EUV Lithography Patent Landscape 2026
EUV Lithography Patent Landscape in 2026
EUV lithography IP is heavily concentrated, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) holding a commanding lead and the top five filers accounting for 41% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total. The field reached peak annual volume in 2021 and has since eased, though the multi-year corpus of 5,947 patent families confirms a mature and deeply contested technology base.
TSMC leads a concentrated but broad competitive field
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ranks first among all applicants by a wide margin, reflecting its role as both the primary commercial user and a prolific IP generator in EUV lithography. Intel and IBM follow as the second- and third-ranked applicants, with ASML Netherlands and Tokyo Electron completing the top five.
The top five filers collectively account for 41% of the hundred largest filers’ combined patent records, indicating meaningful concentration at the top tier while leaving room for a dense second tier that includes equipment suppliers, materials specialists, and foundry peers. The gap between TSMC’s count and the fourth- and fifth-ranked applicants is substantial, reinforcing a two-tier competitive structure.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 1,859 | |
| 2 | Intel Corporation | 726 | |
| 3 | International Business Machines Corporation | 616 | |
| 4 | ASML Netherlands BV | 572 | |
| 5 | Tokyo Electron Ltd. | 564 | |
| 6 | Applied Materials Inc. | 477 | |
| 7 | AGC Inc. | 405 | |
| 8 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 334 | |
| 9 | Nikon Corporation | 299 | |
| 10 | Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH | 293 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. | 281 | |
| 12 | KLA Corporation | 236 | |
| 13 | Lam Research Corporation | 232 | |
| 14 | Nissan Chemical Corporation | 230 | |
| 15 | GlobalFoundries US Inc. | 179 | |
| 16 | ASML Holding NV | 172 | |
| 17 | Advanced Micro Devices Inc. | 162 | |
| 18 | Fujifilm Corporation | 146 | |
| 19 | Canon Inc. | 145 | |
| 20 | imec vzw | 121 |
TSMC’s dominant position signals that process integration know-how — not just tool or optics IP — is the largest single category in this space. Suppliers such as ASML, Tokyo Electron, and Applied Materials anchor the second tier with complementary route coverage, creating an ecosystem where no single non-TSMC player can match the breadth of the leader.
Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 are subject to publication lag and should be read as lower bounds; the apparent recent dip does not necessarily reflect a change in R&D investment. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Peak activity in 2021; semiconductor device and photolithography classes dominate
The annual filing trend and IPC technology composition together reveal a field that expanded rapidly through 2021 and has since moderated, while remaining firmly anchored in semiconductor device and photolithography classes with growing but smaller contributions from optics, materials, and adjacent process branches.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed from 555 in 2017 to a peak of 886 in 2021, then stepped down through 2022 and 2023. The 2024 and 2025 bars are materially under-counted due to patent publication lag and should not be interpreted as a continued decline; the field is past its 2021 peak on an annual basis while the multi-year body of work remains substantial.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L (Semiconductor devices) and G03F (Photolithography and photomechanics) together represent the clear majority of IPC assignments, reflecting the core device-integration and resist-patterning focus of EUV work. G02B (Optical elements and systems), G21K (Particle and radiation handling), and H10B (Memory device manufacture) form a meaningful secondary tier, while chemistry-oriented classes such as C23C and C08F capture the growing materials dimension of EUV resist and pellicle development.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Blankmask and photomask for extreme ultraviolet li…
A blankmask for extreme ultraviolet lithography includes a reflection film, a capping film, and an absorbing film that are sequentially formed on a transparent substrate, in which the reflection film has a surface roughness of 0.5 nm Ra or less. It is possible to prevent footing of an EUV photomask pattern from occurring, improving flatness of an EUV… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Semiconductor memory and method for manufacturing … | 851 |
| 2 | Template for room temperature, low pressure micro-… | 735 |
| 3 | Stationary and dynamic radial transverse electric … | 730 |
| 4 | Stationary and dynamic radial transverse electric … | 637 |
| 5 | Fabrication of deep submicron structures and quant… | 578 |
| 6 | Atomic layer deposition of antimony oxide films | 561 |
| 7 | Methods for making EUV patternable hard masks | 545 |
| 8 | Method of forming a structure on a substrate | 531 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the IP structure means for R&D investment decisions
The concentration profile, lifecycle stage, collaboration network, and geographic spread each carry distinct implications for teams deciding where to place bets in EUV lithography.
