In the event that the severance and other benefits provided
         for in this Agreement or otherwise payable to the Employee (i)
         constitute "parachute payments" within the meaning of Section 280G of
         the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") and (ii) but
         for this Section 8 would be subject to the excise tax imposed by
         Section 4999 of the Code, then the Employee's severance benefits under
         Section 6 shall be payable either (i) in full, or (ii) as to such
         lesser amount which would result in no portion of such severance
         benefits being subject to excise tax under Section 4999 of the Code,
         whichever of the foregoing amounts, taking into account the applicable
         federal, state and local income taxes and the excise tax imposed by
         Section 4999, results in the receipt by the Employee on an after-tax
         basis, of the greatest amount of severance benefits under this
         Agreement, notwithstanding that all or some portion of such severance
         benefits may be taxable under Section 4999 of the Code.

         (b)      If a reduction in the payments and benefits that would
         otherwise be paid or provided to the Employee under the terms of this
         Agreement is necessary to comply with the provisions of Section 8(a),
         the Employee shall be entitled to select which payments or benefits
         will be reduced and the manner and method of any such reduction of such
         payments or benefits (including but not limited to the number of
         options that would vest under Section 6(b) subject to reasonable
         limitations (including, for example, express provisions under the
         Company's benefit plans) (so long as the requirements of Section 8(a)
         are met). Within thirty (30) days after the amount of any required
         reduction in payments and benefits is finally determined in accordance
         with the provisions of Section 8(c), the Employee shall notify the
         Company in writing regarding which payments or benefits are to be
         reduced. If no notification is given by the Employee, the Company will
         determine which amounts to reduce. If, as a result of any reduction
         required by Section 8(a), amounts previously paid to the Employee
         exceed the amount to which the Employee is entitled, the Employee will
         promptly return the excess amount to the Company.

         (c)      Unless the Company and the Employee otherwise agree in
         writing, any determination required under this Section 8 shall be made
         in writing by the Company's independent public accountants (the
         "Accountants"), whose determination shall be conclusive and binding
         upon the Employee and the Company for all purposes. For purposes of
         making the calculations required by this Section 8, the Accountants may
         make reasonable assumptions and approximations concerning applicable
         taxes and may rely on reasonable, good faith interpretations concerning
         the application of Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code. The Company and
         the Employee shall furnish to the Accountants such information and
         documents as the Accountants may reasonably request in order to make a
         determination under this Section. The Company shall bear all costs the
         Accountants may reasonably incur in connection with any calculations
         contemplated by this Section 8.

9.       CERTAIN BUSINESS COMBINATIONS. In the event it is determined by the
Board, upon receipt of a written opinion of the Company's independent public
accountants, that the enforcement of any Section or subsection of this
Agreement, including, but not limited to, Section 6(b) hereof, which allows for
the acceleration of vesting of options


                                     Page 4
<PAGE>


to purchase shares of the Company's common stock upon a termination in
connection with a Change of Control, would preclude accounting for any proposed
business combination of the Company involving a Change of Control as a pooling
of interests, and the Board otherwise desires to approve such a proposed
business transaction which requires as a condition to the closing of such
transaction that it be accounted for as a pooling of interests, then any such
Section of this Agreement shall be null and void, but only if the absence of
enforcement of such Section would preserve the pooling treatment. For purposes
of this Section 9, the Board's determination shall require the unanimous
approval of the disinterested Board members.

10.      SUCCESSORS.

         (a)      COMPANY'S SUCCESSORS. Any successor to the Company (whether
         direct or indirect and whether by purchase, lease, merger,
         consolidation, liquidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of
         the Company's business and assets shall assume the obligations under
         this Agreement and agree expressly to perform the obligations under
         this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent as the Company
         would be required to perform such obligations in the absence of a
         succession. For all purposes under this Agreement, the term "Company"
         shall include any successor to the Company's business and assets which
         executes and delivers the assumption agreement described in this
         Section 10(a) or which becomes bound by the terms of this Agreement by
         operation of law.

         (b)      EMPLOYEE'S SUCCESSORS. The terms of this Agreement and all
         rights of the Employee hereunder shall inure to the benefit of, and be
         enforceable by, the Employee's personal or legal representatives,
         executors, administrators, successors, heirs, devisees and legatees.

11.      NOTICE. Notices and all other communications contemplated by this
Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when
personally delivered or when mailed by U.S. registered or certified mail, return
receipt requested and postage prepaid. In the case of the Employee, mailed
notices shall be addressed to him at the home address which he most recently
communicated to the Company in writing. In the case of the Company, mailed
notices shall be addressed to its corporate headquarters, and all notices shall
be directed to the attention of its Secretary.

12.      MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

         (a)      WAIVER. No provision of this Agreement shall be modified,
         waived or discharged unless the modification, waiver or discharge is
         agreed to in writing and signed by the Employee and by an authorized
         officer of the Company (other than the Employee). No waiver by either
         party of any breach of, or of compliance with, any condition or
         provision of this Agreement by the other party shall be considered a
         waiver of any other condition or provision or of the same condition or
         provision at another time.

         (b)      WHOLE AGREEMENT. No agreements, representations or
         understandings (whether oral or written and whether express or implied)
         which are not expressly set forth in this Agreement have been made or
         entered into by either party with respect to the subject matter hereof.

         (c)      CHOICE OF LAW. The validity, interpretation, construction and
         performance of this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the
         State of California.

         (d)      SEVERABILITy. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
         provision or provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the validity
         or enforceability of any other provision hereof, which shall remain in
         full force and effect.

         (e)      ARBITRATION. Any dispute or controversy arising out of,
         relating to or in connection with this Agreement shall be settled
         exclusively by binding arbitration in San Diego, California, in
         accordance with the National Rules for the Resolution of Employment
         Disputes of the American Arbitration Association then in effect.
         Judgment may be entered on the arbitrator's award in any court having
         jurisdiction. The


                                     Page 5
<PAGE>


         Company and the Employee shall each pay one-half of the costs and
         expenses of such arbitration, and each shall separately pay its counsel
         fees and expenses. Punitive damages shall not be awarded.

         (f)      NO ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFITS. The rights of any person to
         payments or benefits under this Agreement shall not be made subject to
         option or assignment, either by voluntary or involuntary assignment or
         by operation of law, including (without limitation) bankruptcy,
         garnishment, attachment or other creditor's process, and any action in
         violation of this Section 12(g) shall be void.

         (g)      ASSIGNMENT BY COMPANY. The Company may assign its rights under
         this Agreement to an affiliate, and an affiliate may assign its rights
         under this Agreement to another affiliate of the Company or to the
         Company; provided, however, that no assignment shall be made if the net
         worth of the assignee is less than the net worth of the Company at the
         time of assignment. In the case of any such assignment, the term
         "Company" when used in a section of this Agreement shall mean the
         corporation that actually employs the Employee.

         (h)      COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts,
         each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together
         will constitute one and the same instrument.



IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties has executed this Agreement, in the case
of the Company by its duly authorized officer, as of the day and year first
above written.


COMPANY:       CYMER, INC.



               By:      Wallace E. Breitman

               Title:   Senior Vice President Human Resources and Administration


                 /s/ Wallace E. Breitman
               -----------------------------------------------------------------





EMPLOYEE:        /s/ Robert P. Akins
               -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Robert P. Akins