Micro Devices gets the money only after it has paid the county more than $1.6 million in local taxes. The company also promises to create a local staff of 20 with average annual salaries of $60,000, twice the county average.

The North Carolina firm will operate from locally based Cirent Semiconductor's 100,000-sf plant/warehouse complex at John Young Parkway and the Bee Line Expressway in south Orlando. Cirent and Micro Devices are joint venture partners. Cirent makes chips for personal computers.

County officials are betting six-year-old, privately held Cirent will be the magnet to build the area's high-tech corridor. The county has approved $24.4 million in tax breaks and grants to Cirent since 1995--more than any other high-tech firm has received. The state has promised a total $80 million over the same period.