SHJ a-Si:H Passivation Patent Snapshot 2026
The SHJ a-Si:H passivation patent space is compact and research-institution-led, with IBM and four European universities collectively holding the majority of documented filings. Annual volume peaked in 2017 and has since plateaued, signaling a field transitioning toward selective deepening rather than broad land-grabbing.
IBM leads a research-institution-dominated field with concentrated IP
International Business Machines Corporation heads the applicant ranking with 11 patent records, followed by EPFL with 6, and KU Leuven and IMEC each with 5 — all four European institutions anchoring the second tier.
The top five filers account for 52% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating a high concentration for a field of this size. The tier gap between IBM at the top and the next cluster is notable, though EPFL, KU Leuven, IMEC, and TU Delft together represent a strong academic bloc.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | International Business Machines Corporation | 11 | |
| 2 | Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) | 6 | |
| 3 | KU Leuven | 5 | |
| 4 | IMEC VZW | 5 | |
| 5 | Delft University of Technology | 4 | |
| 6 | Tongwei Solar (Jintang) Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 7 | Advanced Solar Technology Institute Xuancheng | 2 | |
| 8 | Applied Materials Inc. | 2 | |
| 9 | Crystal Solar Inc. | 1 | |
| 10 | State Power Investment Corporation Research Institute | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Soochow University | 1 | |
| 12 | DR RANADHEER DONTHI | 1 | |
| 13 | SVAGOS TECHNIK INC | 1 | |
| 14 | The Trustees of Princeton University | 1 | |
| 15 | Henan University | 1 | |
| 16 | Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) | 1 | |
| 17 | DR M DHAMODHARA NAIDU | 1 | |
| 18 | DR A SRINIVASA PRADEEP | 1 | |
| 19 | 3SUN S.r.l. | 1 | |
| 20 | Nanchang University | 1 |
IBM’s lead position, combined with a predominantly H01L 31 technology focus shared by all top applicants, suggests the foundational photovoltaic device architecture is well-staked. Entrants are more likely to differentiate through process routes (deposition chemistry, nanotechnology) than core junction design.
Filings from 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and should be treated as provisional; the effective evidence snapshot should be read through 2022–2023 data. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2017 filing peak followed by plateau; semiconductor device class dominates the technology mix
The annual trend and IPC composition together show a field that established its core IP base early and has since seen episodic rather than sustained follow-on activity.
Annual filing trend
A pronounced peak of 13 filings in 2017 is followed by a multi-year trough and a modest recovery in 2021–2022. Figures for 2024 and 2025 reflect publication lag and should not be read as a further decline. The overall recent-window growth remains positive at 11%, but annual volume has clearly eased from its 2017 high.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L (Semiconductor devices) is visible in the IPC mix with 52 patent records, reflecting the core device-architecture orientation of the field. C23C (Coating and surface deposition) and H10K (Organic semiconductors) are sparse adjacent branches at 3 and 2 records respectively, pointing to process-chemistry and hybrid-device angles that remain lightly covered.
↗ 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.
Method of manufacturing an amorphous/crystalline s…
A method for manufacturing a solar cell includes<ul class="uspto-list"><li class="uspto-list-item"><ul class="uspto-list"><li class="uspto-list-item">providing a first conductivity type doped crystalline silicon wafer,</li><li class="uspto-list-item">depositing on one side a first intrinsic a-Si:H buffer layer, followed by a second conductivity type doped… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Method of manufacturing an amorphous/crystalline s… | 97 |
| 2 | Silicon heterojunction solar cells and methods of … | 35 |
| 3 | Silicon heterojunction photovoltaic device with wi… | 33 |
| 4 | 一种硅异质结太阳能电池及其制作方法 | 19 |
| 5 | 一种晶硅异质结太阳电池的发射极结构 | 17 |
| 6 | Method of patterning an amorphous semiconductor la… | 15 |
| 7 | 一种晶硅异质结太阳能电池 | 13 |
| 8 | Hole-blocking TiO2/Silicon Heterojunction for Sili… | 13 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM holds 11 patent records, the largest position in the corpus, focused primarily on H01L 31 (9 records) and H01L 21 (3 records) — the core semiconductor device and fabrication process classes for SHJ passivation. A single H10P 95 record suggests exploratory work at the boundary of novel device physics. No momentum data in evidence indicates a stable rather than accelerating position.
patent records: 11Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
EPFL holds 6 patent records, all concentrated in H01L 31, reflecting a focused passivation-science orientation consistent with its role as a leading photovoltaic research institute. As a federal research university, EPFL’s IP is likely available for licensing, which may make it a more accessible IP source for industrial players than IBM’s corporate portfolio.
patent records: 6Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 34 patent families in scope globally. This is a compact corpus relative to mainstream photovoltaic topics, reflecting the specificity of the amorphous silicon passivation sub-field.
International Business Machines Corporation leads with 11 patent records, nearly double the next-ranked filer, EPFL, which holds 6. The top five — IBM, EPFL, KU Leuven, IMEC, and TU Delft — together account for 52% of the combined total across the ranked applicants visible in this query.
The field shows a positive recent-window growth figure of 11%, but annual volume has eased from a pronounced peak in 2017. The lifecycle stage is characterized as mature with a plateau, meaning broad foundational filings have given way to more selective, episodic activity.
The United States leads with 19 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 10 and China at 9. India and WIPO (PCT) each account for 6 records, indicating some degree of multi-jurisdictional filing strategy among the visible assignees.
The only documented co-applicant collaboration in evidence is between IMEC and KU Leuven, which jointly filed 5 patent records. This Belgium-based academic-applied research pairing is the visible collaborative relationship in the corpus.
The sparsest IPC branches relative to the visible H01L class are C23C (Coating and surface deposition, 3 records), H10K (Organic semiconductors, 2 records), B82Y (Nanotechnology applications, 1 record), C01G (Compounds of other metals, 1 record), and H10F (Photovoltaic and light-sensitive devices, 1 record). Process-chemistry and nanotechnology-enabled passivation approaches are the most technically plausible of these under-served angles.
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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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