2040

[David A. Schwan]

An analog IC for synth purposes would be Bipolar, which means $500 per
layer (or less); which at worse case would be reticle, master plate and
working plate.  And then if you've negiotiated with the foundry properly
would be about $150 or less a wafer (24 wafers or less);  this would be two
later metal (most of the CEM chips are single layer metal; which means
routing nightmeres).  By the way I am a CAD Engineer (form IC Mask
Designer) for an analog semiconductor company (Micro Linear; Silicon
Valley).

>> Would it be possible to use that schematic to make a "real"
>> 2040 clone, an IC with the same pinout as 2040 (not the VCF but
>> just the gain stages)? How much does it cost today to start a
>> production of IC's?
>>
>>
>Rough estimation:
>
>If you have the software to draw the layout ($10k-100k) and to
>generate the gdsII file you pay
>
>$1k per mask (say 8 masks $8k)
>$1k per wafer (some hundred ics)
>
>And you need a foundry, too. Difficult for these few wafers you
>need.
>
>For the small quantities initial cost is the  killer.
>The very first ic will cost you a total of some $100k,
>depending on the amount of work.
>Forget it.
>
>>Would it solve the Vbe matching problem, too?
>
>If it's done right, yes.
>
>m.c.