Past peak — a maturing technology with selective room for differentiation
The lifecycle evidence places EUV lithography in a decline stage, with annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak. This is consistent with a technology that has crossed from rapid exploration to incremental refinement of established approaches. New entrants face a high prior-art density in core patterning and device integration; differentiation is most accessible in adjacent process steps, materials, and metrology rather than in the well-covered core.
Lifecycle: DeclineTwo-tier structure with a pronounced leader gap
TSMC’s patent record count is more than double that of the second-ranked applicant, Intel, creating a clear leader tier above a dense but more closely matched second tier of tool suppliers, materials companies, and other chipmakers. The top five filers hold 41% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, meaning the remaining 95 ranked applicants share the balance. Teams outside the top tier can still build meaningful positions in specialized sub-areas without colliding directly with TSMC’s breadth.
High concentrationInternal corporate networks and strategic supplier-customer pairs dominate co-filing
The most active co-filing pair is Tokyo Electron Ltd. and Tokyo Electron US Holdings (109 joint filings), reflecting intra-group coordination rather than an external partnership. IBM and GlobalFoundries have filed 40 joint patents, and TSMC co-files with National Taiwan University (24) and National Tsing Hua University (15), indicating active academic linkages for process research. ASML Netherlands co-files with both Carl Zeiss SMT (15) and ASML Holding (13), reinforcing the optics supply-chain relationship. IBM also co-files with STMicroelectronics (13), pointing to a process-development alliance.
Ecosystem co-filingUS filings lead decisively; Asia-Pacific coverage is broad but fragmented
The United States is the primary filing jurisdiction by a wide margin, followed by the EPO region and WIPO PCT as the main channels for international coverage. Japan and Taiwan represent the next-largest national offices, consistent with the concentration of tool makers and foundries in those markets. South Korea and Singapore show meaningful but smaller footprints. China’s filing count is comparatively low given the strategic importance of semiconductor self-sufficiency there, which may signal either access restrictions or early-stage domestic activity not yet reflected in international filings.
US-led, Asia-Pacific broadGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Electron Ltd. | Tokyo Electron US Holdings Inc. | 109 |
| International Business Machines Corporation | GlobalFoundries Inc. | 40 |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | National Taiwan University | 24 |
| International Business Machines Corporation | IBM United Kingdom Ltd. | 19 |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | National Tsing Hua University | 15 |
| ASML Netherlands BV | Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH | 15 |
| International Business Machines Corporation | IBM China Co., Ltd. | 13 |
| International Business Machines Corporation | STMicroelectronics Inc. | 13 |
| ASML Netherlands BV | ASML Holding NV | 13 |
| ASML Netherlands BV | Koninklijke Philips NV | 10 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
TSMC and Intel lead on volume; ASML anchors the optics and tool supply route
The top applicants divide broadly into integration-focused chipmakers and equipment or materials specialists. TSMC’s volume leadership is reinforced by stable recent momentum, while several second-tier players show meaningful trajectory divergence.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
TSMC is the dominant filer with 1,859 patent records, concentrated in semiconductor device integration (H01L 21) and photolithography process (G03F 7), reflecting its position as the world’s leading EUV volume manufacturer. Recent momentum is essentially flat at +3% versus the prior period, suggesting a deliberate, sustained filing pace rather than aggressive expansion or retrenchment. The university co-filing relationships with National Taiwan University and National Tsing Hua University point to an active academic pipeline for next-generation process research.
families: 1,859ASML Netherlands BV
ASML Netherlands ranks fourth overall with 572 patent records and has the most balanced split between semiconductor device (H01L 21) and photolithography (G03F 7) classes of any equipment supplier, reflecting its dual role in both system integration and reticle/mask technology. Recent momentum shows a modest –9% trend, consistent with a post-peak stabilization rather than a structural retreat. The co-filing relationship with Carl Zeiss SMT (15 joint filings) underscores ASML’s dependence on and co-development with its primary optics supplier, making that partnership a key ecosystem node.
