Silicon Photonics Cost Reduction Patent Snapshot
Intel Corp dominates a highly concentrated field, holding the largest share among the top-ranked filers, with optical-element integration and semiconductor packaging as the central technical routes. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak and the most recent years remain understated by publication lag.
Intel leads a concentrated field with a steep tier gap below the top filer
Intel Corp is the clear leader, ranking first with 10 patent records, followed by Nokia of America Corp at 6 and Electronics & Telecomm Research Institute at 5. The top five filers account for 75% of the combined total among the ranked applicants visible in this query, signaling a strongly consolidated assignee snapshot.
The drop from the leader to the second tier is sharp: Intel’s count is nearly double that of Nokia of America Corp, and challengers such as Huawei Technologies and the Regents of the University of California each hold 3 patent records. This tier gap suggests that a small number of organizations set the technical agenda while the remainder occupy narrower niches.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intel Corporation | 10 | |
| 2 | Nokia of America Corporation | 6 | |
| 3 | ELECTRONICS & TELECOMM RES INST | 5 | |
| 4 | Regents of the University of California | 3 | |
| 5 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 6 | Aeponyx Inc. | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Ghent University | 2 | |
| 8 | IMEC (Interuniversitair Micro-Electronics Centrum) | 2 | |
| 9 | RPX Corporation | 1 | |
| 10 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 11 | NTT Innovative Devices Corporation | 1 |
Intel’s visible position, grounded in optical-element integration and semiconductor packaging, implies that prospective entrants face both a volume disadvantage and a citation-authority challenge, given that the most-cited works in this space focus on heterogeneous material bonding and waveguide alignment — techniques closely aligned with Intel’s portfolio emphasis.
Filings from the most recent 18–24 months are likely under-counted due to standard patent publication lag; the apparent plateau in 2024–2025 should not be read as a reversal of the multi-year growth trend. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity accelerated from 2020 onward, with optical elements dominating the technology mix
Two charts together reveal how the field has matured: the annual filing trend shows a distinct ramp starting in 2020 and peaking in 2023, while the technology composition chart shows that optical-element and systems patents are the structural backbone of this corpus.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity was negligible through 2019, then rose to 4 records in 2020, dipped in 2021–2022, surged to a peak of 5 in 2023, and has moderated since. The 2024–2025 counts are likely understated due to publication lag and should not be interpreted as a genuine decline. The recent three-year window sits well above the prior three-year window, consistent with a Growth lifecycle stage.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G02B (Optical elements and systems) is the visible branch with 23 patent records, far ahead of H01L (Semiconductor devices) and H01S (Lasers and stimulated emission) at 8 each. G02F (Optical control and modulation) contributes 5 records. Branches such as B33Y (Additive manufacturing) and C03B (Glass manufacture and shaping) each hold only 1 record, marking them as sparse adjacent areas relative to the optical-integration core.
↗ 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.
Optical coupling module for silicon photonics chip
An optical coupling module for a silicon photonics chip in which a grating is formed on an optical waveguide, and a material having an intermediate refractive index between refractive indexes of a core and a cladding for side surface optical coupling of the silicon photonics chip is provided. The optical coupling module which is optically coupled with an… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bonding of heterogeneous material grown on silicon… | 50 |
| 2 | Buried dual taper waveguide for passive alignment … | 45 |
| 3 | Co-integration of photonic devices on a silicon ph… | 23 |
| 4 | Optical coupling module for silicon photonics chip | 17 |
| 5 | Multi-frequency hybrid tunable laser | 12 |
| 6 | Buried dual taper waveguide for passive alignment … | 12 |
| 7 | Tunable Optical Apparatus | 11 |
| 8 | Optical multichip package with multiple system-on-… | 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.
Intel Corp
Intel Corp leads with 10 patent records, concentrating on G02B optical-element and systems integration (9 records at the sub-class level) and H01L semiconductor-device packaging. Its applicant momentum is marked as a new entrant in the recent window with 3 recent records, indicating continued active filing rather than a legacy-only position. The most-cited works in the corpus — on heterogeneous material bonding and dual-taper waveguide alignment — align directly with Intel’s integration-focused portfolio.
patent records: 10Nokia of America Corp
Nokia of America Corp holds 6 patent records and is distinctly differentiated by its focus on H01S lasers and stimulated emission (6 records at the sub-class level) alongside G02B optical elements. This laser-centric emphasis — absent from Intel’s visible IPC codes — positions Nokia of America Corp as the field’s principal challenger on the light-source integration sub-problem of cost reduction. Its trajectory and momentum data are not separately listed in the recent-window evidence, but its overall record count places it firmly in the second tier.
patent records: 6Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 18 patent families in scope. Separate from the family count, applicant rankings are compiled at the patent-record level, which can differ because a single family may produce records in multiple jurisdictions.
Intel Corp leads with 10 patent records, placing it well ahead of the second-ranked filer, Nokia of America Corp, at 6 patent records. The top five filers together account for 75% of the combined total among the ranked applicants visible in this query.
The field is classified as Growth. The recent three-year filing window is approximately 120% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has moderated since, though the most recent years are further understated by publication lag.
G02B (Optical elements and systems) is the visible branch with 23 patent records, followed by H01L (Semiconductor devices) and H01S (Lasers and stimulated emission) at 8 records each, and G02F (Optical control and modulation) at 5 records. These four branches collectively represent the core technical activity in the field.
The United States leads with 22 patent records, followed by WIPO (PCT) at 6, Europe (EPO) at 4, and Austria at 1 record. The strong US concentration reflects the geographic base of the visible assignees and the priority given to US market protection.
Yes. The only confirmed co-filing relationship in the evidence is between Ghent University and IMEC (Interuniversitair Micro-Electronics Centrum), who share 2 jointly filed records. Both organizations focus on G02B optical-element and H01L semiconductor-device branches, consistent with their European photonics research mandates.
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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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