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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/ring-modulators-and-thermal-tuning-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Photonics & Lasers Patent LandscapeRing modulator and thermal tuning patents: who holds the ground and where it's still open
- A field this narrow can still concentrate hard. the top 5 assignees account for 95.2% of all 21 records in scope, with a single leader filing 6.
- Filing has cooled since its 2020 peak of 4 records a year. the last complete comparison shows 2021's 2 filings dropping to 1 by 2024, a -50% move.
- Modulation and optics classes dominate, not communications. G02B and G02F each cover 57.1% of the 21 records, while H04B transmission claims sit at just 23.8%.
21
Published Records
95%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-50%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (2 records) with 2024 (1) — 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 21 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What's being claimed in ring modulator and thermal tuning patents
Ring modulator patents in this dataset sit at the intersection of electro-optic modulation and resonance control — claims that address how a micro-ring or ring-resonator modulator holds its resonance against fabrication variance and thermal drift while meeting a target free spectral range and quality factor. The search scope pulls records where wavelength locking, thermal tuning power, or fabrication tolerance appear alongside the core modulator architecture, which narrows the field to structural and control claims rather than broader silicon photonics packaging.
Twenty-one published records sit in scope from 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, filed through United States, European, WIPO and Canadian receiving offices, with the United States receiving the large majority at 14 records. That distribution points to a field still centred on US prosecution rather than one with heavy parallel filing abroad.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015–2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ring Modulators and Thermal Tuning covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Filing Data
Filing trend and technology composition
The trend line and IPC breakdown below are built from the same 21 records in scope. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent years understate actual filing activity and should not be read as a slowdown on their own.
Filing trend: a 2020 peak, then a lighter tail
Filings rose to a peak of 4 in 2020 before easing back. The only growth comparison the data supports without reaching into incomplete years is 2021's 2 filings against 2024's 1 — a -50% change over that span. Years after 2024 are still filling in and are not a reliable basis for a trend claim.
IPC composition: optics and modulation lead, transmission trails
G02B (optical elements & systems) and G02F (optical control & modulation) each appear on 57.1% of the 21 records, confirming that most claims are written as device or control-architecture claims rather than system-level transmission claims. H04B (transmission, general) reaches 23.8% and H01S (lasers) 19.0%, with G06F and H04J each appearing on a single record. Because records can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares sum to well over 100% of the record total.
Shares are the percentage of the 21 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ring Modulators and Thermal Tuning covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Ring Modulators and Thermal Tuning with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about ring modulators and thermal tuning and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
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The most-cited records in this landscape
Representative Filing
US20150168748A1 — High frequency resonator modulator apparatus, method and applications
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
A ring resonator modulator and a modulation method that uses the ring resonator modulator each are predicated upon a modulation frequency of a ring shaped waveguide comparable to a free spectral range of the ring shaped waveguide. Fulfillment of this condition provides for a comparatively higher frequency optical modulation at a comparatively lower power consumption. A particular ring resonator modulator structure employs as an actuator a p-n diode that includes from about 25 to about 50 percent of the ring shaped waveguide and having a depletion region that is contained within the ring shaped waveguide.Filed by Cornell University, published 2015-06-18.
Highest-cited ring modulator patent records
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20090169149A1 | Stabilized ring resonator modulator | 76 |
| 2 | US20180031946A1 | Electro-optic modulator, microwave photonic link including an electro-optic modulator, and method of communic… | 19 |
| 3 | US20210194586A1 | Electro-optic modulator and microwave photonic link including an electro-optic modulator | 13 |
| 4 | US20220043321A1 | Coupling modulated micro-ring resonator modulator | 11 |
| 5 | WO2017138949A1 | Electro-optic modulator and microwave photonic link including an electro-optic modulator | 9 |
| 6 | US11327384B2 | Coupling modulated micro-ring resonator modulator | 6 |
| 7 | US10345674B2 | Electro-optic modulator, microwave photonic link including an electro-optic modulator, and method of communic… | 6 |
| 8 | WO2016130872A1 | Electro-optic modulator, microwave photonic link including an electro-optic modulator, and method of communic… | 4 |
| 9 | US20230251546A1 | Coupling modulated ring resonator modulator | 3 |
| 10 | EP4239403A1 | A coupling modulated ring resonator modulator | 1 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings; treat them as a signal of influence within this dataset, not as a measure of current commercial importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ring Modulators and Thermal Tuning covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the filing pattern signals
Three findings stand out once the ranking, trend and IPC data are read together.
Concentration
95.2% of 21 records
top 5 assignees
A small field, tightly held
With only 21 records in scope and a top-5 share of 95.2%, most of the claim space documented here belongs to a handful of filers. A sixth assignee closes the ranking out to 100.0%, meaning there is effectively no long tail of small independent filers to route around.
Based on the full 6-assignee ranking returned for this dataset.
