CMP Slurry Chemistry Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The five leading assignees hold 204 of 496 records in scope (41.1%), and the top ten hold 289 (58.3%) — filing here is dominated by a small group of semiconductor and materials firms.
- Filing accelerated sharply. Filings rose from 10 in 2021 to 24 in 2024, a 140% increase over three years, with 2022 the peak year so far at 30 records.
- Claims cluster in two places. 66.1% of records touch H01L (semiconductor devices) and 56.3% touch C09G (polishing compositions), leaving corrosion-and-removal chemistry (C23F, 13.3%) comparatively open.
Filing growth compares 2021 (10 records) with 2024 (24) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 496 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
CMP slurry chemistry sits at the intersection of formulation science and semiconductor process integration: abrasive particle size, oxidizer chemistry, corrosion inhibitors and pH stability together determine removal-rate selectivity between copper, barrier and dielectric layers. This landscape covers 496 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that claim CMP slurry compositions or processes tied to removal-rate selectivity, particle size control, oxidizer or inhibitor chemistry, pH stability, or agglomeration behaviour.
Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in any trend line are undercounts rather than a genuine slowdown; 2024 is the most recent year that can be read as complete.
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Filing trend and technology composition
The dataset spans 496 records across receiving offices led by the United States, South Korea and WIPO's PCT route, with the IPC composition showing where slurry claims physically sit inside a semiconductor process.
Filing momentum, 2021–2024
Filings climbed from 10 in 2021 to 24 in 2024 — a 140% increase over that three-year span — with the field's peak year so far recorded in 2022 at 30 records. Read 2025 and 2026 as incomplete rather than declining.
Where claims sit by IPC subclass
H01L (semiconductor devices) appears on 66.1% of the 496 records and C09G (polishing compositions) on 56.3%, confirming that most slurry claims are drafted as part of a device or process context rather than as standalone chemistry. C23F (corrosion and metal removal, 13.3%) and C11D (detergents and cleaning, 2.8%) are the thinnest classes relative to the same 496-record base.
Shares are the percentage of the 496 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on CMP Slurry Chemistry and Selectivity with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about cmp slurry chemistry and selectivity and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited prior art in this space
WO2009056491A1 — CMP slurry composition for copper/barrier planarization
A CMP slurry composition for planarizing surfaces comprising copper and a diffusion barrier layer, combining an abrasive, an oxidizer, a corrosion inhibitor and a monomeric polyhydroxy compound in a base, with the slurry held at a pH of 7 to 13.Filed by BASF SE; published 2009-05-07.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6063306A | Chemical mechanical polishing slurry useful for copper/tantalum substrate | 397 |
| 2 | US20050090104A1 | Slurry compositions for chemical mechanical polishing of copper and barrier films | 243 |
| 3 | US6217416B1 | Chemical mechanical polishing slurry useful for copper/tantalum substrates | 218 |
| 4 | US6447563B1 | Chemical mechanical polishing slurry system having an activator solution | 155 |
| 5 | US6177026B1 | CMP slurry containing a solid catalyst | 114 |
| 6 | US5846398A | CMP slurry measurement and control technique | 114 |
| 7 | US6275290B1 | Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurry quality control process and particle size distribution measuri… | 89 |
| 8 | US5957757A | Conditioning CMP polishing pad using a high pressure fluid | 86 |
| 9 | US20080254628A1 | High throughput chemical mechanical polishing composition for metal film planarization | 84 |
| 10 | US6046112A | Chemical mechanical polishing slurry | 82 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations inside the searched corpus — treat this table as a map of influential prior art, not of current filing activity.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns matter more than the raw counts: where citations concentrate, where the technology classes cluster, and how recent the activity actually is.
Copper/tantalum selectivity chemistry is the reference point
The most-cited record in this set, on copper/tantalum substrate polishing, and the next several most-cited records all address copper and barrier-film removal selectivity. Any new filing on copper/barrier selectivity chemistry is filing against decades-deep, heavily cited prior art.
Slurry claims are drafted as device claims, not standalone chemistry
H01L (semiconductor devices) touches two-thirds of the 496 records and C09G (polishing compositions) touches over half; because a record can carry both classes, most slurry chemistry claims are anchored to a specific device or process integration rather than filed as pure formulation.
