Fastest
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/laser-annealing-for-advanced-devices-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Laser AnnealingLaser Annealing Patents for Advanced Devices
- 46.8% of all 340 records sit with just five assignees, so most of the claim space around melt-laser and nanosecond annealing is already staked out at the top.
- Filings peaked at 16 in 2021 then fell to 2 by 2024 (-88%), a real slowdown rather than a publication-lag artefact since 2024 is the last complete year.
- H01L carries 80.9% of records but B23K, G02F and G03F sit under 15% each, marking where laser-anneal claims have barely crossed into adjacent process disciplines.
340
Published Records
47%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-88%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (16 records) with 2024 (2) — 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 340 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What this landscape covers
Laser annealing for advanced devices spans a defined but technically demanding slice of semiconductor processing: melt and nanosecond laser anneal methods aimed at problems like scan overlap, surface roughening, junction abruptness, thermal budget reduction, pattern effect and uniformity control. These are the process-control issues that separate a laboratory demonstration from a repeatable fab process, and they are where much of the recent patenting activity concentrates.
The 340 records in scope run from 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, giving a decade-long view of how claim activity has moved between equipment makers, device manufacturers and research institutions as laser annealing has been adopted for source/drain activation, LED fabrication and thin-film transistor processing.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
The data
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 340-record set: how filing volume has moved year on year, and how those records distribute across IPC subclasses. Because a record can carry more than one classification, the technology shares add up to more than 100%.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings rose to a peak of 16 in 2021, then declined to 2 by 2024, an -88% drop over that span. 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the true recent trend will only firm up in later data pulls.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
H01L (semiconductor devices) dominates at 80.9% of the 340 records, with H10P and H10D each covering roughly a quarter. B23K, G02B, H10N, G02F and G03F each account for under 13% of records, marking the process-adjacent branches where laser-anneal claims have made only a partial entry.
Shares are the percentage of the 340 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about laser annealing for advanced devices and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaKey patents
Most-cited records and a representative filing
Representative filing
Laser annealing device and annealing method therefor
SHANGHAI MICRO ELECTRONICS EQUIPMENT (GROUP) CO., LTD.
A laser annealing device and methods for annealing using the device are disclosed. The laser annealing device includes: a laser light source system; a laser adjusting system connected to the laser light source system and disposed above a wafer; a temperature monitoring system disposed above the wafer and configured to measure in real time a temperature at a location of the surface of the wafer at which a light spot is formed; and a central control system in connection with each of the laser light source system, the laser adjusting system, the temperature monitoring system and a wafer table.Filed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd., published 2019-01-17 as US20190015929A1.
Most-cited records in this landscape
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5893730A | Thin film semiconductor and method for manufacturing the same, semiconductor device and method for manufactur… | 305 |
| 2 | US20110207328A1 | Methods and apparatus for the manufacture of microstructures | 263 |
| 3 | US5843225A | Process for fabricating semiconductor and process for fabricating semiconductor device | 233 |
| 4 | US20050136604A1 | Semiconductor on insulator vertical transistor fabrication and doping process | 214 |
| 5 | US8502192B2 | LED with uniform current spreading and method of fabrication | 139 |
| 6 | US20120256238A1 | Junction Field Effect Transistor With An Epitaxially Grown Gate Structure | 129 |
| 7 | US6051453A | Process for fabricating semiconductor device | 125 |
| 8 | US6310362B1 | Electro-optical device | 118 |
| 9 | US20130213469A1 | High efficiency solar cell structures and manufacturing methods | 113 |
| 10 | US6133073A | Thin film semiconductor and method for manufacturing the same, semiconductor device and method for manufactur… | 113 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had more time to accumulate citations inside the searched corpus; treat them as a signal of influence on the field, not of current commercial importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Run it yourself
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Where to run it
For builders
MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →Insights
What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Three patterns stand out once the raw counts are read against each other: concentration at the top, a genuine post-2021 pullback, and a technology base still overwhelmingly anchored in core semiconductor device claims.
Concentration
46.8%
of 340 records held by the top 5
The field is led, not fragmented
Five assignees between them hold 159 of the 340 records in scope, and the top 10 extend that to 60.9%. A long tail of single- and few-filing entrants fills the rest, which means new filers are working around an occupied core rather than an open field.
Based on the assignee ranking of 100 companies.