families: 572| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 662 | ▬ +3% |
| International Business Machines Corporation | 78 | ▼ -69% |
| Intel Corporation | 207 | ▲ +7% |
| Tokyo Electron Ltd. | 153 | ▼ -36% |
| ASML Netherlands BV | 53 | ▼ -9% |
| Applied Materials Inc. | 90 | ▼ -38% |
| AGC Inc. | 15 | ▲ new entrant |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 117 | ▬ +3% |
Under-served branches adjacent to the EUV core
Several IPC branches appear at lower relative share within the EUV lithography corpus. These represent areas of relative sparsity compared with the dominant H01L and G03F classes; where technical relevance and a plausible entry path exist, they may warrant closer attention.
G21K · Particle and radiation handling
With 662 patent records at a 3% share, G21K covers beam-line optics, radiation filtering, and EUV source management — components that are technically critical to scanner throughput and dose control yet receive far less IP attention than device-integration or resist chemistry. The entry path for teams with plasma physics or synchrotron optics expertise is relatively open compared with the saturated core classes. New EUV source architectures (beyond tin-droplet laser-produced plasma) could justify targeted filing here.
Search this in Eureka →C23C · Coating and surface deposition
C23C covers thin-film deposition methods used in EUV pellicle fabrication, multilayer mirror coatings, and hard-mask stacks. At 396 patent records and a 2% share, it is comparatively sparse given the commercial urgency around pellicle lifetime and mirror reflectivity at 13.5 nm. Materials and equipment companies with atomic-layer deposition or sputter-target expertise have a realistic technical and commercial path into this branch, particularly as pellicle industrialization accelerates for high-numerical-aperture EUV nodes.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01L 21 · Semiconductor devices | G03F 7 · Photolithography & photomechanics | G03F 1 · Photolithography & photomechanics | H01L 29 · Semiconductor devices | H01L 27 · Semiconductor devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Strong · 1,695 | Moderate · 647 | Emerging · 259 | Moderate · 387 | Moderate · 401 |
| International Business Machines Corporation | Strong · 618 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 420 | Moderate · 284 |
| Intel Corporation | Strong · 563 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 414 | Strong · 329 |
| ASML Netherlands BV | Strong · 508 | Strong · 445 | Emerging · 81 | Absent | Absent |
| AGC Inc. | Strong · 402 | Absent | Strong · 361 | Absent | Absent |
| Tokyo Electron Ltd. | Strong · 552 | Moderate · 177 | Absent | Emerging · 19 | Absent |
| Applied Materials Inc. | Strong · 463 | Moderate · 146 | Emerging · 65 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The analysis covers 5,947 patent families. Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and represent lower bounds of actual activity during that period.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is the top filer with 1,859 patent records, more than double the count of the second-ranked applicant, Intel Corp., which has 726 patent records.
The field is assessed as past its peak. Annual filings reached a high point in 2021 at 886 filings and have eased since then. The multi-year corpus remains large and the competitive field is dense, consistent with a mature technology transitioning toward incremental refinement.
The United States is the primary filing jurisdiction by a substantial margin, followed by the EPO region and WIPO PCT as international pathways. Japan and Taiwan represent the largest individual national offices after the US, reflecting the geographic concentration of key tool makers and foundries.
H01L (Semiconductor devices) and G03F (Photolithography and photomechanics) are the dominant classes by a wide margin. Relatively sparse adjacent classes include G21K (Particle and radiation handling), C23C (Coating and surface deposition), and H10B (Memory device manufacture), each representing a small share of total patent records despite clear technical relevance to EUV processes.
Yes. The most active co-filing relationship is between Tokyo Electron Ltd. and Tokyo Electron US Holdings, with 109 joint filings reflecting intra-group coordination. Externally, IBM and GlobalFoundries have 40 joint filings, TSMC co-files with National Taiwan University and National Tsing Hua University for academic process research, and ASML co-files with Carl Zeiss SMT on optics development.
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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.
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