Hybrid Back-Contact Cell Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- 40.2% of the field sits with five companies. 160 of 398 records in scope belong to the top five assignees, with the leader alone holding 46.
- Filing has already peaked. Volume ran from 11 records in 2017 to a high of 50 in 2025, but the 2026 count of 6 (partial year) sits below the 2022 midpoint of 24.
- Claims cluster almost entirely in one IPC subclass. H01L covers 72.6% of the 398 records; the next widest class, H10F, covers 25.9%, leaving several adjacent classes each under 6%.
Filing growth compares 2021 (14 records) with 2024 (49) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 398 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Hybrid back-contact cell architectures place both electrical contacts on the rear of the wafer, removing front-side shading and pushing the hard engineering into rear-side patterning, base doping, edge recombination control and module interconnection. This landscape tracks 398 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine back-contact or interdigitated back-contact cell claims with rear-processing or interconnection subject matter. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent year is undercounted by design, not by a slowdown that has already fully materialised.
The dataset is built from patent families rather than raw document counts, which limits the distortion from continuation filings and multi-jurisdiction duplicates. Receiving-office data, IPC classification and assignee-level filing trends are drawn from the same 398-record set referenced throughout this page.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 398-record set: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings rose from 11 in 2017 to a peak of 50 in 2025. The midpoint year, 2022, sits at 24 records — below the peak and well above the partial 2026 count of 6 — which points to a field that has already crested rather than one still building.
IPC subclass composition
H01L (semiconductor devices) appears on 72.6% of the 398 records, confirming that most claims are drafted as semiconductor-device structure rather than dedicated PV apparatus. H10F follows at 25.9%. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100% and should be read against the 398-record total, not against each other.
Shares are the percentage of the 398 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Hybrid Back-Contact Cell Architectures with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about hybrid back-contact cell architectures and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaKey patents shaping the field
US20250261475A1 — Back contact solar cell and manufacturing method therefor, and photovoltaic module
The disclosure describes a back-contact solar cell with a semiconductor substrate carrying alternating N-type and P-type regions on its rear surface, separated by isolating regions, with a transparent conductive layer covering that surface and an isolating groove cutting through it to prevent shorting between adjacent regions.Filed by LONGI GREEN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., published 2025-08-14.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5641362A | Structure and fabrication process for an aluminum alloy junction self-aligned back contact silicon solar cell | 303 |
| 2 | US20100051085A1 | Back contact solar cell modules | 153 |
| 3 | US20150068592A1 | Solar cell metallization | 72 |
| 4 | US20140060610A1 | Smart photovoltaic cells and modules | 66 |
| 5 | US20140264191A1 | Multi Shell Metal Particles and Uses Thereof | 52 |
| 6 | WO2010025269A1 | Back contact solar cell modules | 52 |
| 7 | US20100236613A1 | Single Heterojunction Back Contact Solar Cell | 51 |
| 8 | EP0776051A2 | Structure and fabrication process for an aluminum alloy junction self-aligned back contact silicon solar cell | 42 |
| 9 | US20120211063A1 | Back Contact Solar Cell with Organic Semiconductor Heterojunctions | 37 |
| 10 | US20150129031A1 | Metal foil metallization for backplane-attached solar cells and modules | 35 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings; treat them as a signal of foundational influence rather than of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three patterns stand out once volume, concentration and geography are read together.
Filing is concentrated but not closed
The top five assignees hold 160 of the 398 records in scope, with the leader alone at 46. That leaves close to 60% of the field distributed across a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants, so the space is dense at the top without being locked up.
The leaders are pulling back at the same time
Every assignee with visible recent-year momentum data shows a year-over-year decline, from -80% to -91%, and several show zero filings in the latest year. That is consistent with the overall trend crossing its 2025 peak rather than a single company exiting.
Filing is split across three roughly equal blocs
The United States, China and the European Patent Office each carry a similar volume of records, with Australia, WIPO/PCT and India trailing behind. A clearance search limited to one jurisdiction will miss a substantial share of active claims.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to hybrid back-contact cell architectures, with the prior art for and against each one.
Assignees and where the gaps sit
The ranked assignee list covers 100 companies, counted by records in the 398-record set; it is the full ranking the dataset returns, not a curated top tier.
One company sets the pace
The leading assignee's 46 records are more than double the fifth-place count of 20, and the gap widens further by tenth place, which sits at 15. That gradient is typical of a field where an early mover built a broad claim base before others followed.
Filing clusters travel together
The strongest co-assignee pairs in the dataset link related entities under a shared corporate group, with counts of 19-20 shared records. This pattern indicates filing coordinated across subsidiaries or joint ventures rather than independent parallel invention.
The top ten still leave a third of the field open
Ten assignees together account for 252 of the 398 records, or 63.3% of the field. The remaining 36.7% is spread thin, which is where smaller or newly active filers are most likely to find room to establish a position.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | -91% |
| Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | -83% |
| Tianjin Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | -80% |
| Zhuhai Fushan Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | -80% |
| Solexel, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Taizhou LONGi Leye Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Suzhou Jolywood (Sunwatt) Photovoltaic New Material Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Trina Solar Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific follow-up questions rather than a single conclusion.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leader's portfolio
With one assignee holding 46 of 398 records, any new rear-contact or interconnection filing should be screened against that portfolio first, before the broader top-ten set.
Explore assignee portfolios in EurekaTrack whether the 2025 peak was a one-off
Filing fell from 50 in 2025 to a partial 6 in 2026, but publication lag means the true 2026 total is not yet visible. Revisit the trend once later filings publish.
Monitor filing trends in EurekaMap the under-claimed branches to your own roadmap
Series-resistance measurement and busbar-free interconnection carry comparatively few records relative to the H01L core, which is worth checking against internal R&D priorities.
Search white space in EurekaCommon questions on back-contact cell patents
One assignee leads the field with 46 of the 398 records in scope, more than double the fifth-place count of 20. The top five assignees combined hold 160 records, or 40.2% of the field. That said, the ranked list covers 100 companies, so the remaining majority of records are spread across a long tail of smaller filers rather than held by a handful of dominant players.
No, filing volume appears to have already peaked. Records rose from 11 in 2017 to a high of 50 in 2025, but the 2026 count stands at only 6, below even the 2022 midpoint of 24. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2026 figure is understated, but the pattern of decline shows up consistently across individual assignees too.
This filing, from Longi Green Energy Technology, claims a back-contact solar cell with alternating N-type and P-type regions on the rear surface separated by isolating regions, a transparent conductive layer over that surface, and an isolating groove cutting through the layer to prevent shorting between adjacent regions. It is a 2025 filing built on rear-surface patterning and isolation structure specifically, rather than on front-side or bulk cell claims. Anyone designing a similar rear isolation groove or alternating-region layout should read the full claim set before finalizing a design.
Classes outside the H01L/H10F core carry comparatively few records: H01B (cables, conductors and insulators) sits at 2.3% of the 398 records, B22F (powder metallurgy) at 1.8%, and G01R (electric and magnetic measurement) and G05F (electric/magnetic variable control) each at 1.5%. These lower-density areas, covering contact metallization and in-line resistance measurement, are worth checking before assuming the field is fully occupied, since the bulk of filing activity concentrates in semiconductor-device structure claims rather than these adjacent branches.
The United States, China and the European Patent Office each receive a broadly similar volume, at 93, 89 and 88 records respectively. Australia follows at 43, WIPO/PCT filings at 37, and India at 10. A search or clearance exercise limited to a single office would miss a substantial share of the documented activity, given how evenly the top three jurisdictions are matched.
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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.