GAA TCAD Simulation Patent Snapshot 2026
The GAA TCAD simulation patent space is nascent and highly concentrated, with all documented filing activity clustered in 2022–2023 and the top five filers accounting for 88% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total. IMEC and Huawei co-lead the field, with Intel, POSTECH, East China Normal University, and the Shenyang Institute of Automation rounding out a very thin applicant pool.
IMEC and Huawei co-lead an exceptionally thin field
IMEC (INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO ELECTRONICS CENT) and Huawei Technologies each hold 2 patent records, placing them jointly at the top of the applicant ranking. Intel, POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation, East. China Normal University, and the Shenyang Institute of Automation each contribute 1 patent record.
Concentration is extreme: the top five filers account for 88% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total. The total corpus of 6 patent families signals that GAA TCAD simulation has not yet attracted broad industrial participation — it remains an early, specialist niche.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interuniversitair Micro-Electronics Centrum (IMEC) | 2 | |
| 2 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 3 | Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 1 | |
| 4 | Intel Corporation | 1 | |
| 5 | East China Normal University | 1 | |
| 6 | POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation | 1 |
IMEC’s joint position with Huawei, cemented by a documented co-filing relationship, suggests that the leading edge of this technology is being shaped by a research-industry partnership rather than competing proprietary programs. New entrants face a relatively open field but must contend with foundational filings from a well-resourced consortium.
Filing counts for 2024–2026 reflect publication lag and should be treated as under-counted rather than indicative of a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity burst in 2022–2023; semiconductor device classes dominate the technology mix
All resolved filing activity falls in a two-year window (2022–2023), suggesting the field emerged as Gate-All-Around devices moved toward production readiness. The technology composition is anchored in semiconductor device classifications with a secondary footprint in nanotechnology and digital simulation methods.
Annual filing trend
Zero filings appear before 2022; 3 patent records were filed in each of 2022 and 2023. Years 2024–2026 show zero resolved records, but this is attributable to publication lag and does not indicate a cessation of activity — filings in this window are systematically under-counted.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L (Semiconductor devices) is the visible IPC branch with 4 patent records, followed by B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) and G06F (Electric digital data processing) with 2 records each, and H10D (Semiconductor devices, general) with 1 record. The G06F presence confirms that computational/simulation methods are explicitly claimed alongside device-level disclosures.
↗ 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.
Gate-all-around field-effect transistor with exten…
A gate-all-around field effect transistor with an extended source/drain and a method of manufacturing the same. The gate-all-around field effect transistor has an extended source/drain structure formed by partial etching of channels to solve unbalance between semiconductor devices and enables high speed operation through reduction in RC delay. (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 抗辐照正方环栅MOSFET半导体器件建模方法 | 2 |
| 2 | 纳米片环栅场效应晶体管金属功函数波动电路仿真方法 | 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.
IMEC (Interuniversitair Micro-Electronics Centrum)
IMEC holds 2 patent records and entered the field as a new entrant. Its technology emphasis spans B82Y 10 (Nanotechnology applications), H01L 21, and H01L 29 (Semiconductor devices) — a profile consistent with advanced process simulation at the nanosheet/GAA level. IMEC’s co-filing with Huawei amplifies its effective reach and suggests these filings reflect a jointly developed simulation methodology rather than a purely in-house program.
patent records: 2Huawei Technologies
Huawei Technologies also holds 2 patent records and entered as a new entrant. Its IPC focus mirrors IMEC’s exactly — B82Y 10, H01L 21, and H01L 29 — confirming that the co-filed patents define the shared technology boundary. As a major fabless/systems company with internal chip design capability, Huawei’s engagement in TCAD simulation IP suggests strategic interest in controlling simulation toolchains for next-generation GAA process nodes.
patent records: 2Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 6 patent families in scope. This is a very small corpus, indicating that the application of TCAD simulation specifically to Gate-All-Around device architectures has only recently begun to generate patent filings.
IMEC (Interuniversitair Micro-Electronics Centrum) and Huawei Technologies are joint leaders, each with 2 patent records. Intel, POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation, East China Normal University, and the Shenyang Institute of Automation each hold 1 patent record.
All resolved filing activity falls in 2022 and 2023, with 3 patent records in each year. No filings appear before 2022 in the dataset. Years 2024–2026 show zero resolved records, which reflects publication lag rather than a confirmed halt in activity.
China and Europe (EPO) each account for 2 patent records. The United States and WIPO (PCT) each account for 1 patent record. The balanced China–EPO distribution reflects the geographic spread of the visible assignees.
Yes. IMEC and Huawei Technologies have co-filed 2 patent records together. This is the only collaboration documented in the evidence and represents the field’s sole cross-border research-industry partnership to date.
H01L (Semiconductor devices) is visible in with 4 patent records, followed by B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) and G06F (Electric digital data processing) with 2 records each, and H10D (Semiconductor devices, general) with 1 record. G06F and H10D are the lower-represented branches; they cover computational simulation methods and next-generation device modeling respectively, and neither has attracted filing from the visible assignees.
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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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