GAA High-k Gate Dielectric Patent Landscape 2026
The GAA high-k gate dielectric space is heavily concentrated, with TSMC and IBM together accounting for the majority of filings among the top hundred filers. Annual volume peaked in 2019 and has since eased, placing the field in a post-peak phase where the foundational device architecture is mature but adjacent branches remain under-served.
TSMC leads a concentrated field dominated by five foundry and fabless incumbents
TSMC holds the top position with 90 patent records, followed by IBM at 71 and Intel at 34, establishing a clear three-tier hierarchy among the ranked applicants.
The top five filers — TSMC, IBM, Intel, Applied Materials, and GlobalFoundries — collectively represent 75% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, signalling a tightly held IP core with limited room for lateral entrants to establish breadth positions.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) | 90 | |
| 2 | IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | 71 | |
| 3 | Intel Corporation | 34 | |
| 4 | Applied Materials Inc. | 27 | |
| 5 | GlobalFoundries US Inc. | 16 | |
| 6 | Zing Semicon Corp. | 12 | |
| 7 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 9 | |
| 8 | Macronix International Co., Ltd. | 9 | |
| 9 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 9 | |
| 10 | STMicroelectronics International N.V. | 6 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | STMicroelectronics Inc. | 5 | |
| 12 | Tokyo Electron Limited | 5 | |
| 13 | Ningbo Semicon International Corp. | 3 | |
| 14 | imec vzw (Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre) | 3 | |
| 15 | Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 2 | |
| 16 | KOREA ADVANCED INST OF SCI & TECH | 2 | |
| 17 | SHANGHAI INTEGRATED CIRCUIT RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT… | 2 | |
| 18 | STMicroelectronics (US) | 2 | |
| 19 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 20 | SanDisk Technologies LLC | 1 |
TSMC’s and IBM’s dominance reflects their foundational role in defining the nanosheet and nanoribbon gate-stack architectures that underpin commercial GAA nodes; challengers such as Applied Materials and Qualcomm entered the ranking only recently, suggesting the competitive frontier is shifting toward process-equipment and design-integration sub-problems.
Filing counts for 2024–2025 are subject to publication lag and should be treated as lower bounds; the apparent further drop in those years does not represent the full scope of recent activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings peaked in 2019 and have eased; semiconductor device classes dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a maturing core domain where device-structure patents are the primary vehicle, while memory and nanotechnology branches remain secondary.
Annual filing trend
Filings grew steadily from 31 records in 2017 to a peak of 41 in 2019, then eased through 2022 before dropping further in 2023–2024. The 2024 and 2025 bars are incomplete due to publication lag and should not be read as a continued decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L Semiconductor devices and H10D Semiconductor devices (general) together account for the large majority of classified records, confirming that the IP core is anchored in transistor device structure. H10B Memory device manufacture, B82Y Nanotechnology applications, and H10P form smaller but distinct secondary clusters worth monitoring.
↗ 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.
Fabrication of gate-all-around integrated circuit …
Gate-all-around integrated circuit structures having dual metal gates and gate dielectrics with a single polarity dipole layer are described. For example, an integrated circuit structure includes a first vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires, and a second vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires. A P-type gate stack is over the first vertical… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multi-channel gate-all-around fet | 232 |
| 2 | Vertical and 3D memory devices and methods of manu… | 217 |
| 3 | Threshold voltage adjustment for a gate-all-around… | 131 |
| 4 | Vertical gate-all-around TFET | 101 |
| 5 | Full air-gap spacers for gate-all-around nanosheet… | 99 |
| 6 | Multi-threshold voltage gate-all-around field-effe… | 97 |
| 7 | Hybrid gate-all-around (GAA) field effect transist… | 92 |
| 8 | Transistor structures with reduced parasitic capac… | 89 |
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
Four structural signals — life-cycle stage, concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic spread — together frame where defensive and offensive IP strategies are most viable.
Post-peak field with a well-staked device-structure core
The lifecycle evidence labels this space as Decline, with annual filings having eased back from the 2019 peak. For R&D teams, this means the transistor-architecture layer is densely patented; investment should target differentiated process integration or novel material combinations rather than basic gate-stack geometry claims that incumbents already hold.
Life-cycle: post-peak75% top-five share leaves little room for broad positional entry
The top five filers hold 75% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, and the gap between TSMC (90 patent records) and the sixth-ranked player (Zing Semicon, 12) is stark. New entrants are most likely to find defensible ground in peripheral sub-domains — process equipment, memory integration, or nanotechnology applications — rather than by contesting the core device-structure claims directly.
High concentrationIBM–GlobalFoundries–STMicroelectronics trio is the most active co-filing cluster
The collaboration evidence shows IBM and GlobalFoundries co-filing on 3 records, IBM and STMicroelectronics (Inc) on 3 records, and STMicroelectronics (Inc) and GlobalFoundries on 3 records, forming a tight three-way alliance. Samsung Electronics and Seoul National University R&DB Foundation share one co-filed record, indicating academic-industrial links are nascent outside the IBM-led cluster. Organizations seeking collaborative IP development should consider whether partnering with any member of this trio creates FTO dependencies.
Clustered alliancesUS jurisdiction captures the overwhelming majority of filings; Asia is secondary
The United States accounts for 228 patent records, far ahead of Taiwan at 30 and China at 17. WIPO PCT filings stand at 13 and EPO at 11, indicating that global portfolio strategies beyond the US are selectively pursued. Organizations with roadmaps targeting Asian fabs or European chip-act incentives may find the non-US jurisdictions comparatively less contested.
