Tandem Solar Cell Encapsulation Patents: Who Leads, Gaps 2026
- Only 15 families total. this is an early, unsettled claim space, not a mature one — filing peaked at 6 in 2024 after a flat 2022.
- 92% of activity sits in one jurisdiction. 12 of 15 records were filed at the US receiving office, with only 2 PCT and 1 EPO filing — protection elsewhere is largely unclaimed.
- The two most-cited records are decades-adjacent outliers. both top-cited documents concern space-panel solar cell mounting, not tandem-cell moisture barriers — current encapsulation claims have little citation history yet.
A small, recent dataset still finding its shape
Tandem solar cell encapsulation sits at the intersection of two demanding requirements: protecting a moisture-sensitive perovskite top cell while preserving optical and mechanical integration with a silicon bottom cell. The dataset covering this space is small — 15 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 — and filing activity has been uneven rather than steadily rising, with a flat year in 2022 followed by a peak of 6 filings in 2024. That pattern is consistent with a technology area still being defined at the claim level rather than one with an established, crowded prior art base.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the apparent drop toward 2026 understates real filing activity in the most recent period; the true count for 2025 and 2026 will rise as those applications publish. Readers should treat the last one to two years of any trend line here as a floor, not a ceiling.
Filing trend and technology composition
The numbers below come directly from the 15 families in this dataset — enough to show direction and concentration, not enough to support fine-grained statistical claims.
Flat-to-declining filing pattern
Filings opened at 2 in 2017, sat at 0 by the 2022 midpoint, then climbed to a peak of 6 in 2024 before falling off toward 2026 — a pattern more consistent with sporadic activity by a handful of filers than sustained, broad-based investment.
IPC composition concentrated in one subclass
H01L (semiconductor devices) accounts for 12 of the 15 records, with H10K (organic semiconductors) contributing 3 and H10F (photovoltaic and light-sensitive devices) contributing just 1 — encapsulation claims here are being filed almost entirely as semiconductor-device art rather than under dedicated photovoltaic device classes.
Shares are the percentage of the 15 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Tandem Solar Cell Encapsulation with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about tandem solar cell encapsulation and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records, and the one that defines current practice
Fabricating tandem solar cell devices using device-level encapsulation (US20240381675A1)
A method includes obtaining a set of tandem solar cell devices, and forming, on each tandem solar cell device of the set using a deposition process, a discrete encapsulation layer along an upper surface and side surfaces of the tandem solar cell device.Filed by Applied Materials, published 2024-11-14 — the dataset's clearest example of device-level, deposition-based encapsulation rather than module-level lamination.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20160359079A1 | Automated assembly and mounting of solar cells on space panels | 21 |
| 2 | US9748432B2 | Automated assembly and mounting of solar cells on space panels | 7 |
| 3 | US20240381675A1 | Fabricating tandem solar cell devices using device-level encapsulation | 1 |
| 4 | US20170323996A1 | Automated assembly and mounting of solar cells on space panels | 1 |
Citation counts inside a bounded search corpus favour older filings; the two top-cited records here predate current tandem-cell encapsulation approaches and should be read as influence markers, not as evidence of present-day importance.
Publication numbers are shown where the record carries one (4 of 4 rows); clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the filing pattern signals
Three things stand out once the trend, the citations and the jurisdiction split are read together.
Activity is recent and uneven, not sustained
A midpoint of 0 filings in 2022 followed by a jump to 6 in 2024 suggests bursts of filing tied to specific R&D programmes rather than a continuously growing field. New entrants should not assume dense prior art blocks every approach; they should check which specific claim was filed in which burst.
Protection outside the US is largely unclaimed
With only 2 PCT filings and 1 EPO filing against 12 US filings, an assignee seeking freedom to operate in Europe or via PCT routes faces far less prior art than one searching only US filings.
Claims cluster under semiconductor-device art
H10F, the dedicated photovoltaic and light-sensitive device subclass, holds just 1 of the 15 records. Most applicants are framing tandem encapsulation as a semiconductor-device problem, which leaves photovoltaic-specific framing comparatively open.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to tandem solar cell encapsulation, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Zhejiang Jinko Energy Co., Ltd. | Jinko Energy (Haining) Co., Ltd. | 2 |
Only one co-assignee pair appears in the dataset, linking two related Jinko Solar entities on a single pair of filings — there is no broader pattern of joint filing or cross-licensing visible yet.
