PIC Optical Modulator Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filings have flattened, not grown. the 2022 peak of 17 families has not been exceeded, and 2026 filings sit at 1 — a plateau rather than a rush, even accounting for publication lag.
- Ownership is unusually fragmented for a photonics niche. no single assignee shows sustained late-year momentum; several previously active filers (Nokia, TSMC among them) show 0 filings and -100% YoY in the latest tracked year.
- Claim activity is concentrated in one IPC lane. 114 of 116 records sit in G02F (optical control & modulation), with only a thin secondary presence in H01L, H01S and AI-adjacent G06N — a narrow technical corridor to search and to file into.
Filing growth compares 2021 (8 records) with 2024 (13) — 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 116 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this patent set actually covers
This landscape draws on 116 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026, filtered to records that combine photonic integrated circuit (PIC) or silicon photonics terminology with explicit claims on Mach-Zehnder, ring, thin-film lithium niobate or general electro-optic modulator structures, classified under G02F1/225, G02F1/21 or G02F1/035. It is a claims-first cut of the field: the search string requires the modulator terms to appear in title, claims or description, not just in passing description text, so the result set skews toward records where a modulator architecture is the actual invention rather than an incidental component.
Reading the set this way surfaces a field that is technically narrow — almost all of it sits inside one IPC subclass — but organisationally scattered, with no assignee showing durable filing momentum through the most recent tracked years.
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 116-family set: filings by year, and how those filings distribute across IPC subclasses. Both point to a field that has occupied its core claim space early and is now filling in adjacent, thinner lanes.
Filings plateaued after 2022
Filings rose to a peak of 17 families in 2022 from 13 in 2017, then did not break higher; 2026 shows just 1 filing, though that year is still partial and will understate true filing volume once publication catches up over the next 18 months.
G02F dominates; everything else is a footnote
114 of 116 records carry a G02F classification (optical control and modulation) — essentially the whole set. G02B (optical elements, 48 records) and H04B (transmission, 23) appear as secondary classifications on many of the same families, while H01L, H01S and G06N each register only single digits, marking those as adjacent rather than core to this claim space.
Shares are the percentage of the 116 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Photonic Integrated Circuit Optical Modulator with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about photonic integrated circuit optical modulator and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this set
Silicon photonics transmitter and method therefor
A silicon photonics transmitter and a method therefor are disclosed. The silicon photonics optical transmitter includes a Mach-Zehnder modulator, a plurality of optical couplers, a plurality of photodetectors, a monitor configured to measure an input optical power based on a sum of photocurrents or photovoltages corresponding to the plurality of photodetectors, and a modulator controller configured to control a voltage supplied to the Mach-Zehnder modulator based on a difference between the photocurrents or the photovoltages corresponding to the plurality of photodetectors.Filed by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, published 2024-11-14.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20170194309A1 | Photonic integrated circuit package | 111 |
| 2 | US20170194310A1 | Photonic integrated circuit package | 82 |
| 3 | US20170194308A1 | Photonic integrated circuit package | 68 |
| 4 | WO2020191217A1 | Optoelectronic computing systems | 60 |
| 5 | US20170163000A1 | Photonic Integrated Circuit Including Compact Lasers With Extended Tunability | 57 |
| 6 | US20160103382A1 | Methods and devices for photonic m-ary pulse amplitude modulation | 52 |
| 7 | US20160363835A1 | MZM linear driver for silicon photonics device characterized as two-channel wavelength combiner and locker | 42 |
| 8 | US10026723B2 | Photonic integrated circuit package | 34 |
| 9 | US20170163001A1 | Photonic Integrated Circuit Including Compact Lasers With Extended Tunability | 29 |
| 10 | US20120045163A1 | Optical circuit apparatus, method, and application | 24 |
Citation counts are drawn from a searched corpus and favour older filings; treat them as a signal of influence on later filers, not as a ranking of current commercial relevance.
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 mean for a filing decision
Three patterns stand out once families, IPC codes and receiving offices are lined up against each other.
Growth has stalled, not accelerated
The count climbed from 13 families in 2017 to a high of 17 in 2022 and has not exceeded that since. Combined with a near-empty 2026, this reads as a field that reached its filing ceiling rather than one still building momentum.
Filing is US-centred with a thin PCT/EPO tail
United States receives the large majority of filings (69), with Europe (19) and WIPO/PCT (16) a distant second and third. China, the UK and South Korea each register only 2 — a filer betting on Asia-Pacific enforcement would be entering with little prior art to route around, or very little cover to rely on.
