SiC Substrate Supply & Substitution Patent Snapshot
SiC substrate supply and substitution is a concentrated, research-institution-led field still expanding on a multi-year basis, with MIT holding the largest single-filer position and graphene-assisted transfer routes commanding the most-cited work. Annual volume eased from its 2023 peak, though recent years are further understated by publication lag, and the dominant jurisdiction is the United States.
MIT leads a tightly concentrated field anchored in US institutions
MIT holds the top position among ranked applicants, followed by THINSIC INC and a cluster of academic and industrial filers. The top five filers together account for sixty-six percent of the combined patent records of the ranked applicants visible in this query, signaling a highly concentrated assignee snapshot.
A clear tier gap separates MIT from the rest of the field. Challengers such as THINSIC INC, GlobalWafers, and the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University each hold materially smaller positions, and the long tail of single-record filers suggests limited broad-based industrial mobilization to date.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 10 | |
| 2 | THINSIC INC | 6 | |
| 3 | Board of Trustees of Michigan State University | 4 | |
| 4 | GlobalWafers Co., Ltd. | 4 | |
| 5 | The Government of the United States of America | 3 | |
| 6 | Rohm Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 7 | Siltronic AG | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Crystal Technologies LLC | 2 | |
| 9 | Infineon Technologies AG | 2 | |
| 10 | Nuflare Technology, Inc. | 2 | |
| 11 | Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 12 | Nippon Steel Corporation | 1 | |
| 13 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | 1 |
The leaders’ positions imply that fundamental substrate-transfer and heteroepitaxy approaches — particularly graphene-based layer transfer — are controlled by a small group, creating meaningful freedom-to-operate considerations for new entrants and device manufacturers seeking alternative SiC supply routes.
The most recent one to two years of filing data are understated due to patent publication lag and should be interpreted with caution; the apparent absence of 2025–2026 filings does not indicate a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth with a 2023 peak and semiconductor-device dominance in technology mix
The annual filing trend and IPC technology composition together reveal a field that has grown substantially on a multi-year basis while remaining anchored in semiconductor device processing, with crystal-growth and surface-deposition branches playing secondary roles.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity was negligible before 2018, rose through 2021, and reached its highest recorded annual volume in 2023. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis with thirty-three percent recent-window growth, though annual volume has eased from the 2023 peak. The 2024–2026 bars are materially understated by publication lag and should not be read as a real decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01L (semiconductor devices) accounts for the large majority of IPC records, confirming that most filers are targeting device-integration and wafer-processing outcomes rather than upstream crystal growth alone. C30B (crystal growth) represents the next-largest branch, followed by C23C (coating and surface deposition) and the emerging H10P class — the latter two being notably sparse relative to their potential relevance.
↗ 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.
Systems and methods for growth of silicon carbide …
Systems and methods for growth of silicon carbide over a layer comprising graphene and/or hexagonal boron nitride, and related articles, are generally described. In some embodiments, a SiC film is fabricated over a layer comprising graphene and/or hexagonal boron nitride, which in turn is disposed over a substrate. The layer and/or the substrate may be… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Systems and methods for graphene based layer trans… | 51 |
| 2 | Heteroepitaxy by large surface steps | 35 |
| 3 | Systems and methods for graphene based layer trans… | 33 |
| 4 | Method and device for growing silicon carbide sing… | 26 |
| 5 | Systems and methods for graphene based layer trans… | 9 |
| 6 | Systems and methods for growth of silicon carbide … | 8 |
| 7 | Laser Assisted SiC Growth On Silicon | 6 |
| 8 | Integrated Method for Low-Cost Wide Band Gap Semic… | 4 |
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.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT holds ten patent records, the largest position in this landscape. Its technology emphasis spans H01L 21, H01L 23, and H01L 29 — covering semiconductor processing, device packaging, and transistor structures respectively — consistent with an integrated graphene-assisted layer-transfer program that targets both substrate supply and device integration. MIT also anchors the field’s primary collaboration network with the US Government and Rohm. Momentum is classified as a new entrant in the recent window, reflecting concentrated recent-period activity.
patent records: 10THINSIC INC
THINSIC INC holds six patent records — the second-largest position — and its technology focus is concentrated in H01L 21 (semiconductor processing), suggesting a process-engineering approach to thin SiC or alternative-substrate manufacture. Like MIT, THINSIC is classified as a new entrant in the recent filing window, with four recent patent records, indicating active and growing commercial program momentum. Its position as a startup-style entrant rather than an established wafer supplier makes it a differentiated challenger worth monitoring.
patent records: 6Frequently asked questions
The evidence set contains 25 patent families in scope for this landscape.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the top filer with ten patent records, well ahead of the second-ranked THINSIC INC with six.
The field is classified as Growth: recent three-year filing activity sits thirty-three percent above the prior three-year window. Annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak, and the most recent years are further understated by publication lag.
H01L semiconductor device processing is visible in the IPC composition. The most-cited individual patents relate to graphene-based layer transfer systems and heteroepitaxy by large surface steps, pointing to these as the field’s primary technical routes.
All 25 patent families were filed at the United States patent office. EPO coverage stands at five patent records and WIPO (PCT) at three, with Japan accounting for only two — indicating a US-centric filing strategy across the field.
The most active co-filing relationships link MIT with the US Government (Department of Health and Human Services) and with Rohm Co., Ltd., each pair sharing three co-filed patent records — forming a tri-party academic-government-industrial alliance at the core of the landscape.
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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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