PERC Light Management / Rear Reflector Patent Landscape
The PERC light management and rear reflector space is highly concentrated, with Aiko Solar entities collectively commanding the top positions and China accounting for the large majority of filings. Activity peaked around 2020 and annual volume has since eased substantially, signalling that the core technology is maturing and incremental differentiation is narrowing.
Aiko Solar leads a tightly concentrated field dominated by Chinese manufacturers
Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology holds the top rank in this space, followed closely by Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology at second. Together, the top five filers account for forty-four percent of the combined total of the hundred largest filers, confirming a markedly concentrated competitive structure.
The gap between the Aiko Solar cluster and the rest of the field is pronounced. Tongwei Solar entities collectively form the second tier, while Hanwha Q Cells GmbH represents the only significant non-Chinese presence in the top ten.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 26 | |
| 2 | Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 23 | |
| 3 | Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. | 9 | |
| 4 | Tianjin Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 6 | |
| 5 | Shanxi Luan Photovoltaics Technology Co., Ltd. | 6 | |
| 6 | Jiangsu Jingwang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 5 | |
| 7 | Tongwei Solar (Hefei) Co., Ltd. | 4 | |
| 8 | Tongwei Solar Energy (Meishan) Co., Ltd. | 4 | |
| 9 | Zhuhai Fushan Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 4 | |
| 10 | Hanwha Q Cells GmbH | 4 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Tongwei Solar (Anhui) Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 12 | NINGBO ULICA SOLAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO LTD | 3 | |
| 13 | Hanwha Corporation | 3 | |
| 14 | Tongwei Solar (Jintang) Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 15 | CSI Cells Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 16 | Dongfang Huansheng Photovoltaic (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 17 | Changzhou Shichuang Energy Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 18 | Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 19 | Zhejiang Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 20 | Chint New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 |
The dominant positions of Aiko Solar’s multiple regional entities suggest a deliberate, multi-site IP strategy that creates broad coverage across rear-passivation and reflector process claims, raising the bar for new entrants seeking freedom to operate.
Filings from approximately 2023 onward are subject to normal publication lag and will under-represent actual activity; the apparent drop to zero in 2024–2025 should be read accordingly. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Annual volume peaked in 2020 and has eased; semiconductor device claims dominate the technology mix
The filing trend reveals a field that built up through the late 2010s, reached its peak in 2020, and has declined since. The technology composition shows an overwhelming concentration in semiconductor device claims, with coating and surface deposition forming the only material secondary branch.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed from 2017 through a 2020 peak, then fell sharply in 2021–2022 and further in 2023. Years from 2023 onward should be treated as incomplete due to publication lag; the apparent zeroes in 2024–2025 do not represent confirmed absence of activity. The overall recent-window growth is negative, consistent with a maturing, post-peak field.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
The H01L semiconductor devices class accounts for by far the largest share of IPC-coded records, reflecting the core PERC cell structure work. C23C coating and surface deposition is the next largest branch, consistent with dielectric passivation film deposition claims. H10P, C30B crystal growth, and several process-adjacent classes each represent small but technically distinct secondary areas.
↗ 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.
A process for preparing passivated emitter rear co…
A process for preparing a passivated emitter rear contact solar cell, which includes the steps as follows: removing the damaged layer on the surface of the silicon wafer and at the same time polishing both surfaces, texturing, forming PN junction, etching, removing the glass impurity, depositing a passivation film on the back surface, depositing a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种三层介电钝化膜PERC太阳电池及制作工艺 | 56 |
| 2 | 一种碱抛光高效PERC电池及其制备工艺 | 40 |
| 3 | Methods of manufacturing a low cost solar cell dev… | 40 |
| 4 | 一种PERC电池背面钝化工艺 | 33 |
| 5 | 一种P型背接触式晶硅太阳能电池的制备方法 | 25 |
| 6 | 一种高效率SE-PERC太阳能电池的制备方法 | 24 |
| 7 | 一种高效晶硅PERC电池的制备方法 | 24 |
| 8 | 一种修复PERC电池激光开膜损伤的方法 | 23 |
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
The combination of post-peak filing volume, high concentration, and a narrow technology composition provides clear signals about where the field is defensible, where gaps exist, and how collaboration networks are structured.
Decline phase: core PERC rear-reflector IP is past its peak
The lifecycle stage is Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2020 peak and the recent-window growth deeply negative. This suggests the foundational passivation and rear-reflector architectures are well-claimed, and incremental process patents are offering diminishing returns. R&D investment is better directed toward adjacent or next-generation cell architectures than toward core PERC rear-reflector claims.
Post-peak · 2020 apexTop five filers hold forty-four percent share among the leading hundred
The top five filers’ share of the hundred largest filers stands at forty-four percent, with Aiko Solar entities occupying three of those five slots. This level of concentration means the IP landscape around standard rear-reflector configurations is effectively controlled by a small cluster of Chinese manufacturers. New entrants face a dense claim landscape in the H01L31 subclass and should prioritise freedom-to-operate analysis before committing to process development in this area.
High concentrationCo-filing is intra-group, not cross-industry
The most active co-filing pairs are Zhejiang Aiko Solar with Guangdong Aiko Solar (22 joint records), followed by multiple Aiko-Tianjin and Aiko-Zhuhai Fushan pairings. Tongwei Solar’s Hefei and Anhui entities co-file regularly, and Hanwha Corp co-files with Hanwha Q Cells GmbH. All prominent collaboration is within corporate families, with no evidence of cross-industry or university-industry partnerships at material scale in this corpus.
