Micro-LED Color Filter / QD Patent Landscape 2026
Lumileds Singapore leads a moderately concentrated field in which the top five filers account for more than a third of the hundred largest filers’ combined output. Activity peaked in 2022 and has plateaued, though the multi-year window still shows net growth; semiconductor device integration (H01L) dominates the technology mix.
Lumileds leads a moderately concentrated field with clear tier gaps
Lumileds Singapore holds the top position with 7 patent families, followed by Samsung Electronics at 5 and Intel at 4. The top five filers together represent 36% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating moderate concentration with no single entity in absolute command.
A visible tier gap separates the top-three players from the mid-tier group clustered at 3 patent families (Thales, LG Display, Applied Materials) and a broader base of applicants holding 2 or 1 families each. This structure suggests that the field is accessible to challengers but that first-movers have a meaningful head start in core integration patents.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lumileds Singapore Pte Ltd | 7 | |
| 2 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 5 | |
| 3 | Intel Corporation | 4 | |
| 4 | Thales SA | 3 | |
| 5 | LG Display Co Ltd | 3 | |
| 6 | Applied Materials Inc | 3 | |
| 7 | Xiamen University | 2 | |
| 8 | Prilit Optronics Inc | 2 | |
| 9 | Elux Inc | 2 | |
| 10 | PlayNitride Display Co Ltd | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | GlobalFoundries US Inc | 2 | |
| 12 | Lumileds LLC | 2 | |
| 13 | THE STATE OF OREGON ACTING BY & THROUGH THE OREGON… | 2 | |
| 14 | Jade Bird Display (Shanghai) Ltd | 2 | |
| 15 | LG Electronics Inc | 2 | |
| 16 | Lumens Co Ltd | 2 | |
| 17 | Xiangyi (Beijing) Technology Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 18 | Toyo Visual Solutions Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 19 | He Jun | 1 | |
| 20 | Xiamen Extremely PQ Display Technology Co Ltd | 1 |
Lumileds’ dual presence through both Lumileds Singapore Pte Ltd and Lumileds LLC reinforces its dominant position; combined, those two entities account for 9 patent families. Samsung’s position at rank two signals that display-panel manufacturers are actively contesting territory previously held by component specialists.
Filings from approximately 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; year-on-year comparisons for the most recent periods should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing activity peaked in 2022; semiconductor device integration anchors the technology mix
The annual trend and IPC composition charts together reveal a field that expanded rapidly between 2017 and 2022 and has since plateaued, while remaining anchored in semiconductor device architecture rather than display-system or materials subclasses.
Annual filing trend
Filings grew from 2 in 2017 to a peak of 15 in 2022, then eased to 5 in 2023 and 6 in 2024. The 2025 and 2026 counts are materially under-counted due to publication lag and should not be read as a continuing decline. The multi-year window still shows positive net growth of 8% over the recent period.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L Semiconductor devices is overwhelmingly dominant, reflecting that color-conversion and quantum-dot integration work is being claimed as semiconductor device architecture. H10H Light-emitting semiconductor devices, G09G Display control circuits, G02B Optical elements, and G09F Displaying/signs each represent smaller but distinct clusters, pointing to divergent application vectors among filers.
↗ 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.
Quantum dot print, cure, wash, and dry process wit…
A microLED display including color filter materials and methods for fabricating such a display are provided. A method for applying color filter material to a microLED display includes depositing a first color conversion material in a first well of a first subpixel of the microLED display, curing the first color conversion material, depositing a second color… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种光效提取和无像素干扰的全彩化Micro-LED显示结构及其制造方法 | 81 |
| 2 | Micro-led display assembly | 66 |
| 3 | Micro-led display panel | 40 |
| 4 | Driving circuit for power efficient LED display | 32 |
| 5 | Back Emission Display | 20 |
| 6 | 显示屏、Micro-LED显示基板及其制备方法 | 9 |
| 7 | Micro-light-emitting diode display apparatus and m… | 9 |
| 8 | 一种量子点色转换层及其制备方法和应用 | 8 |
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.
What the patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural observations — maturity stage, concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic footprint — shape where new entrants can find defensible positions and where incumbents are most exposed.
Field is at or near plateau, not in early-growth mode
The lifecycle evidence places this field at the Maturity stage: annual filings peaked in 2022 and have plateaued near that level. The 8% recent-window growth indicates the multi-year trajectory is still positive, but the era of rapid annual acceleration has passed. R&D investment should focus on differentiated sub-niches rather than broad coverage plays.
Maturity stageModerate concentration with an accessible mid-tier
The top five filers hold 36% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, a level that is concentrated enough to create citation leverage for incumbents but not so dominant that new entrants are locked out. The mid-tier — Thales, LG Display, Applied Materials at 3 families each — shows that credible positions can be built from a focused portfolio of even a handful of well-placed patents.
Moderate concentrationCo-filing activity is minimal; LG Electronics and LG Display are the only known co-applicants
Only one collaboration pair is evidenced: LG Electronics and LG Display have co-filed on 1 patent family. The near-absence of cross-entity co-filing suggests that technology transfer and licensing rather than joint development are the dominant modes of knowledge exchange in this field. Entrants looking to accelerate via partnerships will find few established collaboration templates to follow.
