Beyond-CMOS and novel device patents: mapping who holds the claims as silicon scaling runs out of room
Concentrated top of field. the top 5 assignees hold 65.7% of all 67 records in scope, and the top 10 hold 86.6% — a long tail of single- and double-filing entrants sits behind them. Filings ran from 6 in 2017 to a peak of 12 in 2018, then eased. The clearest recent signal is a drop from 5 records in 2021 to 2 in 2024 — a 60% decline over three years. Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, 2025 and 2026 counts are not yet complete and should not be read as a continuation of that decline.
- 1BOARD OF RGT THE UNIV OF TEXAS SYST20
- 2INTEL CORP7
- 3THE PENN STATE RES FOUND INC6
- 4GEORGIA TECH RES CORP6
- 5ZETTAFLOPS LLC5
See the full beyond-cmos & novel devices patent landscape analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a beyond-CMOS or novel device patent in this landscape?
This landscape scopes records that combine post-CMOS or emerging-logic-device language with concrete structural claims such as transistor structure, wafer substrate, mask layer, device structure or process integration. That combination excludes purely conceptual or materials-science publications that never reach device-structure claim language. The 67 records in scope span 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, drawing filings from US, WIPO, EPO, Indian and other offices.
Who are the leading patent holders in beyond-CMOS device architectures?
The ranking returned for this dataset covers 27 companies, led by a single assignee with 20 records against a fifth-place figure of 5 and a tenth-place figure of 2 — a clear leader-and-field structure rather than a tightly bunched group. University research foundations and one large semiconductor incumbent make up most of the top of the ranking. Behind that top group sits a long tail of single- or double-filing entrants, including individual inventors.
Is patent filing in beyond-CMOS devices growing or slowing down?
Filing peaked at 12 records in 2018 and has since pulled back, with the cleanest recent comparison showing a drop from 5 records in 2021 to 2 in 2024 — a 60% decline over that span. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in any dataset like this are still incomplete and should not be read as confirming a continued decline. The honest read is a slowdown through 2024, with the most recent trend still unresolved.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Beyond-CMOS & Novel Devices Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.