FinFET Fab Automation (APC) Patent Snapshot 2026
The patent corpus for FinFET fab automation using advanced process control (APC) is small and tightly held: all 7 patent families in scope originate from a single applicant, Applied Materials. Activity peaked in 2019 and has since returned to zero annual filings, signalling a post-peak phase with no confirmed new entrants.
Applied Materials holds the entire identified corpus — a single-player niche
Applied Materials is the sole ranked applicant, accounting for all 7 patent families in scope. No other entity appears in the top-100 applicant list, meaning concentration is absolute within the identified corpus.
The top-five filers’ share of the ranked applicants visible in this query stands at 100%, reflecting the fact that only one assignee has been identified. There is no observable tier gap because there is no second tier.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Applied Materials, Inc. | 7 |
Applied Materials’ visible position implies that any competing effort in APC-enabled FinFET fabrication must either design around a focused single-owner portfolio or engage with that owner directly. The absence of academic or joint-venture filings leaves the evidence snapshot unusually narrow.
Filing data for the most recent 18–24 months is subject to publication lag and may under-represent activity; the apparent zero-filing period since 2019 should be interpreted with that caveat in mind. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A single filing cohort in 2019 defines the entire trend; IPC mix is semiconductor-dominant
The annual filing chart and technology-composition chart together reveal a narrow, highly focused corpus: all activity is concentrated in one year and one primary IPC class.
Annual filing trend
All 7 patent families were filed in 2019; every other year in the 2017–2026 window shows zero activity. The lifecycle evidence marks 2019 as the peak year, and annual volume has eased fully back from that peak. Recent years carry publication-lag uncertainty and should not be read as confirmed absence of new activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L (Semiconductor devices) covers all 7 patent families, confirming tight alignment with core semiconductor device fabrication. H10D (Semiconductor devices, general) appears as a secondary classification on 3 families, and B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) tags 1 family — reflecting the nanoscale geometry demands of FinFET structures.
↗ 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.
利用先进控制的整合CMOS源极漏极形成
一种finFET器件包括掺杂的源极及/或漏极延伸部，所述源极及/或漏极延伸部设置在finFET的栅极间隔物与其上设置n掺杂或p掺杂的源极或漏极延伸部的半导体基板的主体半导体部分之间。掺杂的源极或漏极延伸部通过选择性外延生长(SEG)工艺形成在靠近栅极间隔物形成的空腔中。在形成空腔之后，先进处理控制(APC)(亦即，整合的度量法)用于在不将基板暴露于氧化环境的情况下确定凹陷距离。各向同性蚀刻工艺、度量法及选择性外延生长可在同一平台中执行。 (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Integrated CMOS source drain formation with advanc… | 3 |
| 2 | 利用先进控制的整合CMOS源极漏极形成 | 1 |
| 3 | 利用先进控制的整合CMOS源极漏极形成 | 1 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Applied Materials
Applied Materials holds all 7 patent families in scope. Its technology emphasis is concentrated in H01L 21 (semiconductor device fabrication processes, 7 families) with secondary coverage across H10D 30 and H10D 62 (general semiconductor device classifications, 3 families each). No momentum data from a prior filing window is available, as the entire corpus originates from the single 2019 cohort. The Taiwan-first filing geography aligns with its foundry customer base.
patent families: 7No challenger identified
The applicant ranking contains only one entity. No second-tier filer, academic institution, or joint-venture entity has been identified in the corpus. Any organization seeking to challenge Applied Materials’ position in this niche would currently face no patent-based competition from peers, but would need to design around the existing Applied Materials portfolio.
patent families: N/AFrequently asked questions
The corpus in scope contains 7 patent families. All 7 originate from Applied Materials, making this a single-owner niche within the identified evidence.
Applied Materials is the only identified applicant, holding all 7 patent families. No other entity appears in the applicant ranking derived from the available evidence.
The filing geography identified in the evidence covers Taiwan (4 patent records) and China (3 patent records). No US, European, Korean, or Japanese filings appear in this corpus.
The field is classified as Decline. Annual filings peaked in 2019, when all 7 identified families were filed, and have returned to zero in every subsequent year captured in the evidence. Publication lag means very recent activity cannot be fully ruled out.
H01L (Semiconductor devices) covers all 7 families. H10D (Semiconductor devices, general) appears on 3 families as a secondary classification, and B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) tags 1 family.
No co-applicant relationships have been identified. Applied Materials filed all 7 families as sole assignee, and no university, foundry, or consortium partnerships appear in the collaboration evidence.
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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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