Semiconductor Reliability Patents: Who Leads, Where Gaps Are 2026
- Filing has cooled since 2022. The peak year for this dataset is 2022 at 11 families, and the trend since then is flat to declining rather than still climbing.
- Measurement claims outweigh device claims two to one. G01R electric and magnetic measurement covers 44 of the records against 21 in H01L semiconductor devices, meaning most of the recent claim activity is in test and monitoring circuits, not the failure mechanism itself.
- The most-cited record is a two-decade-old ring oscillator design. US6476632B1, cited 155 times, still anchors in-line reliability monitoring art that newer filings have to work around or build on.
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks patent families addressing semiconductor reliability and failure analysis — electromigration, bias temperature instability, time-dependent dielectric breakdown, burn-in and root-cause analysis methods — filed and published between 2015 and mid-2026. The corpus is built from title and claim-language searches combined with IPC codes for semiconductor devices (H01L21, H01L22) and electrical measurement (G01R31), so it captures both the failure mechanisms themselves and the test circuitry used to detect them.
Fifty-three patent families make up the ranking, filed mostly through United States, European, Japanese and Chinese offices, with a smaller PCT-routed group. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one or two years in any trend line will understate actual filing activity.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 53-family dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how it splits across IPC subclasses.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings rose from a single family in 2017 to a peak of 11 in 2022, then eased off. With 2026 only partially published, the apparent decline after 2022 should be read cautiously — some of that year's filings have not surfaced yet — but the shape through 2024-2025 already points to a plateau rather than continued growth.
IPC composition
G01R (electric and magnetic measurement) accounts for 44 of the records, more than double H01L (semiconductor devices) at 21. Smaller counts sit in H03K pulse and logic circuits, G05B control systems, the H10D/H10P/H10W semiconductor-device family, and a single G06F data-processing record. The weight toward G01R confirms that most current patent activity is in how reliability is measured and monitored, rather than in new device structures designed to be inherently more reliable.
Shares are the percentage of the 53 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Semiconductor Reliability and Failure Analysis with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about semiconductor reliability and failure analysis and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
US11650244B2 — Monitoring semiconductor reliability and predicting device failure during device life
A test circuit includes one or more sensors adapted to be formed on a wafer, each sensor detecting one or more wafer characterization data in a stressed condition; a stress generator controlling the one or more sensors to place the one or more sensors under stress during wafer manufacturing; memory coupled to the one or more sensors to store wafer characteristics under the stressed condition; and an interface coupled to the memory to communicate the wafer characterization data to a tester.Assigned to Tartan Silicon Systems, Inc., published 2023-05-16.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6476632B1 | Ring oscillator design for MOSFET device reliability investigations and its use for in-line monitoring | 155 |
| 2 | US6046060A | Method of making a high planarity, low CTE base for semiconductor reliability screening | 29 |
| 3 | US6097200A | Modular, semiconductor reliability test system | 26 |
| 4 | US10126354B1 | Assessment of HCI in logic circuits based on AC stress in discrete FETs | 15 |
| 5 | JP2000174085A | Semiconductor reliability evaluation device and method | 15 |
| 6 | CN1232546A | 组合式半导体可靠性测试系统 | 8 |
| 7 | US6844747B2 | Wafer level system for producing burn-in/screen, and reliability evaluations to be performed on all chips sim… | 6 |
| 8 | US20170059644A1 | Measuring individual device degradation in CMOS circuits | 5 |
| 9 | JP2012510742A | クロックデューティサイクル適合による半導体デバイスの性能の低下の補償 | 5 |
| 10 | US11650244B2 | Monitoring semiconductor reliability and predicting device failure during device life | 4 |
Citation counts reflect activity inside this searched corpus and favour older filings; treat them as a signal of influence on later art, not 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.
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Three findings that shape how a new filing or design-around effort should be scoped in this space.
The filing curve has already crested
Activity climbed steadily from a single family in 2017 to 11 in 2022. The years since show no clear continuation of that growth, even allowing for publication lag on the most recent filings. A team entering now is not catching a rising wave; it is filing into a plateau where the earliest, broadest claims are already staked.
Measurement circuits dominate device claims
More than twice as many records sit in G01R (electric and magnetic measurement) as in H01L (semiconductor devices proper). Reliability patenting in this window has concentrated on test structures, stress generators and monitoring interfaces rather than on new device architectures that are inherently less prone to electromigration or dielectric breakdown.