Momentum
-88%
2021 (16 filings) to 2024 (2 filings)
Filing activity has genuinely cooled
The peak year was 2021 at 16 filings; by 2024, the last year treated as complete, that had fallen to 2. This is a real decline rather than a lag artefact, since 2024 data is settled and the drop is documented directly in the filing trend.
2025-2026 figures are still filling in and are excluded from this comparison.
Technology mix
80.9%
of records classified under H01L
Core device claims dominate; process-adjacent branches lag
H01L accounts for the large majority of records, with H10P and H10D each near a quarter. B23K, G02B, H10N, G02F and G03F sit well below 15%, which is where laser-anneal technique claims have not yet been fully extended into adjacent optical and joining disciplines.
Shares are of all 340 records; a single record can carry multiple IPC classes.
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to laser annealing for advanced devices, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The leader holds 56 records, with a fifth-place assignee at 18 and tenth place at 8 — a steep drop-off that marks a genuine leadership tier rather than a gradual slope. Recent-year momentum across the top assignees has fallen to zero or near-zero, consistent with the broader post-2021 pullback rather than any single company retreating alone.
Leader
56 records
held by the top-ranked assignee
A single leader well ahead of the field
The top assignee's 56 records sit far above fifth place at 18, establishing a clear leadership position built over multiple years of filing across equipment and process claims.
Ranking covers 100 companies, counted in records.
Mid-tier
18 vs 8
fifth place vs tenth place
A meaningful drop after the top five
The gap between fifth place (18 records) and tenth place (8 records) shows the leadership tier narrows quickly, with a broader group of moderate filers below it rather than a smooth continuum.
Top 10 combined hold 60.9% of all 340 records.
Collaboration
10 pairs
co-assignee pairs identified
Collaboration is limited and concentrated
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, with the strongest links repeating around a small set of named inventors, suggesting most filings are pursued independently rather than through joint development.
Strongest pairs each co-appear 6-7 times.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Applied Materials, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| Solexel, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Intel Corp. | 0 | — |
| International Business Machines Corporation | 0 | — |
| Nichia Corporation | 0 | — |
| MOFFATT STEPHEN | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's next
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a mature, concentrated core with specific gaps still open at the edges. Two directions make sense from here.
Map claim scope against the leadership tier
With 60.9% of records held by ten assignees, a freedom-to-operate review should start with the leader's 56 records and work outward through the mid-tier before assuming open space.
Explore assignee claims in EurekaTest the under-claimed branches
B23K, G02F and G03F each cover well under 15% of records despite sitting adjacent to the core H01L claims, which is where a narrowly drafted first filing may still find room.
Search white space in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about this landscape
The dataset's assignee ranking shows a single leader with 56 records, well ahead of a fifth-place assignee at 18 and a tenth-place assignee at 8. Together, the top five assignees hold 46.8% of all 340 records in scope, and the top ten extend that to 60.9%. This concentration means most new filers are building around an already-claimed core rather than entering open territory.
Filing activity peaked at 16 records in 2021 and had fallen to 2 by 2024, an 88% decline over that three-year span, based on the last year of data treated as complete. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because patent publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so those years should not yet be read as a continuation of the decline. On the evidence available through 2024, though, the slowdown is real rather than a lag artefact.
H01L, the core semiconductor devices classification, appears in 80.9% of the 340 records in scope, making it by far the largest single category. H10P and H10D each cover roughly a quarter of records, while process-adjacent classes such as B23K (welding, soldering and brazing), G02B, G02F and G03F each sit under 15%. Because a record can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100%, and the low shares in the adjacent classes point to where laser-anneal technique claims have not yet been fully extended.
US20190015929A1, filed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd. and published in January 2019, discloses a laser annealing device combining a laser light source system, a laser adjusting system positioned above the wafer, a real-time temperature monitoring system, and a central control system coordinating all three with the wafer table. It is used here as a representative filing because it illustrates the integrated sensing-and-control architecture common to equipment-level claims in this field. Anyone designing a competing annealing tool needs to check its specific claim scope around simultaneous real-time temperature feedback and central control coordination.
The clearest gaps sit in classes adjacent to the dominant H01L category: B23K, G02B, H10N, G02F and G03F each cover well under 15% of the 340 records despite bordering the core process. Specific sub-areas worth examining include scan-overlap correction algorithms, melt-depth uniformity sensing, and pattern-effect compensation optics, none of which appear heavily claimed relative to core device fabrication. A narrowly drafted filing in one of these branches has more room to stand independently of the concentrated leadership tier.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Research Laser Annealing for Advanced Devices in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole laser annealing for advanced devices corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.