PERC Solar Cell Passivation Patents: Leaders & Filing Trends 2026
A data-backed look at PERC solar cell surface passivation patents: who holds the most families, how filings trended from 2017 to 2024, which IPC branches carry the claim density, and where white space remains for new ent
Filing growth = 2021 (11 records) → 2024 (0); 2024 is the last year we treat as complete.
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks patent activity specific to surface passivation techniques on PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell) solar cells — the dielectric layer, rear-contact and interface engineering work that determines recombination losses and cell efficiency. The scope spans 54 published records filed between 2015 and the 2026 data cut-off, classified across semiconductor device, coating-deposition, conductor and welding IPC subclasses.
Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any chart here are undercounts by construction, not evidence of a genuine slowdown. The dataset is small and concentrated enough that a handful of assignees and a small number of highly cited foundational documents shape most of the picture.
Let an AI agent run this analysis on your own technology
Pick a task. Every answer cites the patents behind it.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 54-record dataset: how filing activity moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density behind PERC passivation work.
Filing trend: a sharp 2017 peak, then a documented decline
Annual filings rose to a peak of 18 in 2017. The evidence-backed span from 2021 (11 filings) to 2024 (0 filings) shows a -100% change — a genuine drop, not an artefact, since 2024 is the most recent year treatable as complete. Years after 2024 are still filling in under normal publication lag and should not be read as continuing the fall.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in. Growth rates on this page therefore end at 2024; running them to the last bar would understate the field.
Technology composition: near-universal core, thin adjacent branches
Every record in scope carries H01L (semiconductor devices), confirming this as the anchor classification for the field. Coating and deposition work (C23C) appears in 14.8% of the 54 records, while conductor/insulator (H01B) and H10P classes each appear in 7.4%, and welding/soldering (B23K) in a single record — a thin tail rather than a second core.
Shares are the percentage of the 54 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on PERC Solar Cell Surface Passivation Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about perc solar cell surface passivation patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited prior art
WO2019045153A1 — PERC solar cell with enhanced interface properties, and its manufacturing method and device
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for manufacturing a PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) solar cell, the method including a passivation layer formation step of placing a substrate for a PERC solar cell in a chamber and forming a passivation layer on the rear surface of the substrate in the chamber and a capping layer formation step of forming a capping layer for covering the passivation layer, wherein an in-situ PDA (Post-Deposition Activating) step for activating the passivation layer which is formed through deposition is performed in the chamber before the capping layer formation step.Filed by Hanwha Corporation, 2019-03-07. Notable for combining passivation deposition and post-deposition activation inside a single chamber sequence.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JP2005150609A | Method of manufacturing solar cell | 33 |
| 2 | JP2015073065A | Method for manufacturing solar cell | 14 |
| 3 | CN105047765A | 用于钝化发射极背面接触晶硅太阳电池的返工工艺 | 13 |
| 4 | CN108231917A | 一种PERC太阳能电池及其制备方法 | 12 |
| 5 | CN105470349A | PERC太阳能电池及其制备方法 | 12 |
| 6 | CN107564601A | 一种用于双面PERC太阳电池的背面电极浆料及其制备方法 | 10 |
| 7 | CN105470337A | 一种PERC太阳能电池及其制备方法 | 9 |
| 8 | CN109215835A | PERC电池用低电阻率高附着力背银浆料及其制备方法 | 8 |
| 9 | CN106876497A | P型PERC双面太阳能电池及其组件、系统 | 8 |
| 10 | CN112563347A | PERC太阳能电池选择性发射极、PERC太阳能电池及其制作方法 | 7 |
Citation counts reward older documents simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations inside this corpus — read them as a signal of influence on later filings, not as a ranking of current commercial relevance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
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 →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 →What the numbers say about the field
Three read-outs from the ranking, the trend and the classification data that matter for deciding where to file and who to watch.
One assignee well ahead of a long tail
The leading assignee holds 18 records, compared with 4 at fifth place and 2 at tenth, across 29 ranked assignees. That gap suggests one filer built an early, durable claim position while most others hold only a handful of families each.
A documented drop, not a slowdown guess
Filings fell from 11 in 2021 to 0 in 2024 — a complete, evidence-backed decline over that span. Because 2025 and 2026 are still filling in under normal publication lag, this should be read as a real contraction through 2024 rather than proof the field has stopped.
One anchor class, thin adjacent branches
Every record in scope classifies under H01L (semiconductor devices). Coating and deposition (C23C) reaches 14.8% of records, conductor/insulator and H10P each sit at 7.4%, and welding/soldering (B23K) appears once — signalling that most claim activity concentrates on the device layer itself rather than adjacent process equipment.
China is the primary filing venue
China accounts for 26 filings, ahead of Europe (9), India (5), WIPO/PCT (4), Japan (3) and Australia (2). Anyone assessing freedom-to-operate in this space should treat Chinese-language prior art as the first place to search, not an afterthought.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to perc solar cell surface passivation patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Where to take this analysis
The trend and ranking here describe where PERC passivation patenting has been. Turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means going deeper on specific claims and specific assignees.
Map claim scope against your own process
Run your specific passivation chemistry or deposition sequence against the most-cited records here to see whether it falls inside or outside the claimed steps.
Explore claim charts in EurekaTrack the leading assignee's filing pattern
The leader's 18-record position and its co-assignee pairing pattern suggest a deliberate portfolio strategy worth watching for continuations.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaCheck white space before drafting new claims
The thin coverage in adjacent IPC branches such as B23K and H01B points to under-claimed process-equipment angles worth checking before you draft.
Run a white space search in EurekaCommon questions about PERC passivation patents
One assignee leads the ranked field with 18 records, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 4 and the tenth-place holder at 2, across 29 ranked assignees in this dataset. That gap indicates a concentrated early filing position rather than a broadly distributed field. It does not mean that assignee controls every viable passivation route, since the ranking only reflects families in this specific scope, not the wider PERC cell literature.
No — the documented trend shows filings falling from 11 in 2021 to 0 in 2024, a complete -100% change over that span, after an earlier peak of 18 filings in 2017. Years after 2024 are not yet reliable because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so recent-year counts will keep filling in. Treat 2024 as the last year you can read with confidence, and expect the true 2025-2026 picture to look higher than currently shown once more records publish.
Every one of the 54 records in scope classifies under H01L, the semiconductor devices subclass, making it the anchor classification for this field. Coating and surface deposition (C23C) appears in 14.8% of records, conductor/insulator work (H01B) and H10P each appear in 7.4%, and welding/soldering (B23K) appears in a single record. Because a record can carry more than one IPC class, these shares add up to more than 100%, and they should be read against the 54-record total, not against each other.
China is by far the most active receiving office in this dataset with 26 filings, ahead of Europe at 9, India at 5, WIPO/PCT at 4, Japan at 3 and Australia at 2. A freedom-to-operate search that skips Chinese-language filings will miss the majority of the documented activity in this specific scope. Europe and India are the next most relevant venues, so a search strategy that covers CN, EP and IN offices captures the bulk of what is currently published.
WO2019045153A1, filed by Hanwha Corporation in March 2019, covers a method and apparatus that forms a rear-surface passivation layer and then performs an in-situ post-deposition activation step inside the same chamber before adding a capping layer. It is representative rather than uniquely dominant — its value lies in showing how in-chamber sequencing of deposition and activation was claimed. Anyone designing a passivation process should check whether their sequence performs activation in a separate chamber or at a different process stage, since that is the kind of detail that determines whether a claim like this reads on new work.
Research PERC Solar Cell Surface Passivation Patent Landscape in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole perc solar cell surface passivation patent landscape 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.