Silicon Photonics Wafer-Level QC Patent Snapshot
Silicon photonics wafer-level QC remains a nascent, highly concentrated niche with just 4 patent families in scope, dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Intel. The field is in a Growth stage on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak, and the United States is the sole active filing jurisdiction.
TSMC leads a tightly held, emerging niche
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company holds the top position in this corpus with 3 patent records, followed by Intel Corporation and individual inventor Michael T. Morse each with 2 patent records, and Marvell Asia with 1.
The top five filers collectively account for 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating extreme concentration with no meaningful second tier — a characteristic of very early-stage or narrowly scoped technology niches.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company | 3 | |
| 2 | Intel Corporation | 2 | |
| 3 | MORSE MICHAEL T | 2 | |
| 4 | Marvell Asia Pte Ltd | 1 |
TSMC’s leading position, combined with Intel’s multi-inventor collaborative cluster, suggests that the two companies most active in advanced silicon photonics integration are also the primary generators of wafer-level QC intellectual property in this space.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; conclusions about recent activity should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Sporadic filing activity concentrated in optical elements and systems
The annual filing trend reveals an intermittent activity pattern across the corpus, with technology composition anchored heavily in optical elements and systems. These two views together suggest a field where foundational photonic integration IP is visible in and dedicated QC-specific branches remain sparse.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity is sparse and episodic: one family in 2020, two in 2023, and one in 2025, with zero activity in surrounding years. The 2023 peak is the most active single year on record. The 2024–2026 window is likely understated due to publication lag, so the apparent absence of recent filings should not be read as a halt in activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G02B (Optical elements and systems) is the visible IPC branch with 6 patent records, reflecting the photonic waveguide and integration focus of the corpus. H10P and H01L (Semiconductor devices) each contribute modestly, while G01M (Testing machine and structure balance) — the branch most directly associated with metrology and QC — appears with only 1 patent record, underscoring how thin dedicated QC coverage is relative to device integration IP.
↗ 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.
Method of manufacturing and packaging silicon phot…
A method of packaging the silicon photonics wafer for fabricating custom optical-electrical modules includes fabricating a wafer with multiple dies of silicon photonics circuits based on custom design and conducting electrical and optical tests of the silicon photonics circuits in wafer level. The method further includes preparing the wafer for next point… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Method of manufacturing and packaging silicon phot… | 9 |
| 2 | Vertical mirror in a silicon photonic circuit | 5 |
| 3 | Wavelength tuning in silicon photonics | 1 |
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.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
TSMC holds 3 patent records — the largest count in the corpus — concentrated in G02B 6 (Optical elements and systems), reflecting a focus on photonic waveguide integration within its advanced process platform. Its momentum is classified as a new entrant, indicating recent first-time activity in this specific niche rather than a long-standing prosecution program.
patent records: 3Intel Corporation
Intel holds 2 patent records and is supported by four named inventors — Rong Haisheng, Michael T. Morse, Liu Ansheng, and John Heck — each co-filing with the company. Intel’s technology emphasis spans both G02B 6 (Optical elements and systems) and H10P 95, giving it a broader IPC footprint than TSMC and signaling investment in photonic semiconductor device physics alongside integration.
patent records: 2Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 4 patent families in scope. This is a very small and nascent corpus, reflecting the early-stage nature of dedicated wafer-level QC IP for silicon photonics.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the top filer with 3 patent records, followed by Intel Corporation and inventor Michael T. Morse with 2 patent records each, and Marvell Asia with 1.
All 4 patent families are filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, with 2 additional records via WIPO PCT. No filings are recorded in Asian or European national offices based on current evidence.
The field is classified as Growth: recent three-year filings sit above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. Annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak, and the most recent years are subject to publication lag.
G02B (Optical elements and systems) is visible with 6 patent records. H10P has 2, while G01M (Testing machine and structure balance) and H01L (Semiconductor devices) each have 1 — indicating that dedicated QC and process-control branches are sparsely covered.
Yes. Intel Corporation is the hub of the only documented co-filing network: inventors Rong Haisheng, Michael T. Morse, Liu Ansheng, and John Heck each co-filed with Intel with 2 joint patent records apiece. No cross-company or academic collaboration is evident in the evidence.
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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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