Activity is recent, not legacy
Filings nearly tripled between 2021 (10) and 2024 (24), with 2022 the peak year so far at 30. Combined with the concentration among a handful of assignees, this points to active, recent competitive filing rather than a settled field.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to cmp slurry chemistry and selectivity, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the door is still open
The ranked leaders in this dataset cover 100 companies; concentration at the top leaves a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants below tenth place.
One filer sits well ahead of the field
The leading assignee holds 60 records versus 23 at fifth place and 13 at tenth — a steep drop-off that signals one company treating slurry chemistry as core IP rather than a peripheral filing area.
Concentration is real but not total
The five leading assignees combined hold 204 of the 496 records in scope. That leaves close to 60% of the field distributed across the remaining ranked companies and the long tail beyond them.
Recent-year activity has gone quiet among the historic leaders
Several of the largest historic filers, including the top-ranked assignee, show 0 records in the latest year with year-on-year drops recorded at -100% for some. Given publication lag, this likely reflects filings still working through the pipeline rather than an actual exit from the space.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) | 0 | -100% |
| Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| Cheil Industries Inc. | 0 | — |
| Cabot Microelectronics Corp. | 0 | — |
| LG Chem Ltd. | 0 | — |
| SK Hynix Inc. | 0 | — |
| Applied Materials Inc. | 0 | — |
| Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. | 0 | — |
Where to take this
The numbers point to a field that is concentrated at the top but still open in specific chemistry branches. The next steps depend on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate or new filing.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leading assignees
With 41.1% of records held by five assignees, any new copper/barrier selectivity filing should be checked against their portfolios specifically, not just the general prior art.
Run an FTO screen in EurekaProbe the under-claimed branches
Corrosion inhibitor chemistry and agglomeration control sit well below the H01L/C09G cluster in claim density, making them worth a closer look before drafting.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack the assignees that went quiet
Several top-10 filers show 0 records in the latest year; given the 18-month publication lag, confirm whether this is a pipeline gap or an actual shift in strategy.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaCommon questions on CMP slurry chemistry patents
Filing is concentrated: the leading assignee in this dataset holds 60 of the 496 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-ranked company at 23 and the tenth-ranked at 13. The five leading assignees combined hold 204 records, or 41.1% of the field, and the top ten hold 289, or 58.3%. That still leaves a long tail of companies with only a handful of filings each, so the field is dominated but not closed to new entrants.
Filings grew sharply in recent complete years, rising from 10 in 2021 to 24 in 2024, a 140% increase, with 2022 the peak year so far at 30 records. The 2025 and 2026 figures look lower only because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months; those years are still filling in and should not be read as a decline. On the evidence available through 2024, the field was accelerating, not cooling.
H01L (semiconductor devices) appears on 66.1% of the 496 records and C09G (polishing compositions) on 56.3%, meaning most slurry claims are tied to a specific device or process context rather than filed as standalone formulation chemistry. C09K (materials for miscellaneous applications) and B24B (grinding and polishing) also carry substantial shares. Corrosion and metal removal chemistry (C23F, 13.3%) and detergent/cleaning compositions (C11D, 2.8%) are comparatively thin against the same 496-record base.
WO2009056491A1, assigned to BASF SE, claims a CMP slurry composition for planarizing copper and diffusion-barrier surfaces, combining an abrasive, an oxidizer, a corrosion inhibitor and a monomeric polyhydroxy compound in a base held at pH 7 to 13. It is a useful reference point for anyone drafting copper/barrier selectivity claims in that pH range with a similar combination of ingredients, but whether it actually blocks a new filing depends on the specific abrasive chemistry, oxidizer type and claimed pH window — a formulation outside that combination or pH range would need separate review against the more heavily cited copper/tantalum slurry patents in this dataset.
Relative to the dominant H01L and C09G cluster, corrosion inhibitor chemistry (C23F, 13.3% of records), slurry agglomeration control, pH stability formulations, and post-CMP cleaning compositions (C11D, 2.8%) all carry a noticeably thinner claim footprint. That does not mean these areas are unclaimed, but the claim density is lower than in copper/barrier selectivity chemistry, which is where the most-cited prior art and the largest assignees are concentrated. A first claim in these branches would need to specify the chemistry precisely enough to sit clear of the existing corrosion-inhibitor and cleaning-composition filings already in scope.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.