Collaboration is narrow and academic-industry paired
Co-filing is rare in this set — only 5 pairs — and the strongest links sit between a research organisation, a university and a spin-out (NWO, Eindhoven University of Technology and a photonics holding entity), each pairing appearing 6 times. Most filers here are working alone.
No assignee shows sustained late-stage momentum
Every tracked leading assignee — including firms with -100% YoY changes — shows zero filings in the latest year. That is consistent with the overall plateau, but it also means the current leaderboard reflects historical filing, not active claim-building.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to photonic integrated circuit optical modulator, with the prior art for and against each one.
Assignees, momentum and where claim space is thin
The ranking beneath this section orders assignees by family count; read it alongside the momentum figures, which tell a different story than raw counts alone.
Historical leaders, not active ones
Assignees at the top of the family count — including large telecom and foundry names — show zero filings in the most recent tracked year. Their position reflects filings made earlier in the window, not current activity.
A small academic-industry cluster
The densest collaboration links a Dutch research organisation, a technical university and a photonics holding company, each pairing appearing in 6 shared families. Outside that cluster, co-filing is essentially absent.
Fragmented ownership, no consolidator
With 116 families spread across a wide assignee list and only thin co-filing, no single entity has built a defensible thicket the way concentrated fields often show. That leaves room for a well-drafted new entrant, provided it clears the dense G02F core.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Nokia Solutions and Networks | 0 | -100% |
| Infinera Corporation | 0 | — |
| Advanced Micro Foundry Pte Ltd | 0 | — |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) | 0 | -100% |
| Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) | 0 | — |
| Smart Photonics Holding B.V. | 0 | — |
| Orion Corporation | 0 | — |
| Eindhoven University of Technology | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a narrow technical corridor with fragmented ownership. Two follow-up angles are worth pursuing before committing a filing budget.
Check the thin-film lithium niobate lane specifically
Thin-film lithium niobate modulator claims sit inside the same G02F subclass as silicon Mach-Zehnder designs but represent a materials shift that older filings did not anticipate. A targeted search against this dataset's most-cited families would show how much of that lane is actually spoken for.
Explore this sub-area in EurekaModel the co-filing cluster's next move
The NWO–Eindhoven–photonics holding company cluster is the only dense collaboration network in the set. Tracking whether that cluster extends into thin-film or AI-calibrated modulator claims would signal where the next concentration of filings is likely to land.
Track this cluster in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
This dataset identifies 116 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine PIC or silicon photonics terminology with explicit Mach-Zehnder, ring, thin-film lithium niobate or electro-optic modulator claims under IPC classes G02F1/225, G02F1/21 and G02F1/035. That figure reflects a claims-first search, so it excludes patents where a modulator is mentioned only in passing description text. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the true 2025-2026 count will be higher than currently shown once later publications catch up.
The assignee ranking includes telecom equipment makers, foundries and research-linked entities, but no single filer holds a dominant share of the 116 families. More tellingly, the assignees with the highest historical family counts show zero filings in the most recent tracked year, meaning today's leaderboard reflects past filing activity rather than current momentum. A buyer or licensor should check recency alongside volume before assuming a leader is still active.
Filing activity peaked at 17 families in 2022, up from 13 in 2017, and has not exceeded that peak since; the 2026 count of 1 filing reflects a partial year but the multi-year trend was already flattening before that. This pattern — a rise followed by a plateau rather than continued acceleration — suggests the core claim space (Mach-Zehnder and ring modulator architectures) is largely staked out, with growth more likely in adjacent sub-areas than in the core going forward.
The dataset's IPC composition shows 114 of 116 records concentrated in G02F, with only single-digit representation in H01L (semiconductor integration), H01S (laser integration) and G06N (AI-driven control). Sub-areas that combine modulator claims with monolithic laser integration, AI-based calibration loops, or thermal compensation at the package level show thin coverage relative to the core, making them more promising for a differentiated first claim than another Mach-Zehnder variant.
US20240380492A1, filed by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and published November 2024, claims a Mach-Zehnder modulator paired with photodetector-based power monitoring and closed-loop bias voltage control. Any transmitter design that measures a sum of photocurrents or photovoltages across multiple photodetectors to adjust modulator bias voltage sits close to this claim language. Teams working on similar monitor-and-control architectures should map their control loop design against this filing specifically, since it represents current-generation claim drafting rather than an older, more easily distinguished patent.
Research Photonic Integrated Circuit Optical Modulator in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole photonic integrated circuit optical modulator 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.