GaN HEMT Interconnect Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- 57 of 60 records sit in H01L, meaning nearly the entire dataset is claimed as general semiconductor device structure rather than as standalone interconnect metallization.
- Filings peaked in 2021 at 10, then eased to 7 by 2022 and show zero in the most recent tracked year — read against an 18-month publication lag, not as a stop in activity.
- The most-cited record carries 76 citations, anchored to a GaN-on-Si substrate-replacement structure that recurs across the next several most-cited filings.
What this dataset covers
This landscape draws on 60 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026, captured by a search combining GaN HEMT transistor terms with ohmic contact metallization, device interconnect and field plate metallization language. The scope is narrow by design: it isolates the interconnect and contact layer of GaN HEMT devices rather than the full universe of gallium nitride semiconductor patents.
Filing activity peaked in 2021 and the classification data shows most records sitting inside general semiconductor-device IPC codes rather than a dedicated interconnect subclass, which shapes how the rest of this page should be read: contact and field-plate innovations here are typically claimed as part of a larger device structure, not as freestanding metallization patents.
How filing volume and technology composition have moved
Sixty patent families make up this dataset, filed between 2015 and the 2026 cut-off. The trend below tracks annual filings; the composition chart shows where those filings sit inside the IPC scheme.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings rose from 4 in 2017 to a peak of 10 in 2021, eased to 7 by the 2022 midpoint, and show zero for the most recent tracked year. Recent years are understated because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so 2025-2026 figures will fill in as records publish.
IPC subclass composition
H01L (semiconductor devices) accounts for 57 of 60 records and H10D for 29, confirming that most activity is filed as general device-structure claims. Smaller subclasses — H10N, C01G, H05B, H10K and H10P — each carry only two or three records, marking them as thin relative to the core.
Shares are the percentage of the 60 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Gallium Nitride HEMT Interconnect with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about gallium nitride hemt interconnect and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe records other filers keep citing
GaN semiconductor device structure and method of fabrication by substrate replacement
Devices and systems comprising high current/high voltage GaN semiconductor devices are disclosed. A GaN die, comprising a lateral GaN transistor, is sandwiched between an overlying header and an underlying composite thermal dielectric layer. Fabrication comprises providing a conventional GaN device structure fabricated on a low cost silicon substrate (GaN-on-Si die), mechanically and electrically attaching source, drain and gate contact pads of the GaN-on-Si die to corresponding contact areas of conductive tracks of the header, then entirely removing the silicon substrate. The exposed substrate-surface of the epi-layer stack is coated with the composite dielectric thermal layer.US9818692B2 · GAN SYSTEMS INC. · granted 2017-11-14
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20160380090A1 | GaN SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF FABRICATION BY SUBSTRATE REPLACEMENT | 76 |
| 2 | US20170256638A1 | GaN-on-Si SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE STRUCTURES FOR HIGH CURRENT/ HIGH VOLTAGE LATERAL GaN TRANSISTORS AND METHODS … | 65 |
| 3 | WO2001013436A1 | Passivation of GAN based fets | 63 |
| 4 | US20180012770A1 | GaN-on-Si SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE STRUCTURES FOR HIGH CURRENT/ HIGH VOLTAGE LATERAL GaN TRANSISTORS AND METHODS … | 49 |
| 5 | US20140361371A1 | Semiconductor structure having column iii-v isolation regions | 35 |
| 6 | US20190115459A1 | Wafer bonded GAN monolithic integrated circuits and methods of manufacture of wafer bonded GAN monolithic int… | 31 |
| 7 | US20220130965A1 | Field effect transistor with source-connected field plate | 21 |
| 8 | US20210217883A1 | Group III HEMT and Capacitor That Share Structural Features | 17 |
| 9 | US20190081141A1 | SCALABLE CIRCUIT-UNDER-PAD DEVICE TOPOLOGIES FOR LATERAL GaN POWER TRANSISTORS | 16 |
| 10 | US9818692B2 | GaN semiconductor device structure and method of fabrication by substrate replacement | 15 |
Ranked by citation count within the searched corpus. Older filings accumulate more citations by virtue of time in the record, so treat this as a map of influence, not of current commercial weight.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers say about this claim space
These figures come directly from the 60-family dataset underlying this page — they describe concentration, citation influence and filing geography, not predictions.
Device-structure claims dominate
Almost every record in this dataset is filed under H01L, semiconductor devices generally, with H10D as a secondary classification on 29 records. Interconnect-specific claim types are folded into broader device-structure filings rather than standing alone.
Older GaN-on-Si structures anchor the field
The most-cited record in this dataset covers a GaN-on-Si structure fabricated by substrate replacement. Three of the five most-cited records share this same substrate-replacement or GaN-on-Si lateral-transistor theme, indicating a durable reference point for later filers.
