A method and structure for predicting semiconductor product costs at a
fabricator entailing a storage medium which includes a database of
historical critical dimensions and historical critical groundrules
correlated to cost functions at the fabricator. The user interface has
user inputs for new design parameters and new critical groundrules
associated with a new device to be produced at the fabricator and a
computer adapted to receive the user inputs, extract data from the
storage medium, and compute semiconductor costs for the new device. The
historical critical dimensions and the new critical dimensions are gate
dimensions and the new critical dimensions are smaller than the
historical critical dimensions. This device includes a future technology
generation. Fabrication hardware and fabrication methods for producing
the future technology generation are unknown and the relationships
comprise base models and models that include options. The relationship
comprise models that illustrate that costs increase exponentially as the
historical critical dimensions and the historical critical groundrules
are reduced.