Low co-filingUS-centric prosecution with China as the principal secondary market
The United States leads as the primary filing jurisdiction, followed by China and then WIPO PCT filings. Europe and Japan each account for only 2 records, and several other jurisdictions hold single records. This concentration means that freedom-to-operate analysis should prioritize the US patent landscape, but the growing Chinese filing base — anchored by Xiamen University, Jade Bird Display, and Chinese manufacturing entities — signals an emerging parallel competitive front.
US-centric, China growingGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| LG Electronics Inc | LG Display Co Ltd | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Lumileds anchors device integration; Samsung and Intel contest adjacent routes
The two leading players differ in their IPC emphasis: Lumileds concentrates on LED device and assembly integration, while Samsung spans device integration and display-panel architectures, and Intel pivots toward display control circuits alongside semiconductor integration.
Lumileds Singapore Pte Ltd
Lumileds Singapore holds 7 patent families and is classified as a new entrant by momentum data, indicating its portfolio in this specific topic has been built rapidly. Its technology emphasis spans H01L 25 semiconductor assembly, H01L 33 LED devices, and H10H 20 light-emitting devices — a tightly integrated LED-stack focus. Combined with Lumileds LLC’s 2 additional families, the Lumileds group is the single most active filer in this landscape.
families: 7Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Samsung Electronics holds 5 patent families with a new-entrant momentum profile, concentrating equally on H01L 25 semiconductor assembly, H01L 33 LED devices, and H01L 27 integrated circuits. This breadth across device, array, and integration subclasses positions Samsung as the most structurally diverse challenger and the applicant best placed to contest Lumileds on multiple technical fronts.
families: 5| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Lumileds | 8 | ▲ new entrant |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Intel Corporation | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Applied Materials Inc | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant semiconductor device core
Several IPC branches sit at the periphery of the dominant H01L core with low patent-record counts relative to the overall corpus. These are observations of relative sparsity; only those with plausible technical linkage and a realistic entry path are highlighted as warranting closer attention.
C09K · Materials for miscellaneous applications (quantum-dot emitter materials)
With only 5 patent records, the materials-chemistry branch for quantum-dot and phosphor emitter formulations is sparsely covered relative to the device-integration core. Applied Materials is currently the primary filer here (C09K 11 sub-class). Given that QD color-conversion efficiency is directly governed by emitter material composition, this branch has clear technical value for anyone seeking to differentiate at the materials layer rather than the device layer. Entry would likely require expertise in colloidal synthesis or ligand engineering.
Search this in Eureka →G03F · Photolithography and photomechanics (patterning of color-conversion layers)
Only 1 patent record is classified under G03F, covering photolithographic patterning processes relevant to depositing and defining color-filter or QD layers at micro-LED pixel pitches. As pixel pitches shrink below 10 µm, patterning becomes a critical process bottleneck, making this an adjacent branch with plausible technical value. The near-absence of filings here — versus the dense H01L device-integration core — suggests the patterning process space has not yet attracted systematic patent coverage from the current applicant set.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ by technology route
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H01L 25 · Semiconductor devices | H01L 33 · Semiconductor devices | H01L 27 · Semiconductor devices | H10H 20 · Light-emitting semiconductor devices | G09G 3 · Display control circuits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumileds | Strong · 8 | Moderate · 4 | Moderate · 2 | Moderate · 3 | Emerging · 1 |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | Strong · 5 | Strong · 5 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent |
| Intel Corporation | Strong · 4 | Absent | Moderate · 2 | Moderate · 1 | Strong · 4 |
| LG Display Co Ltd | Strong · 3 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
| Thales SA | Strong · 3 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent |
| Applied Materials Inc | Strong · 3 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Elux Inc | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Moderate · 1 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence corpus contains 60 patent families in scope for this topic, filed across multiple jurisdictions between 2017 and 2026.
Lumileds Singapore Pte Ltd leads with 7 patent families. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd follows with 5, and Intel Corp holds 4, making these three the top tier.
The field is at the Maturity stage: annual filings peaked at 15 in 2022 and have since plateaued. The multi-year window still shows 8% recent growth, but the rapid annual acceleration phase has ended. Recent years are also subject to publication lag.
The United States is the primary jurisdiction, followed by China and WIPO PCT. Europe and Japan each account for only 2 records, indicating that prosecution strategy is heavily US-centric with China as the main secondary market.
H01L Semiconductor devices is by far the dominant IPC class, reflecting that color-conversion and QD integration is being claimed as semiconductor device architecture. H10H Light-emitting semiconductor devices and G09G Display control circuits are the next most active sub-areas.
Two adjacent branches appear relatively sparse: C09K (quantum-dot and phosphor emitter materials, 5 records) and G03F (photolithographic patterning of color-conversion layers, 1 record). Both have clear technical relevance to Micro-LED color performance, but entry would require specialized materials or process expertise respectively.
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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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