FinFET CMP Patent Landscape in 2026
FinFET chemical-mechanical planarization IP is highly concentrated, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) holding the dominant position among the top filers. The field peaked in 2017 and annual volume has eased significantly since, signalling a maturing technology where differentiated process know-how and adjacent materials innovations are the remaining vectors for new IP.
TSMC leads a tightly concentrated field of semiconductor device makers
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) ranks first among the hundred largest filers, followed by GlobalFoundries US Inc. and International Business Machines Corporation. The top five filers together account for 81% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, indicating a field where a small cluster of integrated device manufacturers and foundries have secured the bulk of documented process IP.
The gap between the first-ranked applicant and the rest of the field is substantial. TSMC’s record count is roughly three times that of the next closest rival, creating a two-tier structure: a dominant leader, a small group of established challengers (GlobalFoundries, IBM), and a long tail of smaller participants.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) | 227 | |
| 2 | GlobalFoundries US Inc. | 76 | |
| 3 | International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) | 75 | |
| 4 | GlobalFoundries Inc. | 49 | |
| 5 | Adeia Semiconductor Solutions LLC | 27 | |
| 6 | Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corporation (SMIC Shanghai) | 15 | |
| 7 | Elpis Tech Inc. | 14 | |
| 8 | Alsephina Innovations Inc. | 14 | |
| 9 | Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Beijing) Corporation (SMIC Beijing) | 12 | |
| 10 | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) | 5 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) | 4 | |
| 12 | Bell Semiconductor LLC | 4 | |
| 13 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 4 | |
| 14 | STMicroelectronics International N.V. | 4 | |
| 15 | Ahmed Shibly S. | 3 | |
| 16 | Applied Materials, Inc. | 3 | |
| 17 | Peking University | 3 | |
| 18 | Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 2 | |
| 19 | Cirrus Logic International Semiconductor Ltd. | 2 | |
| 20 | Anji Microelectronics Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. | 2 |
This concentration reflects the capital-intensive nature of FinFET node development: only firms with full-node manufacturing programs generated the volume of process-integration patents needed to compete for top position. New entrants without an existing FinFET process platform face a significant prior-art base.
Patents filed in the most recent 18–24 months are likely under-counted due to publication lag; the apparent absence of 2026 records and low 2025 count should not be read as a cessation of activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing volume peaked in 2017 and has eased; semiconductor device classes dominate the mix
Annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a field that established its core IP base in the 2017–2019 window and has since transitioned toward lower-volume, more targeted filings. The IPC mix confirms that FinFET CMP IP is overwhelmingly classified under semiconductor device classes, with only sparse coverage in adjacent materials and process-equipment branches.
Annual filing trend
Filings peaked at 72 records in 2017 and declined steadily through the subsequent years. The 2025 and 2026 counts are almost certainly under-reported due to patent publication lag and should not be interpreted as a further structural drop; the meaningful trend is the persistent easing from the 2017 high across 2018–2024.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L (Semiconductor devices) and H10D (Semiconductor devices, general) account for the overwhelming share of classified records, reflecting that FinFET CMP innovations are filed primarily as device-integration inventions. Polishing compositions (C09G), memory device manufacture (H10B), and grinding and polishing machinery (B24B) each represent a small fraction, pointing to under-served process-materials and equipment branches.
↗ 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.
Chemical mechanical planarization processes for fa…
A planarization method includes planarizing a semiconductor wafer in a first chemical mechanical polish step to remove overburden and planarize a top layer leaving a thickness of top layer material over underlying layers. The top layer material is planarized in a second chemical mechanical polish step to further remove the top layer and expose underlying… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GCIB etching method for adjusting fin height of fi… | 473 |
| 2 | Double spacer FinFET formation | 281 |
| 3 | Methods of forming single and double diffusion bre… | 160 |
| 4 | Semiconductor device and manufacturing method ther… | 120 |
| 5 | Finfet with post-RMG gate cut | 107 |
| 6 | Fin field effect transistor (finfet) device struct… | 87 |
| 7 | Methods of forming diffusion breaks on integrated … | 84 |
| 8 | Multi-step chemical mechanical polishing of a gate… | 72 |
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 patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural dimensions — lifecycle stage, applicant concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic distribution — each carry distinct implications for teams evaluating where to position new FinFET CMP research or IP filings.