Filing activity centres on the US
Of the 60 records, 34 were filed with the United States receiving office, with Europe (12) and WIPO/PCT (7) a distant second and third. Singapore, Austria and Australia each carry a handful of records.
No assignee shows recent-year filings yet
Every one of the leading assignees tracked in this dataset shows zero filings in the most recent tracked year. Given the roughly 18-month gap between filing and publication, this reads as an incomplete record rather than a genuine halt.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to gallium nitride hemt interconnect, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the claim space is still open
The assignee ranking behind this page is rendered separately; what follows is what the pattern in that ranking means for a reader deciding where to file or watch.
Momentum reads flat across the board
None of the leading assignees tracked in this dataset show filings in the most recent year. Combined with the 2021 peak and the subsequent decline to the 2022 midpoint, the visible pattern is one of easing activity — though the most recent one to two years are understated by publication lag.
Ownership is largely single-entity
Only six co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, each linking a corporate assignee to an individual inventor rather than to another company. That points to concentrated, single-owner claim positions rather than joint-venture or cross-licensed filing structures.
Filing strategy centres on the US first
More than half of the dataset's records were filed via the United States receiving office, with Europe and the PCT route trailing well behind. A filer targeting this space should expect US prior art to dominate any freedom-to-operate search.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Vanchip Semiconductor Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| GaN Systems Inc. | 0 | — |
| Raytheon Company | 0 | — |
| Cornell Research Foundation, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Suzhou HanHua Semiconductor Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| KIM MATTHEW H | 0 | — |
| LAROCHE JEFFREY R | 0 | — |
| KAZIOR THOMAS E | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis next
The trend, classification and citation data on this page describe the shape of the field as filed. Turning that into a filing or licensing decision means going deeper on specific claims.
Check freedom to operate against the top-cited structures
The GaN-on-Si substrate-replacement claims behind the highest citation counts recur across several of the most-cited records. Any interconnect or packaging design that touches substrate removal after front-side bonding should be checked against these claims specifically.
Run a claim comparison in EurekaWatch the under-claimed IPC branches for new entrants
H10N, C01G, H05B and H10K each carry only a few records today. A sudden filing increase in any of these would signal a competitor moving into contact-material or thermal-integration claim space ahead of the market.
Set a monitoring alert in EurekaRe-run the trend once recent years fully publish
The zero filings shown for the latest tracked year are very likely a publication-lag artefact rather than a real stop. Revisiting this trend in twelve to eighteen months will give a more reliable read on whether 2021's peak was a high point or a plateau.
Track filing trends in EurekaQuestions practitioners ask about this space
Within this 60-family dataset, the most-cited positions belong to GaN-on-Si device-structure filings, including the most-cited record at 76 citations. Recent-year momentum across the tracked assignees is flat, so strength here reflects historical citation influence rather than current filing volume. Anyone assessing freedom to operate should look at the underlying claims of the top-cited records rather than assume citation count alone settles priority.
Ohmic contact metallization forms the low-resistance electrical connection at the source and drain regions of the transistor, while field plate metallization is a separate structure placed over or near the gate to reshape the electric field and raise breakdown voltage. Both are captured in this search string because they are the two dominant interconnect-adjacent claim types in GaN HEMT filings. In practice they are often claimed together within a single device-structure patent rather than as standalone metallization inventions, which is why they cluster inside the same H01L and H10D subclasses in this dataset.
Filings in this dataset rose to a peak of 10 in 2021, then eased to 7 by 2022, with the most recent tracked year showing no records for the leading assignees. Part of this apparent decline is a publication-lag artefact: patent applications typically publish around 18 months after filing, so the most recent one to two years in any trend chart will always look thinner than they eventually turn out to be. It is not safe to conclude the technology has stalled from this pattern alone.
The core of this dataset is heavily concentrated in H01L and H10D device-structure claims, while adjacent IPC subclasses such as H10N (other solid-state devices), C01G (compounds of other metals) and H05B/H10K carry only two or three records each. That imbalance points to under-claimed territory around specific contact-material precursors, thermal-management metallization shared with heating circuits, and integration with organic-semiconductor stacks. A first claim in one of these thinner branches is more likely to clear prior art than another general device-structure filing.
Not necessarily. Citation counts inside a searched corpus like this one tend to favour older records simply because they have had more years to accumulate citations, so the most-cited record here (from an older filing) is a signal of historical influence on later filings, not proof that it remains the most commercially active claim today. Evaluating current importance requires checking recent filing activity and product-level use alongside citation count, not citation count in isolation.
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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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.