FinFET Fab Process Control (APC) Patent Snapshot
This is a highly concentrated niche: the top five filers account for 83% of the hundred largest filers’ combined patent records, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. holding the leading position. Annual volume peaked in 2019 and has since eased sharply, signaling a mature, post-peak field rather than an actively expanding frontier.
TSMC leads a tightly consolidated field
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. sits at the top of the applicant ranking, followed by Applied Materials Inc. and International Business Machines Corporation. The visible assignee structure is concentrated: a small group of integrated device manufacturers and equipment suppliers accounts for the large majority of documented activity among the ranked applicants visible in this query.
The top five filers together hold 83% of the patent records filed by the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating a steep tier gap between the leading cluster and the remaining participants. Firms ranked sixth and below each hold two patent records, underscoring how decisively the upper tier is visible in this narrow topic.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 13 | |
| 2 | Applied Materials, Inc. | 10 | |
| 3 | International Business Machines Corporation | 8 | |
| 4 | STMicroelectronics Inc. | 6 | |
| 5 | SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International) Beijing | 2 | |
| 6 | GlobalFoundries US Inc. | 2 | |
| 7 | Intel Corporation | 2 | |
| 8 | SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International) Shanghai | 2 | |
| 9 | Tokyo Electron Limited | 2 |
The leaders’ positions reflect deep vertical integration between device architecture and process control: TSMC and IBM concentrate on H01L 21 and H01L 29 classes covering fabrication and device structures, while Applied Materials extends into H10D general semiconductor device classes consistent with its equipment-supplier role.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and will be revised upward as pending applications publish; the apparent absence of activity after 2023 should not be read as a definitive cessation.
A 2019 peak followed by sustained quiet, with semiconductor device classes dominating
The filing trend reveals a narrow activity window centered on 2019, while the technology composition is overwhelmingly concentrated in core semiconductor device IPC classes, with only thin representation in adjacent branches.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings climbed to a clear peak in 2019 and have since eased back substantially. The years 2021–2023 show no recorded activity, and 2024 carries a single record; the most recent 18–24 months remain subject to publication lag, so the post-2023 trough may not fully reflect actual filing behavior yet.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L Semiconductor devices is visible in the technology mix, reflecting the field’s focus on fabrication-process and device-structure patents. H10D Semiconductor devices (general) forms a secondary cluster, while H10P and B82Y Nanotechnology applications together represent the thinner, adjacent branches that may offer differentiation headroom.
↗ 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.
Fin FET devices from bulk semiconductor and method…
The present invention thus provides a device structure and method for forming fin Field Effect Transistors (FETs) that overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art. Specifically, the device structure and method provides the ability to form finFET devices from bulk semiconductor wafers while providing improved wafer to wafer device uniformity… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fin FET devices from bulk semiconductor and method… | 573 |
| 2 | Method of making a finfet device | 126 |
| 3 | Silicon germanium-on-insulator finfet | 53 |
| 4 | Methods, apparatus and system for gate cut process… | 30 |
| 5 | Using a metal-containing layer as an etching stop … | 15 |
| 6 | Silicon germanium-on-insulator FinFET | 15 |
| 7 | High-electron-mobility transistors with heterojunc… | 13 |
| 8 | Epitaxial growth of doped film for source and drai… | 8 |
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.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
TSMC holds the leading position with 13 patent records, concentrated across H01L 21 (fabrication processes) and H01L 29 (device structures), with additional coverage in H01L 27 (integrated circuits). This breadth across fabrication and integration classes is consistent with a fully vertically integrated foundry defending its process node IP. No recent momentum data is available for TSMC in the applicant momentum evidence.
patent records: 13International Business Machines Corporation
IBM holds 8 patent records and is flagged as a new entrant in recent momentum data, indicating a renewed or re-initiated filing program after a quiet period. IBM’s technical focus spans H01L 21, H01L 29, and H01L 27 in near-equal proportions, reflecting a broad process and device architecture scope. IBM is also the anchor of the dataset’s largest co-filing relationship, partnering with STMicroelectronics Inc. on 6 records.
patent records: 8Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 21 patent families in scope for FinFET fab process control (APC).
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. leads with 13 patent records among the top-100 ranked applicants, followed by Applied Materials Inc. with 10 and International Business Machines Corporation with 8.
Annual filings peaked in 2019, reaching 11 records that year. Activity dropped sharply afterward, with zero recorded filings in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and a single record in 2024. The most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag.
The United States leads with 29 patent records, followed by Taiwan with 5, China with 3, and WIPO PCT with 2.
Yes. The most active co-applicant pair is International Business Machines Corporation and STMicroelectronics Inc., who co-filed 6 patent records together. The two SMIC entities — SMIC Beijing and SMIC Shanghai — co-filed 2 records.
H01L Semiconductor devices is the visible class, followed by H10D Semiconductor devices (general). H10P and B82Y Nanotechnology applications are the sparsest branches, with 5 and 1 patent records respectively.
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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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