RF Front-End Module Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
- Filing activity has cooled since its 2021 peak. Six families filed that year is the high point in the dataset, with the most recent full year showing no growth beyond it — a market where claim space was staked out early rather than one still opening up.
- Filings concentrate in the United States. 34 of the tracked records entered through the US receiving office, more than four times the next-largest route (EPO), which tells you where enforcement risk is most concrete.
- The most-cited record predates the current filing wave by a decade. US20140087673A1's CMOS TX/RX switch carries 80 citations, meaning the architecture most other filings build on or design around was established well before recent activity.
What this landscape covers
RF front-end modules sit between the antenna and the transceiver, handling switching, filtering, amplification and impedance matching in a single package. This landscape tracks patent families addressing insertion loss, isolation, carrier aggregation, packaging and harmonic suppression claims within RF front-end and switch-module architectures, filtered against IPC classes covering baseband transmission, piezoelectric/acoustic devices and semiconductor assembly. The scope spans single-chip integration approaches through to multi-die module packaging.
Fifty-four families were published across the window studied, filed predominantly through the US patent office with a smaller but meaningful share routed through Europe, WIPO, South Korea and Taiwan. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the apparent decline in the most recent year understates real filing activity that has not yet published.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 54-family dataset: how filing activity moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
A peak, then a plateau
Filings rose from 5 in 2017 to a peak of 6 in 2021, then dropped to 0 at the 2022 midpoint before the most recent (partial) year shows no filings — consistent with a technology where core architectures were claimed early and later activity is either quieter or simply not yet published.
Concentrated in transmission, spread across supporting hardware
H04B (general transmission) dominates with 49 of the classified records, but meaningful secondary density sits in H02M (power conversion, 13), H03F (amplifiers, 12), H01L (semiconductor devices, 11) and H01F (inductors and transformers, 10) — a reminder that front-end claims routinely reach into power management and packaging hardware, not just RF switching itself.
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 RF Front-End Modules and Integration with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about rf front-end modules and integration and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this space
Reducing insertion loss in LNA bypass mode using a single-pole-triple-throw switch
US9037096B2, assigned to Microchip Technology, describes a front-end module in which a low-noise amplifier's bypass mode uses a single-pole-triple-throw RF switch — built from MOSFET switches sharing a common source with isolated drain outputs — to cut insertion loss to about 1 dB, improving receiver sensitivity over designs using two series-connected single-pole-double-throw switches.Filed by Microchip Technology, published 2015-05-19.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20140087673A1 | CMOS Based TX/RX Switch | 80 |
| 2 | US20090028225A1 | Modular Satellite Transceiver | 63 |
| 3 | US20200235716A1 | RF front end module including hybrid filter and active circuits in a single package | 47 |
| 4 | US20040185795A1 | Electronically tunable RF Front End Module | 45 |
| 5 | US20140087671A1 | Radio Frequency Front End Module Circuit Incorporating An Efficient High Linearity Power Amplifier | 42 |
| 6 | US20140256271A1 | Reducing Insertion Loss in LNA Bypass Mode by Using a Single-Pole-Triple-Throw Switch in a RF Front End Module | 42 |
| 7 | US20110065400A1 | Integrated antenna array and RF front end module | 30 |
| 8 | CN104969479A | 通过在RF前端模块中使用单刀三掷开关来减少LNA旁路模式中的插入损耗 | 16 |
| 9 | US20140087672A1 | CMOS Based RF Antenna Switch | 15 |
| 10 | US9070506B2 | Two dimensional quad integrated power combiner for RF power amplifiers | 12 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings — treat this as a map of foundational influence, not of current competitive activity.
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.
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Three read-throughs from the filing trend, citation pattern and jurisdictional spread that matter for anyone deciding whether and where to file.
Activity has not grown past its 2021 high
The dataset's peak year, 2021, produced 6 families — modest in absolute terms, and the tracked trend does not show sustained growth beyond it. Combined with the publication lag, this suggests a technology area where the core claim space was established rather than one in an active land-grab phase.
Foundational architecture predates the recent filing wave
US20140087673A1's CMOS-based TX/RX switch is the most-cited record in the set by a wide margin. Its priority date sits years ahead of the 2021 peak, meaning newer filings are more likely building refinements on an established switching architecture than proposing new ones.