One ring-oscillator patent anchors the field
US6476632B1's ring oscillator design for MOSFET reliability investigation is cited far more than any other record in this set, with the next most-cited filings sitting in the twenties. Any in-line monitoring claim built around ring-oscillator stress testing should be checked against this filing first.
Filing is US-centred with a thin international tail
The United States receives close to half of all filings in this set, with Europe, Israel, Japan and China each taking a handful and a small group routed through the PCT. That concentration suggests the sharpest freedom-to-operate risk sits in US prosecution, while other jurisdictions carry comparatively lighter coverage.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to semiconductor reliability and failure analysis, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is active, and where the gate sits
Recent-year momentum across the named assignees shows no filer with fresh activity in the latest year, which is consistent with a plateaued field rather than one being actively contested by a single leader.
No assignee is currently pulling ahead
Across the named organisations tracked for recent-year momentum, none shows filings in the latest year. That flat momentum across the board, rather than one firm's pullback, is the more telling signal: it points to a field where the founding claims were laid down earlier and few players are adding to them right now.
Co-filing is limited and shallow
Only eight co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, and the strongest of these each show a single joint filing. This is a field where organisations largely file alone rather than through joint ventures or foundry-tool-vendor partnerships.
Corporate IDMs sit alongside university filers
The assignee list spans large semiconductor manufacturers and test-equipment makers together with university research groups. That mix suggests some of the more fundamental measurement techniques may originate in academic labs before being picked up or licensed by device makers.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| KLA Corporation | 0 | — |
| Etrium, Inc. | 0 | — |
| International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) | 0 | — |
| Infineon Technologies AG | 0 | — |
| ARONOFF ALAN PAUL | 0 | — |
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) | 0 | — |
| National Taiwan University | 0 | — |
| NEC Corporation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, design-around, or spotting an open filing position.
Check exposure against the ring-oscillator art
Given how heavily US6476632B1 is cited, any new in-line monitoring or stress-test circuit claim should be checked against it and its citing family before drafting.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaScope a filing in the under-claimed branches
Sub-areas like ML-assisted root cause analysis and 3D-stacked die electromigration monitoring show thinner claim density than the core G01R measurement category.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack assignees for renewed activity
With no major assignee showing latest-year filings, a watch on this space should focus on catching the first mover back into active prosecution.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
In this landscape, a semiconductor reliability patent is one whose title or claims address failure mechanisms such as electromigration, bias temperature instability, or time-dependent dielectric breakdown, or the test methods used to detect them, such as burn-in screening and root-cause analysis. The search combines this language with IPC codes covering semiconductor device structure (H01L21, H01L22) and electrical measurement (G01R31). That combination captures both device-level failure mechanisms and the circuits built to monitor them, which is why measurement-focused IPC codes dominate the resulting set.
The data shows filings climbing from a single family in 2017 to a peak of 11 in 2022, then flattening. Some of the apparent slowdown in 2024-2026 is a publication-lag artefact, since patent applications typically surface 18 months or more after filing, so the most recent years are undercounted. But the plateau starting in 2022-2023, before that lag effect would fully explain it, suggests genuine cooling in new filing activity rather than purely a reporting gap.
US6476632B1, covering a ring oscillator design for MOSFET device reliability investigation and in-line monitoring, is the most-cited record in this dataset at 155 citations, far ahead of the next tier of filings in the twenties. Because in-line monitoring using ring-oscillator stress structures is a common building block for newer reliability test circuits, any new filing in that specific area should be checked against this patent and the later filings that cite it.
Yes, based on the IPC and claim distribution in this dataset. The bulk of filing activity sits in G01R electric and magnetic measurement and H01L semiconductor devices, while adjacent areas such as machine-learning-assisted root cause analysis, wafer-level burn-in for advanced packaging, and electromigration monitoring specific to 3D-stacked dies show comparatively thin claim density. These are not guarantees of a clear path, but they are areas where the core measurement and device categories have not yet crowded out new claim scope.
The dataset's named assignees include large semiconductor manufacturers and test-equipment makers alongside university research groups, but recent-year momentum data shows none of the largest assignees with filings in the latest tracked year. That flat momentum across the board, rather than concentration around one or two active filers, indicates a field where foundational claims were established earlier and current filing activity is comparatively quiet.
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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.