GAA In-Line Metrology Patent Snapshot 2026
The GAA in-line metrology patent corpus is nascent and entirely concentrated in a single filer — Onto Innovation Inc — whose 4 patent families appeared exclusively in 2023. The field is at an embryonic stage, presenting both high entry opportunity and significant evidence gaps for newcomers assessing the assignee snapshot.
Onto Innovation holds every filed patent family in this nascent space
Onto Innovation Inc accounts for all 4 patent families in the GAA in-line metrology corpus, making it the sole documented filer and the de facto definition of the competitive frontier at this stage.
Concentration is absolute: Onto Innovation’s share of the top ranked applicants visible in this query is 100%, indicating no meaningful secondary tier exists yet. There are no challengers, fast-followers, or institutional co-filers visible in the evidence.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Onto Innovation Inc | 4 |
Onto Innovation’s exclusive position signals early mover advantage but also leaves the field wide open for semiconductor equipment peers, EDA specialists, and integrated device manufacturers to establish competing IP positions without facing an entrenched multi-player blocking stack.
The most recent years of the filing window are subject to publication lag; apparent zero-filing years after 2023 should not be read as cessation of activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
All activity concentrates in a single year; material analysis dominates the technology mix
The annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a corpus that emerged abruptly in 2023 and is anchored in optical and dimensional measurement methods, with a small AI-computing component.
Annual filing trend
All 4 patent families were filed in 2023; all other years in the 2017–2026 window show zero activity. Years after 2023 are subject to publication lag and cannot be interpreted as confirming zero new filings.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G01N (material analysis and testing) covers all 4 patent families, G01B (measuring length and dimensions) appears in 3, and G06N (AI-based computing) appears in 1 — indicating that optical or spectroscopic inspection techniques are central, with limited but present machine-learning augmentation.
↗ 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.
Metrology solutions for complex structures of inte…
Complex structures, such as gate-all-around (GAA) field effect transistor or high-aspect ratio (HAR) Channel hole etch, etc., in semiconductor devices are measured using a combination of physical modeling and machine learning modeling. Metrology signals collected at different manufacturing process steps, e.g., pre-process step and post-process step of the… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metrology solutions for complex structures of inte… | 6 |
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.
Onto Innovation Inc
Onto Innovation entered as a new entrant in 2023 with all 4 patent families, establishing the field’s entire documented IP base. Their technology emphasis spans G01N material analysis and testing (4 families), G01B dimensional measurement (3 families), and G06N AI-based computing (1 family), reflecting an integrated optical-plus-AI inspection approach tailored to the complex 3D geometries of gate-all-around structures.
families: 4No challenger identified
The evidence contains no second-ranked applicant. The challenger tier is unpopulated at this stage of the field’s development. Any semiconductor equipment company, EDA vendor, or IDM establishing GAA process control metrology patents would immediately qualify as a challenger given the current corpus size.
families: N/AFrequently asked questions
The evidence covers 4 patent families in scope for this topic. All were filed by a single applicant, Onto Innovation Inc, in 2023.
Onto Innovation Inc is the sole documented filer, holding all 4 patent families in the corpus. No other applicant appears in the ranking.
Based on available evidence, all 4 patent families were filed in 2023. The years 2017 through 2022 show no activity, and years after 2023 are subject to publication lag.
Three IPC branches are represented: G01N (material analysis and testing), covering all 4 families; G01B (measuring length and dimensions), covering 3 families; and G06N (AI-based computing), covering 1 family.
The 4 patent families are distributed across Europe (EPO) with 2 records, the United States with 1 record, and WIPO PCT with 1 record, indicating a multi-regional filing strategy.
The corpus is nascent and dominated by a single filer, which limits blocking complexity. AI-augmented process control (G06N) and in-line electrical characterization methods are branches with low or no current coverage that warrant monitoring, though these are observations of relative sparsity rather than validated commercial opportunities.
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