Quantum Photonic Circuit Patent Landscape 2026
Quantum Photonic Circuit Patent Landscape in 2026
The quantum photonic circuit field is in a confirmed growth stage, with the recent three-year window running 48% above the prior period, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak. Academic institutions dominate the ranking, with Abu Dhabi University holding the top position, and optical control and modulation accounting for the largest share of technical coverage.
Academic institutions lead a moderately concentrated field
Abu Dhabi University heads. The top five filers together account for 25% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers, signaling moderate concentration rather than monopolistic control.
The tier gap between the leader and the second-ranked filer is meaningful — 19 versus 11 patent families — but the next several applicants are tightly clustered between 7 and 10, suggesting a competitive mid-tier where position can shift quickly. No single entity commands an overwhelming share, which leaves the competitive structure genuinely open.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abu Dhabi University | 19 | |
| 2 | PsiQuantum Corp | 11 | |
| 3 | The Boeing Company | 10 | |
| 4 | Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | 10 | |
| 5 | Nanyang Technological University | 7 | |
| 6 | Advanced Micro Foundry Pte Ltd | 7 | |
| 7 | THE HONG KONG UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 7 | |
| 8 | Quantum Tech UG GmbH | 7 | |
| 9 | National Research Council of Canada | 6 | |
| 10 | PRESIDENT & FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE | 5 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) | 5 | |
| 12 | Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique | 5 | |
| 13 | The Government of the United States of America | 4 | |
| 14 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 4 | |
| 15 | The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | 4 | |
| 16 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4 | |
| 17 | George Washington University | 4 | |
| 18 | Corning Incorporated | 4 | |
| 19 | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) | 3 | |
| 20 | University of Rochester | 3 |
The presence of a Gulf university at the top of the ranking, alongside U. S. defense contractors, Singaporean foundries, and multiple North American research universities, indicates that quantum photonic circuit IP development is globally distributed and driven at least as much by publicly funded research as by commercial engineering.
Filing data for 2024 and 2025 are subject to publication lag and will undercount actual activity; the apparent slowdown in those years should not be read as a real deceleration. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth intact despite an eased annual peak; optical control dominates the technology mix
Two lenses reveal the field’s trajectory: an annual filing trend that peaked in 2023 and a technology composition dominated by optical control, modulation, and optical elements. Together they show where momentum has been and which technical branches attract the densest IP attention.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed from 6 families in 2017 to a peak of 36 in 2023, then eased to 26 in 2024 and 20 in 2025. The apparent softening in 2024–2025 reflects publication lag rather than real deceleration; the recent three-year window remains 48% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. 2026 shows only 2 families, consistent with near-complete undercount at time of analysis.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G02F (optical control and modulation) and G02B (optical elements and systems) are the two dominant branches, reflecting the core photonic integration challenge. H01S (lasers and stimulated emission), H01L (semiconductor devices), and G06N (computing based on AI models) form a meaningful second tier, showing that quantum photonic circuit IP increasingly intersects with classical semiconductor process and AI-driven computation. Nanotechnology applications under B82Y and general transmission under H04B round out the active space.
↗ 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.
Optical waveguide structure with partially overlap…
An optical waveguide structure (100) comprises a first coupler and a second coupler that, in combination, direct a first-wavelength light (132, 512) to travel through a nonlinear-optical waveguide, the two couplers and an extension waveguide but not a secondary waveguide, a first resonator loop is defined for which the first-wavelength light (132, 512) is… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Optical measuring device | 73 |
| 2 | Training of photonic neural networks through in si… | 34 |
| 3 | Quantum Optical Neural Networks | 30 |
| 4 | Verbesserter Lichtwellenleiter mit einem selbstjus… | 22 |
| 5 | ODMR-Spektrumanalysator auf Basis von NV-reichem D… | 21 |
| 6 | Systems And Methods For Suspended Polymer Photonic… | 19 |
| 7 | Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) based integrate… | 18 |
| 8 | Systems and Methods for Activation Functions for P… | 17 |
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 competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of growth-stage momentum, moderate concentration, cross-sector collaboration, and U. S.-dominant jurisdiction coverage shapes where incremental investment is likely to yield differentiated positioning.
Growth stage with eased annual pace from the 2023 peak
The field carries a Growth lifecycle designation: the recent three-year filing window is 48% above the prior three-year window. Annual volume peaked in 2023 at 36 families and has eased since, partly due to publication lag in the most recent years. New entrants still appear in the momentum data across multiple applicants, confirming the field has not yet consolidated into a mature, slow-moving state.
Growth · 2023 peakModerate concentration with a competitive mid-tier
The top five filers account for 25% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers, indicating no single actor has locked in the field. Abu Dhabi University’s 19-family lead is notable but not insurmountable — a cluster of seven applicants sits between 7 and 10 families. An R&D team building a focused portfolio in a specific sub-branch could realistically enter the top tier within two to three years of sustained filing.
Top-5 share: 25%Early-stage cross-sector co-filing with limited volume
The most active co-filing pairs identified are Quantum Tech UG GmbH with Elmos Semiconductor AG, and the National Research Council of Canada with The Royal Institute for the Advancement of Learning (McGill University). Each pair has one recorded co-filing. The low collaboration count suggests that the ecosystem has not yet matured into deep multi-party consortia, which also means that forming strategic alliances now could establish durable positioning ahead of consolidation.
