Osceola County Chairwoman Praises Tokyo Electron/BRIDG Partnership

Published on: Jul 12, 2019

Osceola County, Florida – A partnership between Tokyo Electron (TEL) with BRIDG announced this week to develop tool and process technology needed to further enable collaborative approaches for development-to-commercialization of technologies and applications that accelerate commercialization of emerging technologies drew praise for Osceola County officials.

“BRIDG’s partnership with Tokyo Electron Limited – a globally recognized leader in semiconductor and flat panel display production equipment – is precisely the kind of milestone that is propelling Osceola County to the top echelons of innovation-driven communities,” said Osceola County Commission Chairwoman Cheryl Grieb. “The acquisition of this incredible, cutting-edge technology by BRIDG at NeoCity is a staggering achievement for Osceola County. BRIDG began wafer production a mere 10 months ago but already has reached an impressive level with a facility capable of 200mm microelectronics fabrication geared toward system miniaturization, device integration, hardware security, and product development key to aerospace/defense and the IoT/AI revolution. That is something that has taken others years to achieve, so seeing these kind of investments and partnerships at this early stage is exceptional. It really foreshadows the extraordinary benefits to science, research and discovery that will come from NeoCity, as well as the long-term, positive impact on jobs and economic development we expect within Osceola County.”

“We are honored to announce the partnership with TEL that our respective teams have been working toward for months,” stated Chester Kennedy, BRIDG CEO. “TEL provides additional capabilities for our respective customers faster than we could have done so without the partnership. It was critical to both parties that we structure the agreement so that it also adds value for our customers and stakeholders, and I’m excited that this partnership will be a win-win collaboration.”

Based in Osceola County at NeoCity -- a five hundred-acre technology district less than 20 minutes from the Orlando International Airport and within a mile of Florida’s Turnpike -- BRIDG operates a versatile 109,000-square-feet manufacturing facility, including approximately 60,000 square feet of cleanroom laboratory/manufacturing space, that offers production process technologies, R&D capabilities, and 200mm microelectronics fabrication. The result enables innovative breakthroughs for industry partners, serving government and commercial markets.  

With 200mm processing requirements for IoT, AI, automotive, and industrial markets growing fast, leading edge tools and process technologies developed for the 300mm market need to be applied to 200mm tools. Currently, 200mm scaling is constrained by lithography capability limitations.

“With the adoption of IoT, AI, and 5G, the transition to a data society is accelerating and propelling us closer to a future beyond imagination, a future that will require customization in communications, mobility, healthcare, and robotics technology.  BRIDG is building a 200mm R&D infrastructure and platforms that enable this dynamic future”, says Tony Tsutsumi, TEL Senior Vice President for Corporate Innovation.  “TEL is excited to partner with BRIDG as we develop leading edge tool, process, and integration technology for our customers.”

Through this partnership, technology development by the TEL team at BRIDG along with the execution and demonstration of new technologies and tools conducted at BRIDG along with BRIDG’s tools and engineering team will drive 200mm processing technology to the next level.  

“The rapid growth of the Internet of Things and other next-generation technologies is creating unprecedented demands on semiconductor process lines,” said Dan Holladay, BRIDG Director of Partnerships. “To deliver on ‘More than Moore’ as well as these critical economic-driving industries, the demand for next-generation high-mix / lower volume / high performance devices to support the >5 million ‘new things’ going on-line per day, has created a resurgence of 200mm semiconductor device platforms. This new partnership between TEL and BRIDG will complement TEL’s existing development relationships around the world through leveraging the unique Florida-based BRIDG infrastructure and Public-Private-Partnership.”

TEL joins a growing list of BRIDG partners that are led by founding visionary stakeholders Osceola County, the University of Central Florida, Florida High Tech Corridor Council, and the State of Florida.  Additional partners include Harris Corporation, Siemens, Massey Services, University of Florida, University of South Florida, SUNY Poly, and others.

About TEL:

As a leading global company of semiconductor and flat panel display (FPD) production equipment, Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) engages in development, manufacturing, and sales in a wide range of product fields. All of TEL's semiconductor and FPD production equipment product lines maintain high market shares in their respective global segments. TEL provides outstanding products and services to customers through a global network of approximately 77 locations in 17 countries in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. http://www.tel.com 

About BRIDG:

BRIDG is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership specializing in advanced system integration, microelectronics fabrication, III-V materials growth for sensors, optoelectronics, and high-speed transistors. BRIDG offers production process technologies, R&D capabilities, and 200mm microelectronics fabrication geared toward system miniaturization, device integration, hardware security, and product development key to aerospace/defense and the IoT/AI revolution. Supported by Osceola County, University of Central Florida, Florida High Tech Corridor Council and others, BRIDG provides the physical foundry infrastructure and collaborative process to connect challenges and opportunities with solutions; “Bridging the Innovation Development Gap” making commercialization possible. Located at NeoCity—a 500-acre master-planned community of innovation in Florida—BRIDG is centrally located 20 minutes from Orlando International Airport and within a mile of Florida’s Turnpike. Learn more at www.GoBRIDG.com.

ABOUT NeoCity:

As home to one of the world's most advanced sensor R&D labs and fabrication facilities, NeoCity is a hub of high-wage jobs, as well as high-value capital investment and infrastructure. NeoCity is recognized as the up-and coming world epicenter for smart sensors, photonics and optics, and has ready-made synergies with the University of Central Florida (the nation’s largest producer of aerospace engineers), the University of Florida, USF as well as Central Florida’s large concentration of Department of Defense partners and contractors.