Field is in decline from a 2017 peak
The lifecycle stage is Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2017 peak of 72 records. This implies that core FinFET CMP process steps are now well-documented in prior art, reducing the likelihood of broad blocking patents in the mainstream device-integration space. R&D investment is better directed toward differentiated sub-topics — advanced slurry formulations, gate-cut CMP, or next-node compatibility — rather than replicating the established core.
Lifecycle: DeclineTop five filers hold 81% of the top-100 share
The top five applicants — TSMC, GlobalFoundries US, IBM, GlobalFoundries Inc., and Adeia Semiconductor Solutions — collectively represent 81% of the combined patent records among the hundred largest filers. This level of concentration means that licensing negotiations, freedom-to-operate analyses, and any new process development must account for a relatively small set of dominant portfolios. Challengers below this tier have limited leverage unless they target adjacent or under-served branches.
High concentrationIBM–GlobalFoundries alliance produced the most co-filed work
International Business Machines Corporation and GlobalFoundries produced 18 co-filed patents, the most active co-applicant pair in the corpus. SMIC Shanghai and SMIC Beijing collaborated on 12 patents, reflecting a coordinated domestic Chinese FinFET development program. Smaller collaboration links exist between IBM and JSR Corporation (2 patents) and between GlobalFoundries entities and STMicroelectronics (1 patent). These partnerships suggest that process-equipment suppliers and chemical companies that have not yet entered formal co-development agreements represent an open collaboration channel.
Alliance-drivenUS dominates; Taiwan and China are distant secondary filings jurisdictions
The United States leads as the primary filing jurisdiction by a wide margin, followed by Taiwan and China at substantially lower volumes. The United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and South Korea each account for a small number of records, and WIPO PCT and Singapore round out the picture. The US-centric filing strategy reflects both the location of the leading applicants’ legal teams and the importance of the US market for semiconductor litigation and licensing. Teams seeking to build offensive or defensive positions outside the US will find thinner prior-art density in most other jurisdictions.
US-centricGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) | GlobalFoundries Inc. | 18 |
| Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corporation (SMIC Shanghai) | Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Beijing) Corporation (SMIC Beijing) | 12 |
| International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) | JSR Corporation | 2 |
| GlobalFoundries Inc. | GlobalFoundries US Inc. | 2 |
| GlobalFoundries Inc. | STMicroelectronics Inc. | 1 |
| United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) | Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
TSMC leads outright; IBM and GlobalFoundries are closely matched challengers
Two tiers are visible in the applicant ranking: TSMC as a clear leader, and a cluster of established semiconductor manufacturers and IP holding entities that have built substantial but smaller portfolios, often through collaboration with each other.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
TSMC leads with 227 patent records, concentrating its filings across H01L 21 (process integration), H01L 29 (device structure), and H01L 27 (integrated circuits). Its recent-period filings show a decline of 55% versus the prior comparable window, consistent with the field-wide maturation trend rather than a strategic withdrawal. The portfolio’s breadth across device structure and process-integration classes reflects TSMC’s position as the primary node developer for advanced FinFET processes.
families: 227International Business Machines Corporation
IBM ranks third overall with 75 patent records, covering H01L 21, H01L 29, and H01L 27 — the same primary classes as TSMC, indicating direct technical overlap. IBM’s most notable structural feature is its 18-patent co-filing relationship with GlobalFoundries, the densest collaboration pair in the dataset, reflecting the historical IBM-GlobalFoundries joint process development program. Its portfolio represents a significant freedom-to-operate consideration for any team working on gate-last or CMP-integrated FinFET flows.
families: 75| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) | 40 | ▼ -55% |
Under-served branches in polishing chemistry, memory CMP, and solid-state devices
Several IPC branches adjacent to the dominant H01L semiconductor device classes carry relatively low patent counts in this corpus, pointing to areas where the existing FinFET CMP literature is thin. These observations reflect relative sparsity and plausible technical relevance; they are not validated commercial opportunities without further freedom-to-operate and market analysis.
