Dry Resist Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filing peaked in 2022 at 11 records and has not been exceeded since, suggesting the initial claim rush around EUV dry resist has already crested rather than being early-stage.
- A ranked field of 9 assignees shows a wide gap between the leader at 9 records and fifth place at just 1 — this is a field with one clear front-runner, not a level competitive set.
- G03F photolithography claims sit under 21 of the 22 records while H01L semiconductor-device claims cover half of them, meaning nearly every filing straddles both process and device claim types.
Filing growth compares 2021 (5 records) with 2024 (1) — 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.
What this dataset covers
Dry resist deposition and patterning describes vapour-phase alternatives to conventional wet photoresist coating and development — a route that has drawn renewed attention as EUV lithography pushes resist chemistry toward metal-containing, gas-phase precursors. This landscape covers 22 published records filed or published between 2015 and mid-2026, searched against terms combining dry resist and vapour-deposited photoresist with claim-body language on dose, defectivity and dry development etch.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent filing year in the trend is understated and should not be read as a drop in activity. The picture that follows is best read at the family level, since that neutralises repeat filing by the same applicant across jurisdictions.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 22-record dataset: activity over time, and the IPC classes those records carry.
Filing trend: a peak, not a ramp
Filings were absent in 2017 and climbed to a peak of 11 records in 2022 — the dataset's midpoint year — before falling back. Read against the 18-month publication lag, the tail end of the series should be treated as incomplete rather than as a genuine slowdown, but the shape through 2022 is a peak-and-plateau pattern, not sustained growth.
Class composition: process claims dominate
G03F (photolithography and photomechanics) appears in 95.5% of the 22 records in scope, and H10P in 63.6%, with H01L (semiconductor devices) close behind at 50.0%. Smaller classes — B29C, C07F, G02B and C09D — each sit at 9.1% or below, marking shaping, organometallic chemistry, optics and coatings as minor but present adjacent claim areas. Because records can carry multiple classes, these shares sum past 100% and should be read against the 22-record total, not against each other.
Shares are the percentage of the 22 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Dry Resist Deposition and Patterning with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about dry resist deposition and patterning and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this dataset
Tin precursors for deposition of EUV dry resist
The disclosure covers precursor compositions for forming irradiation-sensitive films, specifically metal-containing precursors with haloaliphatic or unsaturated substituents that react under extreme ultraviolet exposure to form resist films with increased etch resistance and reduced shrinkage. A second embodiment directs the same precursor chemistry at improving adhesion to carbon-containing underlayers during patterning.Filed by Lam Research Corporation, published 2025-11-13.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WO2023245047A1 | Tin precursors for deposition of EUV dry resist | 11 |
| 2 | US6291139B1 | Process for fabricating three-dimensional polymer layer structures | 10 |
| 3 | US20220404713A1 | Dry Resist System and Method of Using | 9 |
| 4 | US20240192590A1 | Apparatus and process for EUV dry resist sensitization by gas phase infusion of a sensitizer | 9 |
| 5 | US20240369933A1 | Materials and methods for dry resist technology | 4 |
| 6 | WO2022265874A1 | Dry resist system and method of using | 3 |
| 7 | WO2022226310A1 | High quantum efficiency dry resist for low exposure dose of EUV radiation | 3 |
| 8 | WO2021202198A1 | Apparatus and process for EUV dry resist sensitization by gas phase infusion of a sensitizer | 3 |
| 9 | US20250346767A1 | Tin precursors for deposition of EUV dry resist | 2 |
| 10 | TW202413382A | Tin precursors for deposition of EUV dry resist | 1 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older records — treat this as a signal of influence on later filings, not of current commercial weight.
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 stand out once the dataset is read at the class and citation level rather than as a simple count.
One front-runner, a long tail
The ranked field of 9 assignees drops sharply after the leader — fifth place holds a single record. That gap points to one organisation with a sustained filing programme in dry resist chemistry, surrounded by entrants who have filed once or twice rather than built a portfolio.
Activity has already crested
Half of the dataset's total output landed in a single peak year. Combined with zero filings recorded at both ends of the window, this looks like a concentrated burst tied to EUV resist development rather than a steadily building field — though the newest years remain undercounted due to publication lag.