Who is filing, and where momentum has stalled
Recent-year momentum data shows every tracked assignee at 0 filings in the latest year, several down 100% year-on-year from a prior filing — a signal that the field's early filers have gone quiet rather than accelerated, at least in what has published so far.
Jinko's filing pair has gone cold
Zhejiang Jinko Energy and its related entity Jinko Energy (Haining) formed the dataset's only co-assignee pair, but both show 0 filings in the latest year and a -100% year-on-year drop, consistent with a completed filing burst rather than ongoing programme.
Applied Materials holds the most technically distinct filing
Applied Materials' representative record describes device-level deposition encapsulation, distinct from module-lamination approaches, but shows no filings in the latest tracked year — worth monitoring for a follow-on filing rather than treating as an active pipeline.
Smaller filers appear and then pause
Soeal Technology (transliterated) shows 0 filings in the latest year with no co-filing partners recorded, typical of a single-programme filer in a still-forming technology area rather than a sustained competitor.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Soeal Technology | 0 | — |
| Zhejiang Jinko Energy Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| Jinko Energy (Haining) Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| Applied Materials, Inc. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The filing pattern here raises specific questions that a full-text claim review, rather than summary counts, can answer.
Check claim scope inside the 2024 filing burst
The peak year's 6 filings likely include the field's most current claim language; comparing their independent claims side by side will show whether they overlap or address distinct encapsulation approaches.
Explore filings in EurekaMap freedom to operate outside the US
With only 3 non-US filings across PCT and EPO routes, a targeted search of European and Asian national filings may surface additional prior art not captured in this US-heavy dataset.
Run a freedom-to-operate searchTrack dormant assignees for renewed activity
Every tracked assignee shows 0 filings in the latest year; setting an alert on these names will catch the next filing burst as it publishes.
Set up assignee monitoringCommon questions on tandem solar cell encapsulation patents
This dataset identifies 15 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 that specifically combine tandem or multijunction solar cell claims with encapsulation, moisture-barrier or edge-sealing language under the relevant IPC classes. That is a small number compared with mainstream photovoltaic categories, reflecting how recently perovskite-silicon tandem architectures have reached commercial development. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the true count for 2025-2026 filings is understated until those applications publish.
Applied Materials holds the dataset's most technically distinct filing, describing device-level deposition encapsulation for tandem cells. Zhejiang Jinko Energy and its affiliate Jinko Energy (Haining) form the dataset's only co-assignee pair. All tracked assignees show 0 filings in the most recent year, so leadership in this space is better read as recent history than as an active, ongoing race.
The representative filing in this dataset describes forming a discrete encapsulation layer along the upper and side surfaces of a tandem solar cell device using a deposition process, distinct from bulk module lamination. Most of the broader set of 15 records are classified under H01L, the general semiconductor-device IPC subclass, rather than the dedicated photovoltaic subclass H10F, indicating that encapsulation claims are largely being framed at the device-fabrication level rather than the module level.
Only 1 of the 15 records falls under H10F, the IPC subclass specific to photovoltaic and light-sensitive devices, suggesting encapsulation claims framed explicitly around photovoltaic module structure rather than generic semiconductor fabrication are comparatively open. Filing outside the United States is also thin, with just 2 PCT filings and 1 EPO filing against 12 US filings, leaving substantial room to establish protection through non-US routes. Sub-areas such as perovskite-specific edge sealing and flexible tandem substrate barriers show little dedicated claim density in this dataset.
Not steadily. Filings started at 2 in 2017, fell to 0 by the 2022 midpoint, then rose to a peak of 6 in 2024 before dropping off toward 2026 — a pattern of bursts rather than sustained growth. High filing density in a peak year signals that particular claim space is occupied at that moment, not that the underlying technology has matured. Readers should treat the most recent one to two years as understated due to publication lag rather than as a genuine slowdown.
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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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.