Silicon Photonics Compact Model & Analytics Patent Snapshot
The defined corpus of silicon photonics compact model and analytics patents is extremely small — two families held by two distinct applicants — indicating this precise intersection remains largely unexplored in formal IP. Activity peaked in 2019 and has since eased, placing the topic in a declining lifecycle stage with the field concentrated entirely in the United States.
Two applicants share an effectively equal position in a nascent corpus
Colorado State University Research Foundation and GlobalFoundries US Inc. each hold one patent family, together accounting for the entirety of the ranked applicant pool in this topic.
With the top five filers representing 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, concentration is absolute — there is no meaningful second tier. The two applicants are separated by zero families, making the field a dead heat between an academic institution and a major semiconductor foundry.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado State University Research Foundation | 1 | |
| 2 | GlobalFoundries US Inc. | 1 |
The presence of a research university alongside an integrated-device manufacturer suggests the IP base is still in an exploratory, pre-commercialization phase, with neither a visible industrial stack nor a cluster of challengers having formed.
The most recent filing period should be treated as under-counted due to typical patent-publication lag of 18–24 months; the apparent absence of 2022–2026 activity may not fully reflect filings already submitted. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A single 2019 filing marks the peak; technology spread spans optics, lithography, and AI-assisted computing
The annual trend and technology-composition charts together reveal both the temporal sparsity of the corpus and the breadth of technical approaches that have been tried, even within just two families.
Annual filing trend
Only two filing years — 2019 and 2025 — show activity; all other years in the 2017–2026 window record zero families. The 2019 entry marks the observable peak. The 2025 entry is subject to publication lag and should not be read as a recovery signal without further monitoring.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Four IPC classes appear across the two families: G02B (optical elements and systems), G03F (photolithography and photomechanics), G06F (electric digital data processing), and G06N (computing based on AI models). The spread across physical optics, lithographic patterning, and AI-based computation reflects the interdisciplinary character of compact modeling for silicon photonics, but with only one family per branch the distribution is illustrative rather than statistically robust.
↗ 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.
Curvilinear mask models
The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to curvilinear mask models and methods of manufacture. The method includes: calibrating, by a computing device, machine learning models for silicon photonics applications; retargeting, by the computing device, designs in a layout for the silicon photonics… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curvilinear mask models | 11 |
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.
Colorado State University Research Foundation
Holds 1 patent family concentrated in G02B 6 (optical elements and systems), reflecting a photonics-device-level approach to compact modeling. Applicant momentum data is not available for this corpus, but the institution’s single filing in this specific sub-domain suggests targeted rather than broad portfolio-building activity.
families: 1GlobalFoundries US Inc.
Holds 1 patent family spanning G03F 1 (photolithography), G06F 119, and G06F 30 (digital data processing sub-classes), indicating a process-and-simulation orientation consistent with a foundry’s interest in integrating compact models into process design kits. Applicant momentum data is not available for this corpus.
families: 1Frequently asked questions
The defined corpus contains 2 patent families, held by two applicants — Colorado State University Research Foundation and GlobalFoundries US Inc. — each with one family.
Both families are filed in the United States only. No filings in other jurisdictions — including PCT, EPO, or Asian patent offices — appear in the corpus.
The lifecycle stage is classified as Decline. Annual filings peaked in 2019 and have eased back from that peak. The field never established a sustained growth phase within this specific sub-domain.
Colorado State University Research Foundation focuses on optical elements and systems (G02B 6). GlobalFoundries US Inc. focuses on photolithography (G03F 1) and digital data processing sub-classes (G06F 119, G06F 30). Both hold exactly one family.
The most-cited reference identified in the corpus relates to curvilinear mask models, with 11 citations. No patent number is recorded in the evidence for this reference.
No co-applicant or collaboration relationships are detected in the corpus. The two applicants filed independently, and no joint-ownership or consortium filings appear in the data.
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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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