SHJ Absorber (c-Si Wafer) Patent Snapshot 2026
The SHJ absorber (c-Si wafer) patent space is concentrated, with IBM holding a commanding lead and European research institutions occupying the next tier. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2017 peak and recent years carry additional publication-lag undercount.
IBM leads a concentrated field anchored by European research institutes
International Business Machines Corporation holds the top position in the applicant ranking, followed by EPFL, KU Leuven, and IMEC — all European academic or research bodies — with Tongwei Solar entities forming a distinct Chinese manufacturing tier.
The top five filers account for 46% of the combined total of the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating a tightly held visible assignee structure. A visible tier gap separates IBM from the academic cluster, and a second gap separates that cluster from the Chinese industrial entrants.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | International Business Machines Corporation | 18 | |
| 2 | Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) | 6 | |
| 3 | KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) | 5 | |
| 4 | IMEC VZW (Interuniversitair Micro-Electronics Centrum) | 5 | |
| 5 | Tongwei Solar (Jintang) Co Ltd | 3 | |
| 6 | Suzhou Aikang Low Carbon Tech Institute | 3 | |
| 7 | Zhejiang Aikang Photovoltaic Technology Co Ltd | 3 | |
| 8 | Tongwei Solar (Anhui) Co Ltd | 2 | |
| 9 | Advanced Solar Technology Institute Xuancheng | 2 | |
| 10 | Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co Ltd | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Tongwei Solar (Hefei) Co Ltd | 2 | |
| 12 | Tongwei Solar Energy (Meishan) Co Ltd | 2 | |
| 13 | Delft University of Technology | 2 | |
| 14 | Dr. Venkanna Kanneboina | 2 | |
| 15 | Crystal Solar Inc | 1 | |
| 16 | Dr. Ranadheer Donthi | 1 | |
| 17 | Svagos Technik Inc | 1 | |
| 18 | Dr. S. Hemambika | 1 | |
| 19 | Dr. M. Dhamodhara Naidu | 1 | |
| 20 | Dr. A. Srinivasa Pradeep | 1 |
IBM’s breadth across semiconductor device classes and nanotechnology suggests a diversified IP strategy rather than narrow product protection, while the European institutes concentrate their filings directly on photovoltaic device architectures.
Filings from 2024 onward are likely materially undercounted due to patent publication lag and should not be read as indicative of actual activity levels. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2017 filing peak, multi-year recovery, and H01L dominance define the field
Annual filing activity and the IPC composition chart together reveal a field that peaked early, recovered through 2022, and is technically anchored in semiconductor device classes with only sparse representation in adjacent branches.
Annual filing trend
Filings peaked sharply in 2017, fell through 2020, then recovered to a secondary local high in 2022 before softening. Recent-window growth of 43% confirms the multi-year expansion trend remains intact. Data from 2024 onward is subject to publication lag and should be treated as a floor, not a ceiling.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L (semiconductor devices) is visible in the IPC mix by a wide margin. B82Y (nanotechnology applications) holds a secondary position, largely driven by IBM’s filings. All other branches — H10K, C23C, C01G, H10F, and H10P — have minimal representation, flagging them as structurally thin adjacent areas.
↗ 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.
PEROWSKIT-SILIZIUM-HETEROÜBERGANGS-TANDEMSOLARZELL…
The present invention relates to the technical field of solar cells, and particularly relates to a perovskite/silicon heterojunction tandem solar cell and a preparation method thereof. The solar cell includes a silicon-based sub-cell and a perovskite sub-cell laminated on the silicon-based sub-cell, where intermediate layers or recombination junctions… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silicon heterojunction solar cells and methods of … | 35 |
| 2 | Silicon heterojunction photovoltaic device with wi… | 33 |
| 3 | Method of patterning an amorphous semiconductor la… | 15 |
| 4 | 异质结太阳能电池及其制备方法 | 15 |
| 5 | Copper oxide/N-silicon heterojunction photovoltaic… | 13 |
| 6 | Deposition method of perovskite material | 11 |
| 7 | Silicon heterojunction solar cells and methods of … | 11 |
| 8 | 一种高效硅异质结太阳能电池 | 10 |
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 18 patent records — the single largest position in the dataset — with primary emphasis on H01L 31 (semiconductor devices, 16 records), a significant secondary position in B82Y 20 (nanotechnology applications, 7 records), and additional H01L 21 coverage. This breadth suggests IBM is protecting underlying process and materials science rather than solely final device architectures. Momentum data for IBM is not separately broken out in the recent-window evidence.
18 patent recordsEcole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
EPFL holds 6 patent records, all concentrated in H01L 31, reflecting a focused photovoltaic device architecture strategy. As a research institution, EPFL’s portfolio likely supports technology transfer to industrial partners. The IMEC–KU Leuven collaboration (5 co-filed records each) represents a comparable academic-cluster challenger with additional process breadth via H01L 21 and H01L 33 coverage.
6 patent recordsFrequently asked questions
The corpus covers 38 patent families in scope. The applicant ranking is measured at the patent-record level, so individual record counts across filers reflect that grain.
International Business Machines Corporation holds the top position with 18 patent records, a substantially larger portfolio than the next-ranked filer, EPFL, with 6 patent records.
The field is classified as Growth: recent three-year filings are 43% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. Annual volume peaked in 2017 and has eased since, and data from 2024 onward is understated by publication lag, so apparent recent softness should not be read as a real decline.
The United States leads filing activity, followed by China, Europe (EPO), and India at broadly similar levels. WIPO PCT filings provide additional coverage across multiple national phases. Japan and South Korea have minimal representation in this corpus.
The strongest external collaboration is between IMEC VZW and KU Leuven, with 5 co-filed records. Tongwei Solar’s subsidiaries also co-file extensively with one another, but this reflects coordinated intra-group filing across Jintang, Meishan, Chengdu, Anhui, and Hefei entities rather than external partnerships.
C23C (coating and surface deposition) and H10F (photovoltaic and light-sensitive devices) each have 2 or fewer patent records in this corpus, making them the thinnest adjacent branches with plausible technical relevance to SHJ cell fabrication and device architecture innovation.
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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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