Nanosheet FET Reliability (GAA) Patent Snapshot
TSMC holds a commanding position in the 29-patent-family nanosheet FET reliability corpus, with IBM and Qualcomm as the only meaningful challengers. The field is in a growth phase on a multi-year basis — annual volume surged to a peak in 2023 — and filing activity remains heavily concentrated in the United States.
TSMC leads a tightly held, US-centric corpus
TSMC ranks first with 15 patent families, more than double the 7 held by second-ranked IBM. Qualcomm follows at 4, with Intel, IBM Deutschland, and GlobalFoundries each holding 1–2 families — a steep drop-off that underscores how concentrated this niche is.
The top five filers account for 97% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, placing this topic firmly in the extreme-concentration tier. The gap between TSMC and the rest of the field is particularly wide, creating a visible-follower dynamic rather than a balanced rivalry.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) | 15 | |
| 2 | IBM Corporation | 7 | |
| 3 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 4 | |
| 4 | Intel Corporation | 2 | |
| 5 | IBM Deutschland GmbH | 1 | |
| 6 | GlobalFoundries US Inc | 1 |
TSMC’s leadership reflects its role as the leading high-volume foundry pushing nanosheet (GAA) process nodes into volume production; IBM’s position is consistent with its long-standing GAA device research heritage, while Qualcomm and Intel represent fabless and IDM perspectives on reliability integration.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are under-counted due to standard patent publication lag; the apparent quieting in 2024–2025 should not be read as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2023 filing surge atop a broadening semiconductor-device base
Two charts together reveal both the pace and the technical character of activity in nanosheet FET reliability: an irregular but upward multi-year trend and an IPC mix anchored almost entirely in semiconductor-device classes.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2019, then held at low single-digit levels through 2022 before spiking sharply in 2023. The recent-window growth rate is 122% versus the prior three-year window, confirming a genuine acceleration even after accounting for the 2023 peak. Data for 2024–2026 remain materially under-counted due to publication lag and should not be interpreted as a plateau.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L Semiconductor devices is visible in completely, covering all 29 patent families in scope, with H10D (general semiconductor devices) appearing as a secondary classification on 13. Adjacent branches — H10P, B82Y (nanotechnology applications), and H10B (memory device manufacture) — each carry only 1–3 records, indicating that reliability work has not yet substantially migrated into memory-specific or explicit nanotechnology classification frameworks.
↗ 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.
Vertical gate-all-around (GAA) memory cell and met…
Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a vertical gate-all-around (GAA) memory cell. A middle conductor overlies a lower conductor and decreases in width towards the lower conductor to culminate in a point spaced from the lower conductor. An insulator structure is between the lower conductor and the middle conductor. A semiconductor… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nanosheet transistor having abrupt junctions betwe… | 35 |
| 2 | Semiconductor Structure Having Both Gate-All-Aroun… | 35 |
| 3 | Semiconductor Structure Having Both Gate-All-Aroun… | 5 |
| 4 | Semiconductor structure having both gate-all-aroun… | 5 |
| 5 | Complementary field effect transistor (CFET) with … | 4 |
| 6 | Complementary field effect transistor (CFET) with … | 3 |
| 7 | Gate-all-around field-effect transistor device | 3 |
| 8 | Nanosheet transistor having abrupt junctions betwe… | 3 |
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.
TSMC
TSMC holds 15 patent families, the single largest position in the corpus, spread across H01L 29 (semiconductor devices — transistors), H01L 21 (fabrication processes), and H01L 27 (integrated circuits). Its momentum is classified as a new entrant, reflecting that the bulk of its filings are concentrated in the recent window with 11 families active there. This is consistent with TSMC ramping reliability IP alongside its N2/GAA production ramp.
families: 15IBM
IBM holds 7 patent families, ranking second, with emphasis on H01L 29 (device structures) and a notable presence in B82Y 10 (nanotechnology applications) — the only top filer to claim coverage in that branch. IBM Deutschland GmbH contributes 1 additional family under a co-filing with IBM Corporation. Like TSMC, IBM’s momentum is classified as a new entrant, with 2 families in the recent window, indicating that its foundational GAA reliability research is translating into a growing formal patent position.
families: 7Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 29 patent families in scope. This is a relatively small and specialized niche, reflecting the recency of volume-production GAA nanosheet nodes.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) leads with 15 patent families, more than double the 7 held by second-ranked IBM Corporation.
Yes, the field is in a Growth lifecycle stage. The recent three-year filing window is 122% above the prior three-year window. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since, but the most recent years are under-counted due to publication lag, so the current pace cannot yet be assessed accurately.
The United States is the visible jurisdiction, holding 24 of the patent records in the corpus. Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT) each hold 2, and the Philippines holds 1. Coverage outside the US is currently thin.
Only one co-filing is documented: IBM Corporation and IBM Deutschland GmbH share one jointly filed patent family. No cross-company collaborations are present in this corpus.
H10B (memory device manufacture) and B82Y (nanotechnology applications) each hold only 1 patent record, representing approximately 2% of records among top filers. H10P holds 3 records. These branches are the most sparsely covered relative to the visible H01L semiconductor-device classification.
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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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