C09G · Polishing Compositions
With only 22 records in this corpus, polishing compositions represent the most technically direct adjacent branch with the lightest coverage. Slurry chemistry is critical to FinFET CMP yield and selectivity, yet the IP density here is low relative to the device-integration classes. Teams with chemistry or materials expertise — particularly equipment suppliers and specialty chemical firms — face a thinner prior-art base in this branch and could differentiate through slurry formulations tailored to gate-metal or fin-isolation CMP steps. Entry would require alignment with leading foundries that control the process integration knowledge.
Search this in Eureka →H10B · Memory Device Manufacture
H10B covers memory device fabrication and accounts for 31 records in this corpus, making it the second-most-active adjacent branch after H10D. The intersection of FinFET process flows with embedded memory (eSRAM, embedded DRAM) represents a practical integration challenge, and the relatively sparse patent density in H10B within this topic suggests that memory-specific CMP steps — planarization of memory-cell stacks in FinFET-based SoCs — have not yet been extensively claimed. R&D teams working on logic-memory co-integration could find space here, particularly for planarization steps specific to FinFET-compatible memory bit-cell architectures.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ across technology sub-routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H01L 21 · Semiconductor devices | H01L 29 · Semiconductor devices | H01L 27 · Semiconductor devices | H10D 84 · Semiconductor devices (general) | H10D 62 · Semiconductor devices (general) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) | Strong · 227 | Strong · 182 | Moderate · 101 | Moderate · 83 | Moderate · 85 |
| International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) | Strong · 120 | Strong · 112 | Strong · 90 | Moderate · 56 | Moderate · 46 |
| GlobalFoundries Inc. | Strong · 103 | Strong · 84 | Moderate · 49 | Moderate · 41 | Emerging · 19 |
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) | Strong · 32 | Strong · 32 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| STMicroelectronics Inc. | Strong · 10 | Strong · 8 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 9 |
| Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corporation (SMIC Shanghai) | Strong · 15 | Strong · 15 | Strong · 9 | Absent | Absent |
| Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Beijing) Corporation (SMIC Beijing) | Strong · 12 | Strong · 12 | Strong · 9 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The analysis covers 291 patent families in scope, representing global filings related to FinFET chemical-mechanical planarization.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is the top-ranked applicant with 227 patent records, roughly three times the count of the next closest rivals, GlobalFoundries US Inc. (76 records) and IBM (75 records).
No. The field peaked in 2017 at 72 annual records and has declined steadily since. The lifecycle stage is classified as Decline. The very low counts for 2025 and 2026 are likely further suppressed by publication lag and should be read with caution, but the multi-year trend from 2017 onward is a genuine easing.
IBM and GlobalFoundries are the most active co-filing pair with 18 jointly filed patents, reflecting their historical joint process development program. SMIC Shanghai and SMIC Beijing co-filed on 12 patents, and IBM and JSR Corporation co-filed on 2 patents.
The United States leads by a large margin with 478 records, followed by Taiwan with 13 and China with 9. The United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and South Korea each have 4 records, with WIPO PCT and Singapore accounting for a small additional share.
Polishing compositions (C09G, 22 records) and memory device manufacture (H10B, 31 records) are the most technically proximate branches with relatively low coverage. Grinding and polishing machinery (B24B) has only 1 record, indicating that process-equipment-specific FinFET CMP claims are almost entirely absent from this corpus.
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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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