US-dominant geographyGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | GlobalFoundries Inc. | 3 |
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | STMicroelectronics Inc. | 3 |
| STMicroelectronics Inc. | GlobalFoundries Inc. | 3 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Seoul National University R&DB Foundation | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
TSMC and IBM set the pace; Intel and Applied Materials show upward momentum
The top two players define the competitive ceiling in transistor device structure, while third- and fourth-ranked players are expanding their positions through process-equipment and design-integration angles.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
TSMC leads with 90 patent records, concentrated across semiconductor device fabrication (H01L 21) and device structure (H01L 29 and H01L 27). Recent momentum shows a downward trend of –48% in the most recent period, consistent with the field’s post-peak stage and TSMC’s likely transition of core GAA IP to process-node execution rather than foundational disclosure.
90 patent recordsIBM (International Business Machines)
IBM holds 71 patent records with a strong emphasis on H01L 29 device structure and H01L 21 fabrication process, mirroring TSMC’s technical focus but through a research-lab rather than manufacturing lens. Recent momentum is sharply down at –85%, reflecting IBM’s reduced direct semiconductor manufacturing role and a possible shift of collaborative output to partners such as GlobalFoundries and STMicroelectronics. IBM’s co-filing alliances make its IP network broader than its solo count suggests.
71 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) | 24 | ▼ -48% |
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | 5 | ▼ -85% |
| Intel Corporation | 15 | ▲ +15% |
| Applied Materials Inc. | 15 | ▲ new entrant |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Memory integration and nanotechnology applications are under-served relative to the device-structure core
Five IPC branches outside the dominant H01L and H10D classes carry materially lower filing counts, suggesting that the intersection of GAA high-k dielectrics with these sub-domains has attracted limited dedicated IP activity so far.
H10B · Memory device manufacture
With 36 patent records and a 6% share of classified records, memory device manufacture is the largest adjacent branch but still sparse relative to the core logic device classes. As GAA architectures migrate into embedded non-volatile and DRAM applications — an active area given the drive toward compute-in-memory — the gate-dielectric interface requirements for memory cells differ meaningfully from logic. Teams with expertise in both high-k stack engineering and memory cell architecture could establish early positions here before the branch becomes as contested as the logic core.
Search this in Eureka →B82Y · Nanotechnology applications
B82Y carries 31 patent records and a 6% share, covering nanotechnology-specific claims that sit at the boundary of material science and semiconductor device physics — relevant as nanosheet channel widths shrink toward atomic-scale dimensions where quantum and surface effects become dominant. The low count relative to the overall corpus indicates that nanomaterial-level gate-dielectric engineering (e.g., two-dimensional dielectrics, atomic-layer interface control) has not yet attracted systematic IP staking. Organizations with materials-science capabilities in 2D materials or atomic-layer deposition could explore this branch as a differentiated entry path.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology sub-class emphasis
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H01L 29 · Semiconductor devices | H01L 21 · Semiconductor devices | H01L 27 · Semiconductor devices | H10D 64 · Semiconductor devices (general) | H10D 62 · Semiconductor devices (general) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | Strong · 81 | Strong · 69 | Strong · 48 | Strong · 48 | Strong · 48 |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) | Strong · 77 | Strong · 81 | Strong · 48 | Strong · 42 | Moderate · 37 |
| Intel Corporation | Strong · 33 | Strong · 24 | Strong · 25 | Moderate · 13 | Moderate · 13 |
| Applied Materials Inc. | Strong · 19 | Strong · 20 | Emerging · 2 | Emerging · 4 | Emerging · 4 |
| STMicroelectronics Inc. | Strong · 12 | Strong · 10 | Strong · 9 | Moderate · 6 | Moderate · 6 |
| Zing Semicon Corp. (Shanghai) | Strong · 12 | Strong · 10 | Moderate · 4 | Absent | Absent |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | Strong · 9 | Strong · 7 | Moderate · 4 | Moderate · 3 | Moderate · 3 |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence corpus contains 257 patent families in scope for this technology topic.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) leads with 90 patent records among the top 100 ranked filers, ahead of IBM at 71 patent records and Intel at 34.
No. The lifecycle evidence classifies this field as post-peak: annual filings peaked at 41 records in 2019 and have eased since. The most recent years (2024–2025) appear lower still, but those counts are subject to publication lag and should be treated as incomplete.
The United States is by far the dominant jurisdiction with 228 patent records, followed by Taiwan at 30 and China at 17. WIPO PCT filings stand at 13 and EPO at 11.
Yes. The most active co-filing relationships are between IBM and GlobalFoundries (3 co-filed records), IBM and STMicroelectronics Inc (3 records), and STMicroelectronics Inc and GlobalFoundries (3 records). Samsung Electronics and Seoul National University R&DB Foundation share one co-filed record.
The five smallest adjacent branches by record count are H10W (5 records), C23C Coating and surface deposition (2 records), B82B Nanostructures (1 record), C30B Crystal growth (1 record), and G11C Static and digital memories (1 record). Among branches with more than 20 records, H10B Memory device manufacture (36) and B82Y Nanotechnology applications (31) are the largest under-served adjacent areas relative to the dominant H01L core.
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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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