2 active co-filing pairsU.S. filing office dominant; PCT and EPO provide international coverage
The United States is the leading jurisdiction by a wide margin, followed by WIPO PCT and Europe via the EPO. Germany, India, and Canada each hold smaller but non-trivial shares. China shows limited filing activity relative to its scale in adjacent photonics fields, which may reflect a genuine gap or emerging domestic pathways not yet captured in this corpus. Singapore’s presence aligns with Advanced Micro Foundry’s manufacturing focus.
U.S. lead; 12 jurisdictionsGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Quantum Tech UG GmbH | Elmos Semiconductor AG | 1 |
| National Research Council of Canada | THE ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING MC… | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Abu Dhabi University leads on volume; PsiQuantum Corp anchors the commercial tier
The top of the ranking is split between publicly funded universities and a pure-play quantum startup, with a defense prime and foundry platform completing the top five. Technology emphasis diverges sharply across these players.
Abu Dhabi University
Abu Dhabi University holds 19 patent families, the largest position in the corpus. Its momentum classification is new entrant for this tracking window, with 12 families filed in the recent period. Technology focus is concentrated in optical control and modulation (G02F 1), with a secondary cluster in non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds (C01B 32) — suggesting graphene or carbon-based photonic material work — and nanotechnology applications (B82Y 20). This materials-oriented angle differentiates it from the device integration focus of commercial peers.
families: 19PsiQuantum Corp
PsiQuantum Corp holds 11 patent families and is the highest-ranked pure commercial quantum computing company in the corpus. Its momentum is classified as new entrant in the recent window, with 9 families filed recently — indicating rapid ramp-up from a small prior base. Technology emphasis spans optical control and modulation (G02F 1), general transmission (H04B 10), and quantum computing models (G06N 10), reflecting a systems-level integration strategy that ties photonic hardware to quantum algorithm execution.
families: 11| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi University | 12 | ▲ new entrant |
| PsiQuantum Corp | 9 | ▲ new entrant |
| The Boeing Company | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Quantum Tech UG GmbH | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
| Advanced Micro Foundry Pte Ltd | 7 | ▲ new entrant |
| National Research Council of Canada | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the photonic core
Several IPC branches appear at lower share levels relative to the dominant optical control and elements classes. These are observations of relative sparsity; technical plausibility and entry path are assessed individually below.
H01S · Lasers & stimulated emission
With 30 records, this branch sits well below the G02F and G02B dominance, despite lasers being a fundamental light source in any quantum photonic system. The sparse dedicated coverage may reflect that laser IP is often filed separately in device-level portfolios rather than integrated into photonic circuit families — creating a potential wedge for applicants who can claim tightly integrated on-chip laser sources. Entry path would leverage existing semiconductor laser process IP combined with photonic integration know-how.
Search this in Eureka →G06N · Computing based on AI models
Twenty-six records appear under computing and AI models, with Stanford’s portfolio notably combining G02F optical control with G06N neural network computation. The most-cited works include training of photonic neural networks and quantum optical neural network architectures, confirming technical overlap. However, the count remains low relative to the overall corpus, suggesting most applicants have not yet filed on the algorithmic and training-method layer of photonic quantum computing — an adjacent space with plausible near-term commercial value.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across optical and computing branches
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | G02F 1 · Optical control & modulation | G02B 6 · Optical elements & systems | H01S 5 · Lasers & stimulated emission | B82Y 20 · Nanotechnology applications | H04B 10 · Transmission (general) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi University | Strong · 19 | Absent | Absent | Emerging · 3 | Absent |
| PsiQuantum Corp | Strong · 9 | Moderate · 4 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 6 |
| Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Strong · 8 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 3 |
| The Boeing Company | Strong · 10 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique | Absent | Strong · 5 | Moderate · 2 | Absent | Emerging · 1 |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 3 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The analysis covers 200 patent families. This corpus spans filings from 2017 through 2026, with the most recent two years subject to publication lag and likely undercounting actual activity.
Abu Dhabi University leads with 19 patent families, followed by PsiQuantum Corp at 11 and The Boeing Company and the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, each at 10.
The field is classified as Growth. The recent three-year filing window is 48% above the prior three-year window. Annual filings peaked in 2023 at 36 families and have eased since, partly due to publication lag in 2024 and 2025.
G02F (optical control and modulation) and G02B (optical elements and systems) are the two largest branches. H01S (lasers and stimulated emission), H01L (semiconductor devices), and G06N (computing based on AI models) form a meaningful secondary tier.
The United States is the leading jurisdiction, followed by WIPO PCT and Europe via the EPO. Germany, India, and Canada each carry smaller shares, and China shows comparatively limited filing activity in this corpus.
Two co-filing pairs are identified in the evidence: Quantum Tech UG GmbH with Elmos Semiconductor AG, and the National Research Council of Canada with The Royal Institute for the Advancement of Learning (McGill University), each with one recorded co-filing. The low overall collaboration volume suggests the ecosystem has not yet matured into deep multi-party consortia.
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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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