Momentum
4 filings in 2020
peak year
Activity has eased from its peak, not stopped
Filing peaked at 4 records in 2020 and the only clean year-over-year comparison available — 2021's 2 filings against 2024's 1 — shows a -50% move. That is a real cooling in a small dataset, though 2025 and 2026 are too recent to judge given publication lag.
Growth figure covers 2021–2024 only; later years are still filling in.
Composition
57.1% G02B / G02F
of 21 records
Device claims outweigh system claims
Optical elements (G02B) and optical modulation control (G02F) each sit at 57.1% of records, well ahead of transmission-system claims (H04B at 23.8%). The claim activity documented here is concentrated on the modulator structure itself rather than on how it slots into a communications link.
Shares exceed 100% because records can carry multiple IPC codes.
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Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to ring modulators and thermal tuning, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ring Modulators and Thermal Tuning covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Leading Assignees
Who holds the ring modulator claim space
The ranking below covers all 6 assignees the data endpoint returns for this topic — not a top-50 or top-100 cut — so it should be read as the complete documented picture, not a sample.
Leader
6 records
top assignee
One filer sets the pace
The leading assignee holds 6 of the 21 records in scope, the largest single share in a field where the top 5 together already cover 95.2% of all records. That leaves little room for a new entrant to build a comparable position through organic filing alone.
Recent-year momentum for this assignee sits at 0, consistent with the field-wide cooling since 2020.
Mid-field
2 records
fifth place
A short, steep drop-off
Fifth place holds just 2 records, underscoring how quickly the ranking thins out after the leaders. There is no meaningful long tail of occasional filers in this dataset — the field is effectively six organisations.
Sixth place closes the ranking out to 100.0% of all 21 records.
Activity
0 in latest year
all six assignees
No assignee shows recent-year momentum
Every ranked assignee shows 0 filings in the latest year tracked. Combined with the 2021–2024 decline, this suggests the field's most active filing window has already passed, though publication lag means very recent activity may not yet be visible.
Treat latest-year zeros with caution given the 18-month publication lag.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Nokia Solutions and Networks | 0 | — |
| Michigan Technological University | 0 | — |
| Ranovus Inc. | 0 | — |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) | 0 | — |
| Cornell University | 0 | — |
| BLOCK BRUCE ANDREW | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ring Modulators and Thermal Tuning covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Next Steps
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a concentrated, cooling field with specific structural claims. These are the practical next steps for turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision.
Map claims against the top assignees directly
With 95.2% of records held by five organisations, a claim chart against just those filers' independent claims will cover almost the entire documented field.
Explore assignee claims in Eureka →Check the under-claimed branches before drafting
Athermal design, closed-loop locking and low-power actuation show thin direct coverage here and may offer more room to file a defensible independent claim.
Run a white space search in Eureka →Re-check filing momentum after the lag window closes
2025 and 2026 filings are still being published; a re-pull after that window closes will show whether the 2021–2024 decline continued or reversed.
Set up a monitoring alert in Eureka →Source: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ring Modulators and Thermal Tuning covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about ring modulator patents
This dataset returns a complete ranking of 6 assignees covering all 21 records in scope, rather than a long list of occasional filers. The leading assignee holds 6 records, and the top 5 together account for 95.2% of all records in scope. That level of concentration means freedom-to-operate work in this space can focus on a small number of organisations rather than a broad field.
Filing peaked at 4 records in 2020, and the clearest available comparison — 2021's 2 filings against 2024's 1 — shows a -50% decline over that span. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete and should not be read as confirming further decline. The honest read is that activity cooled through the early 2020s, with the most recent trend still unresolved.
Most records in this dataset carry IPC codes for optical elements and systems (G02B) and optical control and modulation (G02F), each appearing on 57.1% of the 21 records. Transmission-system claims (H04B) appear on a smaller 23.8% share, and laser-related claims (H01S) on 19.0%. This indicates the field is dominated by device- and control-level claims on the modulator itself, not system-integration claims.
With the top assignees covering nearly all documented records in the core modulator architecture, sub-areas like athermal waveguide design, closed-loop wavelength-locking control, and low-power thermal tuning actuation show comparatively thin direct coverage. A first claim in one of these branches would need to specify the control mechanism or thermal compensation structure precisely, since the core resonator and modulation claims are already well occupied. Confirming current openness requires a targeted search beyond this summary dataset.
US20150168748A1, assigned to Cornell University and published 2015-06-18, claims a ring resonator modulator operated with a modulation frequency comparable to the ring's free spectral range, using a p-n diode actuator spanning roughly 25 to 50 percent of the ring waveguide. Any new filing on high-frequency ring modulation using a similar FSR-matched drive scheme or a comparably proportioned p-n actuator sits close to this claim. Designing around it likely means moving to a different actuation mechanism or a modulation frequency regime clearly outside the FSR-matched condition it describes.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ring Modulators and Thermal Tuning covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.