Enforcement exposure is heavily US-weighted
Nearly two-thirds of tracked records entered through the US receiving office, with Europe, WIPO, South Korea and Taiwan each carrying single-digit shares. Freedom-to-operate work outside the US in this space currently has a thinner prior-art base to search against.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to rf front-end modules and integration, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gate sits
Assignee activity in this dataset is quiet in the most recent tracked year across the board, including the strongest co-filing pair — a sign that current competitive positioning has to be read from history rather than fresh momentum.
The strongest inventor pairing in the set
Om Gupta and Khosro Shamsaifar co-appear on 4 families, the densest collaboration signal among the 8 co-assignee pairs identified — a tighter cluster than any other pairing in the dataset, including those involving larger corporate assignees.
No assignee shows fresh filing activity
Every named assignee tracked for recent-year momentum — including Microchip Technology, Intel, TSMC and D.S.P. Group — shows zero filings in the latest tracked year. Given the 18-month publication lag, this is as likely to reflect pending applications not yet public as an actual pullback.
A modest, specialised dataset
At 54 families total, this is a narrower landscape than mainstream RF or semiconductor categories, meaning individual assignees can hold outsized influence through a handful of well-cited filings rather than sheer volume.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| D.S.P. Group Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Microchip Technology Incorporated | 0 | — |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) | 0 | — |
| Intel Corporation | 0 | — |
| OM GUPTA | 0 | — |
| KHOSRO SHAMSAIFAR | 0 | — |
| Nokia Corporation (Finland) | 0 | — |
| Airoha Technology Corp. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, drafting, or competitive tracking.
Check freedom-to-operate against the top-cited cluster
The highest-citation records, including the CMOS TX/RX switch and the hybrid-filter single-package design, are the ones most likely to be cited against a new application in this space — worth clearing before committing to architecture decisions.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaModel claim language for under-claimed branches
Secondary IPC classes such as waveguide integration and antenna-in-package co-design show thin representation relative to the core switching claims — a reasonable place to test draft claim scope.
Draft and stress-test claims in EurekaTrack assignee filings past the publication lag
Because every tracked assignee shows zero filings in the most recent year, and publication lags filing by about 18 months, a monitoring watch is more informative than a one-time snapshot for this dataset.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaCommon questions about RF front-end module patents
By citation count, the most influential record in this dataset is US20140087673A1, a CMOS-based TX/RX switch cited 80 times, followed by a modular satellite transceiver patent and a hybrid-filter single-package front-end module. These are influence signals within the searched corpus rather than a statement of current market share, since older patents accumulate citations simply by having been public longer. Anyone drafting new claims in switching architectures should review this cluster first, as it represents the prior art most likely to be cited against a new filing.
Filing activity in this dataset peaked in 2021 at six families and has not exceeded that level since, with a marked drop showing at the 2022 midpoint and no filings recorded in the most recent tracked year. That said, publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so recent-year figures understate real activity that simply has not published yet. The honest read is a plateau rather than either strong growth or a confirmed decline.
The dataset shows the United States as the dominant receiving office with 34 of 54 records, well ahead of Europe (7), WIPO (6), South Korea (3) and Taiwan (2). This concentration means US filings face the densest existing prior art, while jurisdictions like South Korea and Taiwan currently carry a thinner published base in this specific technology combination. Companies with strong Asia-Pacific manufacturing exposure may want to check regional filing strategy against this imbalance.
US9037096B2, assigned to Microchip Technology, claims a low-noise amplifier bypass mode using a single-pole-triple-throw RF switch built from MOSFET switches with a shared source and isolated drain outputs, reducing insertion loss to about 1 dB. It specifically blocks designs using that switch topology and configuration for bypass-mode insertion-loss reduction, not every possible LNA bypass approach. Designs using two series-connected single-pole-double-throw switches, or bypass architectures outside the claimed switch topology, sit outside its literal claim scope, though a full freedom-to-operate review would need to check dependent claims and file history.
Secondary IPC classes in this dataset — waveguide and microwave elements (H01P, 6 records), antenna co-design (H01Q, 7 records), and power-conversion integration (H02M, 13 records) — carry noticeably lower density than the core H04B transmission class (49 records). This suggests claim space in antenna-in-package co-design and power-conversion co-integration within front-end modules is comparatively open, though a lower count in a niche dataset should be confirmed against a broader classification search before relying on it as a white-space signal.
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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.
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.