NSF Engines: Central Florida Semiconductor Innovation Engine

这个NSF引擎奖给中央佛罗里达半导体创新引擎将发挥关键作用，在支持我们国家的半导体生产能力，特别是在新兴的先进半导体封装部门。先进的半导体封装越来越成为实现许多新兴应用的性能需求的必要过程，这些新兴应用现在处于技术创新的前沿，例如，第五代（“5G”）无线通信、自动驾驶汽车、人工智能和机器学习、先进传感器以及虚拟/增强现实。目前，美国还没有一个有意义的陆上半导体先进封装制造业，因为只有不到3%的半导体先进封装制造业发生在美国;该国绝大多数依赖于离岸代工厂，主要是在亚洲。由于达到了摩尔定律的极限，封装成为半导体制造过程中更加复杂和重要的一部分，NSF引擎定位于捕捉经济增长，推动快速变化的行业的关键技术进步，并通过在美国海岸扎根重要行业来保护我们的国防。除了重大的国家影响外，NSF引擎还有可能在高度动态和创新的技术领域创造数千个高薪工作岗位。NSF引擎已经创建了旗舰技能提升和再培训计划，为所有教育背景的工人创造了经济机会的阶梯。如果成功的话，该地区的半导体人才、现有的物理基础设施和研究能力的集中将成为国家安全的关键资产，并成为该地区经济繁荣的新力量。更广泛的服务区域包括以奥西奥拉县为中心的佛罗里达中部的七个县。这是一个新兴的半导体中心的战略位置，NSF引擎在一定程度上通过地理位置获得成功。NeoCity是NSF Engine努力的核心，位于美国STEM人才增长最快的大都市区之一，靠近太空海岸和美国领先的技术大学之一，集中了美国的半导体研究人才，中央佛罗里达大学。此外，本发明还NSF Engine在NeoCity工业园区建立了一所以STEM为重点的高中，提供特定的劳动力轨道和实习机会，为当地半导体行业提供各种机会。该地区还获得了“重建更好的地区挑战奖”，以及来自佛罗里达州的总额近$的重大投资。3亿美元用于定位和扩大该地区的能力，使其成为国家的半导体中心。这些努力由ICAMR，Inc.牵头。（d.b.a.）BRIDG），这是一个非营利性的公私合作伙伴关系，奥西奥拉县政府，R1学术和非营利研究机构的大力参与（中佛罗里达大学，佛罗里达大学，imec-USA），西班牙裔服务机构和技术社区学院（瓦伦西亚学院），一个劳动力发展提供者（CareerSource Central佛罗里达）、经济和社区发展组织（奥兰多经济伙伴关系、佛罗里达高科技走廊）以及各种行业合作伙伴。每一个都在更广泛的生态系统中发挥着重要的互补作用。NSF Engine在学术实验室和企业拥有的工业制造设施中开展的受启发的研究和翻译活动，通过推进与半导体行业相关的数字孪生技术，为有保证和安全的半导体封装创造新技术，以及开发用于实现垂直互连和内插器的新技术（例如，硅通孔、玻璃通孔、衬底通孔），这将使NSF Engine处于芯片封装设计和制造的前沿。半导体领域的领先行业合作伙伴已经开始与研究人员直接接触，以告知，测试和缩放研究活动产生的原型，进一步将该地区定位为半导体领域研究人才和行业合作伙伴的中心点，以实现交叉和融合，最终产生重大的先进封装创新。由于有意识地努力培训有准备的劳动力，对有形基础设施的空前投资，（包括一个县拥有的制造实验室），有针对性的经济发展倡议，以及经验丰富的半导体研究和工程人才的区域集中-拥有独特的能力和必要的竞争优势，在竞争激烈的行业中取得成功并蓬勃发展，并为我们的国家提供当今世界最重要的技术之一的关键国内供应链资源。它还准备创造另一种重要的国家资源：训练有素的半导体劳动力。与瓦伦西亚学院等主要合作伙伴一起，NSF Engine已经开始了为该地区居民创造该行业高薪工作的重要工作，为经济阶梯上下的家庭创造机会并创造经济稳定。这些因素使NSF Engine成为美国竞争力、经济机会和先进半导体封装创新的强大引擎。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This NSF Engines award to the Central Florida Semiconductor Innovation Engine will play a critical role in bolstering our nation’s production capacity of semiconductors, particularly in the emerging advanced semiconductor packaging sector. Advanced semiconductor packaging is increasingly an essential process to achieving the performance demands of many of the emerging applications that are now at the forefront of technological innovation—for example, fifth-generation (“5G”) wireless communication, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced sensors, and virtual/augmented reality. Currently, the United States does not have a meaningful onshore semiconductor advanced packaging manufacturing sector, as less than 3% of semiconductor advanced packaging manufacturing occurs in the United States; the nation is overwhelmingly reliant on offshore foundries, primarily in Asia. As the limits of Moore’s Law are reached and packaging becomes a more complex and important part of the semiconductor manufacturing process, this NSF Engine is positioned to capture the economic growth, drive key technological advances in a rapidly-changing sector, and secure our national defense by rooting a vital industry on American shores. In addition to the significant national impacts, the NSF Engine has the potential to create thousands of good-paying jobs in a highly dynamic and innovative technology space. The NSF Engine has already created flagship upskilling and retraining programs that have created ladders into economic opportunity for workers from all educational backgrounds. If successful, the concentration of semiconductor talent, existing physical infrastructure, and research capacity of the region could represent a key national security asset and a new force for economic prosperity in the region.The broader region of service encompasses a seven-county region in Central Florida centered around Osceola County. This is a strategic location for an emerging semiconductor hub, and the NSF Engine is uniquely