Process and device claims are entangled
Nearly every record carries a photolithography process class, and half also carry a semiconductor-device class. A freedom-to-operate review here has to clear both claim types together — filing only against G03F prior art misses half the relevant device-side claims.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to dry resist deposition and patterning, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and what is left open
The ranked assignees span equipment makers, a university and individual inventors — a mix that signals the field is still small enough for non-corporate filers to hold visible positions.
Sustained programme filer
The top-ranked assignee's record count is nearly ten times the fifth-place holder, indicating a deliberate, multi-year filing programme rather than opportunistic single filings.
Limited cross-filing
Only four co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, each linking a corporate entity to either a related subsidiary or a named individual inventor. That is a thin collaboration layer for a field this technically demanding.
US-centred with a Taiwan fabrication footprint
The United States leads as receiving office, with Taiwan and WIPO PCT filings close behind — a pattern consistent with US-based precursor and equipment development filed alongside Taiwan's advanced-node fabrication base.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Entegris Inc. | 0 | — |
| Lam Research Corporation | 0 | — |
| Tokyo Electron Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Deutsche Telekom AG | 0 | — |
| Johns Hopkins University | 0 | — |
| Tokyo Electron US Holdings Inc. | 0 | — |
| KOOPS HANS W P | 0 | — |
| BABINE SERGEY | 0 | — |
Where to take this
The dataset points to specific follow-up questions rather than a single answer.
Track the leader's continuation filings
With one assignee holding 9 of the ranked records, watching their continuation and divisional activity is the fastest way to see where the claim boundary is moving next.
Explore assignee filings in Eureka →Watch the 2024-2026 publication window
Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, records from the most recent years are still arriving. Re-checking this window in six to twelve months will sharpen the post-peak read.
Set up a monitoring alert in Eureka →Map the organometallic precursor pocket
C07F claims sit at just 9.1% of records — thin enough that a well-drafted precursor-chemistry claim may still have room, but that also means less prior art to learn from.
Run a freedom-to-operate scan in Eureka →Common questions on dry resist patents
Dry resist deposition applies photoresist material through vapour-phase or gas-phase processes instead of spin-coating a liquid resist and developing it with wet chemistry. The appeal in EUV lithography is tighter control over film thickness and reduced defectivity, since vapour deposition avoids the surface tension and edge-bead issues inherent to spin coating. This dataset's search terms specifically target claim language distinguishing dry development etch and vapour phase deposition from conventional wet resist processes, which is why records concentrate so heavily in the G03F photolithography class.
The dataset shows filings rising to a peak of 11 records in 2022 out of 22 total, then falling in subsequent years. This pattern is consistent with a concentrated burst of activity tied to EUV dry resist development rather than steady long-term growth. However, publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the apparent decline in the most recent years is at least partly an artefact of records not yet having published, and the true 2024-2026 filing level will only become clear over time.
The ranking covers 9 assignees, with the leader holding 9 records and a steep drop to a single record by fifth place. That gap indicates one organisation running a sustained, multi-year filing programme while other entrants — including equipment makers, a university and individually named inventors — hold isolated positions. Because this ranking reflects only the assignees returned by this specific search, it should not be read as a complete map of every company active in dry resist R&D, only those matching these claim terms.
US20250346767A1, assigned to Lam Research Corporation and published 2025-11-13, covers precursor compositions using metal-containing compounds with haloaliphatic or unsaturated substituents that react under EUV exposure to form resist films with increased etch resistance and reduced shrinkage. A second claim direction covers the same precursor chemistry improving adhesion to carbon-containing underlayers during patterning. Anyone developing tin- or metal-based EUV resist precursors with similar reactive substituents should review this filing closely, since it sits within the same citation cluster as the dataset's other highly-cited tin-precursor record.
The smaller IPC classes in this dataset — B29C shaping, C07F organometallic chemistry, G02B optics and C09D coatings — each cover 9.1% or less of the 22 records, well below the 95.5% carried by core G03F photolithography claims. That gap suggests claim space around precursor chemistry variants, coating formulations and optical-element integration with dry resist processes remains comparatively open. It is not evidence the technology is immature, only that fewer claims have staked out those specific combinations so far.
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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.