Intra-group onlyChina is the dominant filing jurisdiction; international coverage is thin
China accounts for the largest share of patent records by a wide margin. The United States, India, and Europe (EPO) each have modest representation, while WIPO (PCT), Malaysia, Australia, and Taiwan each contribute only a handful of records. This thin international filing footprint by most players outside Hanwha means enforcement outside China is limited, and the technology may be accessible for non-Chinese manufacturers operating under their own designs in Western markets.
China-centricGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 22 |
| Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Tianjin Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 5 |
| Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Tianjin Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 5 |
| Tongwei Solar (Hefei) Co., Ltd. | Tongwei Solar (Anhui) Co., Ltd. | 4 |
| Hanwha Corporation | Hanwha Q Cells GmbH | 4 |
| Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Zhuhai Fushan Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 3 |
| Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Zhuhai Fushan Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 3 |
| Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. | Tongwei Solar (Jintang) Co., Ltd. | 3 |
| Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. | Tongwei Solar Energy (Meishan) Co., Ltd. | 3 |
| Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. | Tongwei Solar (Anhui) Co., Ltd. | 3 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Aiko Solar and Tongwei Solar lead; Hanwha is the only significant non-Chinese player
The top of the ranking is dominated by Aiko Solar’s multi-entity structure, with Tongwei Solar forming a second tier. Hanwha’s presence via both Q Cells GmbH and Hanwha Corp marks the only non-Chinese cluster in the top ten.
Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology
Zhejiang Aiko Solar holds the top position with 26 patent records, focused overwhelmingly on H01L 31 semiconductor device claims, with a secondary emphasis on C23C 16 coating and surface deposition — consistent with dielectric rear-passivation stack innovation. Its recent filing momentum has declined sharply (down 94% versus the prior period), indicating its core PERC rear-reflector position is established rather than actively expanding.
patent records: 26Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology
Guangdong Aiko Solar sits at second with 23 patent records, mirroring the Zhejiang entity’s technology focus across H01L 31 and C23C 16 subclasses — the two entities co-file extensively and function as complementary nodes in the same IP network. Recent momentum has also declined sharply (down 92%), reinforcing the view that the Aiko group’s rear-reflector IP position is consolidating rather than growing.
patent records: 23| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▼ -94% |
| Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▼ -92% |
| Jiangsu Jingwang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Tianjin Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served technical branches adjacent to the dominant PERC rear-reflector core
While H01L semiconductor device claims dominate this corpus, several adjacent IPC branches show relatively low filing counts. These are observations of relative sparsity; technical and commercial value would need independent validation before treating any as an investment target.
C23C · Coating and surface deposition
With only 11 patent records against 104 in the dominant H01L class, coating and surface deposition methods represent a proportionally sparse branch. Rear-reflector performance depends directly on dielectric stack quality and deposition uniformity (e.g. PECVD aluminium oxide and silicon nitride processes), and process-level claims here could differentiate on yield and cost rather than device architecture. Entry is plausible for equipment makers or process-chemistry specialists not currently active in the device-level landscape.
Search this in Eureka →C30B · Crystal growth
Only 3 patent records appear under C30B crystal growth in this corpus, suggesting that upstream wafer quality and defect engineering as they relate to rear-reflector performance are largely unclaimed here. Improved bulk minority-carrier lifetime directly amplifies the optical benefit of a rear reflector, making crystal growth optimisation a technically complementary but sparsely filed angle. This is an observation of sparsity; whether a viable entry path exists depends on the broader monocrystalline silicon IP landscape outside this corpus.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ by IPC technology route
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H01L 31 · Semiconductor devices | C23C 16 · Coating & surface deposition | H01L 21 · Semiconductor devices | H10P 72 | H10P 95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Strong · 26 | Moderate · 8 | Emerging · 1 | Emerging · 3 | Emerging · 3 |
| Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Strong · 22 | Moderate · 8 | Emerging · 1 | Emerging · 3 | Emerging · 3 |
| Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. | Strong · 8 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Shanxi Luan Photovoltaics Technology Co., Ltd. | Strong · 6 | Moderate · 2 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Jiangsu Jingwang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Strong · 5 | Absent | Moderate · 2 | Emerging · 1 | Absent |
| Tianjin Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Tongwei Solar (Hefei) Co., Ltd. | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 98 patent families in scope globally.
Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology holds the top position with 26 patent records, followed by Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology with 23 patent records.
No. The lifecycle stage is Decline: annual filings peaked in 2020 and have eased substantially since. The recent-window growth figure is deeply negative. Note that filings from 2023 onward are subject to publication lag, so the apparent absence of records in 2024–2025 does not confirm zero activity.
China is by far the dominant jurisdiction, accounting for 76 patent records. The United States follows with 9, India with 7, and Europe (EPO) with 6. Other jurisdictions — Malaysia, WIPO PCT, Australia, and Taiwan — each have only a handful of records.
Hanwha Q Cells GmbH and Hanwha Corp are the only non-Chinese entities in the top twenty, holding 4 and 3 patent records respectively. All other top filers are Chinese manufacturers.
The most-cited document in this corpus, with 56 citations, covers a three-layer dielectric passivation film PERC solar cell and its manufacturing process. The second and third most-cited (40 citations each) cover an alkali-polishing high-efficiency PERC cell preparation process and methods for manufacturing a low-cost solar cell device. These heavily cited references define the foundational passivation and process architecture claims in this area.
This report’s underlying patent dataset — filings, assignees, technology clusters — is open for developers via MCP and REST API. Free to start, 10,000 credits, no credit card required.
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.
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