positioned for success in part by geography. NeoCity, the heart of the NSF Engine’s efforts, is located in one of the nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas for STEM talent, with proximity to the Space Coast and one of the nation’s leading technical universities with a strong concentration of the nation’s semiconductor research talent, the University of Central Florida. Additionally, the NSF Engine has built a STEM-focused high school in the NeoCity Industrial Park with specific workforce tracks and internships that feed into various opportunities within the local semiconductor industry.The region was also the recipient of a Build Back Better Regional Challenge award as well as significant investments from the state of Florida totaling nearly $300 million to position and scale the region’s capacity to serve as a semiconductor hub for the nation. These efforts have been led by ICAMR, Inc. (d.b.a. BRIDG), which is a non-profit public-private partnership with heavy involvement by Osceola County government, R1 academic and nonprofit research institutions (University of Central Florida, University of Florida, imec-USA), a Hispanic Serving Institution and technical community college (Valencia College), a workforce development provider (CareerSource Central Florida), economic and community development organizations (Orlando Economic Partnership, Florida High Tech Corridor), and various industry partners. Each play a significant and complementary role within the broader ecosystem.Use-inspired research and translation activities by the NSF Engine, both occurring in academic labs and municipally-owned industrial fabrication facilities, stand to advance the current state of practice by advancing digital twin technology as it relates to the semiconductor industry, creating new technology for assured and secured semiconductor packaging, and developing new technologies for the implementation of vertical interconnects and interposers (e.g., through-silicon via, through-glass via, through-substrate via) that would position the NSF Engine at the leading edge of chip packaging design and manufacturing. Leading industry partners in the semiconductor sector have already initiated direct engagement with researchers to inform, test, and scale prototypes that result from research activities, further positioning the region as a central point for research talent and industry partners in the semiconductor sector to crossover and converge to ultimately produce significant advanced packaging innovation.This NSF Engine — due to a combination of intentional efforts to train a prepared workforce, unprecedented investments in physical infrastructure (including a county-owned fabrication lab), targeted economic development initiatives, and a regional concentration of experienced semiconductor research and engineering talent — has a unique capacity and the necessary competitive advantage to succeed and thrive in a highly competitive sector and provide our nation with a key domestic supply chain resource for one of the most important technologies in the world today. It is also poised to create another vital national resource: a highly trained semiconductor workforce. Together with key partners such as Valencia College, the NSF Engine has already begun the essential work of creating pathways to high-paying jobs in the sector for residents from across the region that open opportunity and create economic stability for families up and down the economic ladder. These factors position the NSF Engine to be a powerful engine for U.S. competitiveness, economic opportunity, and advanced semiconductor packaging innovation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.