SiC Integrated Sensing Patent Snapshot 2026
SiC integrated sensing is a highly concentrated, growth-stage field dominated by Japanese power-semiconductor specialists, with Fuji Electric holding the largest single-applicant position among 38 patent families in scope. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2021 peak and the most recent filing years remain understated by publication lag.
Fuji Electric leads a sharply concentrated field with eight active filers
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. ranks first with 17 patent families, more than double the nearest challenger, Rohm Co., Ltd. at 7. Behind them, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Microchip Technology Inc., and Infineon Technologies AG each hold 4 patent families, forming a compact second tier.
The top five filers together account for 88% of the combined total across the ranked applicants visible in this query, signaling strong concentration. The gap between first and second place alone is substantial, and the remaining three applicants in the ranking — Denso Corp., China FAW Co., Ltd., and Ford Global Technologies LLC — each hold 3 or fewer patent families, leaving the field thinly populated outside the leaders.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. | 17 | |
| 2 | Rohm Co., Ltd. | 7 | |
| 3 | Mitsubishi Electric Corp. | 4 | |
| 4 | Microchip Technology Inc. | 4 | |
| 5 | Infineon Technologies AG | 4 | |
| 6 | Denso Corp. | 3 | |
| 7 | China FAW Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 8 | Ford Global Technologies LLC | 1 |
Fuji Electric’s visible position, anchored in SiC semiconductor device architecture (H01L 29 and H01L 21), suggests it has established the broadest claim coverage and is best positioned to define licensing terms and set design constraints for integrated sensing approaches in SiC power modules.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are likely under-counted due to patent publication lag; apparent softness in 2024–2025 data should not be interpreted as a slowdown in activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings surged from 2021 onward; semiconductor device IP dominates the technology mix
The annual filing trend and IPC technology composition together reveal both the pace of growth and the technical areas receiving the most — and least — patent attention in SiC integrated sensing.
Annual filing trend
Activity was negligible before 2018 and largely absent in 2019, then built steadily through 2020 before jumping sharply in 2021 and 2022 — each of those years reaching double-digit filings. The subsequent moderation in 2023 and near-zero values in 2024–2025 are consistent with publication lag and should not be read as a real decline. The multi-year window shows 31% growth, confirming the field is still in expansion.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L (Semiconductor devices) commands the largest share of IPC coverage, reflecting deep focus on SiC device architecture. H10D (Semiconductor devices, general) and G01R (Electric and magnetic measurement) form the next tier, with G01K (Temperature measurement) also well represented — confirming that on-chip temperature and current sensing are the primary integrated functions being patented. Lower-density branches such as H02P, B60L, B23K, and C22C indicate that motor control, EV propulsion, packaging, and materials angles remain sparsely 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.
SiC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH CURRENT SENSING CAPA…
A SiC semiconductor device is provided that is capable of improving the detection accuracy of the current value of a principal current detected by a current sensing portion by restraining heat from escaping from the current sensing portion to a wiring member joined to a sensing-side surface electrode. The semiconductor device <b>1</b> includes a SiC… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Semiconductor device | 28 |
| 2 | Silicon carbide semiconductor device and method of… | 21 |
| 3 | SiC Device Having a Dual Mode Sense Terminal, Elec… | 8 |
| 4 | 半导体装置以及半导体装置的制造方法 | 6 |
| 5 | Silicon carbide semiconductor device | 5 |
| 6 | Semiconductor module | 4 |
| 7 | Semiconductor device | 4 |
| 8 | Temperature sensor integrated in a transistor array | 3 |
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.
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.
Fuji Electric holds 17 patent families — the largest position in the corpus — with technology emphasis concentrated in H01L 29 (SiC transistor and diode structures), H01L 21 (fabrication processes), and H10D 62 (general semiconductor devices). Its applicant momentum is flagged as a new entrant in the recent window, with 4 families filed in the most recent period, suggesting the program is still active and not yet consolidated. Its breadth across both device architecture and process claims makes it the most difficult incumbent to design around.
families: 17Rohm Co., Ltd.
Rohm holds 7 patent families with a differentiated focus: its top IPC concentrations are G01R 19 (current and voltage measurement circuits), H01L 27 (integrated circuit arrays), and H01L 29 (device structures), indicating a strategy that pairs sensing function implementation with device architecture. Rohm’s momentum is also flagged as a new entrant in the recent window with 1 family filed recently, suggesting earlier filing intensity that may now be moderating. Its measurement-circuit orientation gives it a distinct competitive angle relative to Fuji Electric’s structural emphasis.
families: 7Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 38 patent families in scope, filed across multiple jurisdictions with the United States as the visible lead office.
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. is the leading filer with 17 patent families, more than double the next-ranked applicant, Rohm Co., Ltd., which holds 7 patent families.
The field is in a Growth lifecycle stage. The recent three-year filing window sits well above the prior three-year window, yielding 31% multi-year growth. Annual volume peaked in 2021 and has eased since, partly due to publication lag in the most recent years.
The United States leads by a wide margin, followed at a distance by China and WIPO (PCT). This US-visible pattern reflects the primary commercial target markets of the leading Japanese and US applicants.
H01L (Semiconductor devices) is by far the most heavily covered class, reflecting the field’s focus on SiC device architecture. G01R (Electric and magnetic measurement) and G01K (Temperature measurement) follow, confirming that current and temperature sensing are the primary integrated functions being claimed.
No co-applicant or co-filing activity is detected in the current corpus. All patent families in scope have been filed by individual corporate applicants acting independently, with no evidence of joint ventures or consortium filings in this dataset.
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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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