Tandem Solar Cell Transparent Electrode Patents: Who Leads 2026
- Filing has cooled since its 2017 peak. Nine records filed that year against roughly two by the 2022 midpoint, a pattern more consistent with an early land grab than a technology still accelerating.
- H01L dominates the classification mix almost completely. 51 of 52 records sit in H01L, with H10K (organic semiconductors) as the only classification appearing in a meaningful fraction of the same filings — signalling the field is being claimed as a silicon/perovskite semiconductor problem, not an organic-electronics one.
- The United States and South Korea receive the bulk of filings. 26 records filed at the USPTO and 10 in South Korea versus single digits everywhere else, meaning most enforceable rights are concentrated in two jurisdictions.
What this dataset covers
This landscape tracks patent families at the intersection of tandem and multijunction solar cell architecture and the transparent conductive layers that carry current through them — transparent conductive oxide films, ITO-free electrode stacks, and recombination-layer electrodes used between sub-cells. The search combines tandem/multijunction cell language with electrode-specific claim terms, filtered to the semiconductor and conductive-material IPC classes where this work is actually claimed.
Fifty-two families were published between 2015 and the mid-2026 data cut-off, a small enough set that individual filings move the picture meaningfully. Publication lags filing by roughly eighteen months, so the apparent decline toward 2026 understates whatever has been filed most recently but not yet published.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 52-family dataset: how filing volume moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claims.
A 2017 peak, then a decline
Filings ran at 9 in 2017 and had fallen to roughly 2 by the 2022 midpoint, with 2026 showing zero on a partial year. That trajectory reads as flat-to-declining rather than growing, though the newest filings are the ones most likely to be missing from the count due to publication lag.
Concentrated in H01L, spilling into H10K
51 of 52 records classify under H01L (semiconductor devices), with 17 also touching H10K (organic semiconductors), 8 in H01G (capacitors), and single digits scattered across H02S, H10F, C09B, C09K and C23C. The overlap with H10K suggests some electrode architectures are shared with organic photovoltaic and OLED work rather than being silicon-tandem-specific.
Shares are the percentage of the 52 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 Transparent Electrode with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about tandem solar cell transparent electrode and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this space
Tandem solar cell, tandem solar cell module comprising the same, and method for manufacturing thereof
The filing describes a monolithic tandem solar cell pairing a perovskite sub-cell with a crystalline silicon sub-cell, joined through a junction layer. Its distinguishing feature is a nano-electrode structure patterned onto the front surface of the front transparent electrode, intended to lengthen the optical path of incident sunlight within the device.Filed by LG Electronics, published January 2018.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5021100A | Tandem solar cell | 125 |
| 2 | US20180019358A1 | Tandem solar cell, tandem solar cell module comprising the same, and method for manufacturing thereof | 55 |
| 3 | JP2018011058A | Tandem solar cell, tandem solar cell module including the same, and manufacturing method thereof | 38 |
| 4 | US20160126401A1 | Tandem photovoltaic device | 38 |
| 5 | US20180374977A1 | Hybrid tandem solar cell | 36 |
| 6 | US20180158976A1 | Tandem solar cell and method of manufacturing the same | 32 |
| 7 | US20200212243A1 | Method for manufacturing perovskite silicon tandem solar cell | 30 |
| 8 | KR1020180011832A | Tandem solar cell, tanden solar cell module comprising the same and method for manufacturing thereof | 24 |
| 9 | KR1020180007585A | Tandem solar cell, tanden solar cell module comprising the same and method for manufacturing thereof | 21 |
| 10 | WO2017105247A1 | Tandem solar cell and method for manufacturing such a solar cell | 18 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had more time to accumulate references within the searched corpus; treat them as a signal of influence on the field's vocabulary, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers actually indicate
Three read-throughs from the filing and citation data, kept to what the evidence supports.
Activity has not sustained its early peak
The 2017 high of 9 filings was not repeated; by the 2022 midpoint annual output had dropped to around 2. A flat-to-declining trend in a 52-family dataset points to a niche that was staked out early rather than one still being actively contested.
This is claimed as semiconductor-device territory
Almost every record sits inside H01L, with H10K, H01G and H02S appearing as secondary classifications on a subset of filings. The near-total concentration in one subclass means differentiation between filings happens at the claim-language level, not the classification level.
Enforcement leverage sits in two offices
The USPTO and the Korean Intellectual Property Office between them receive over two-thirds of the filings in this dataset, with EPO, WIPO, Japan and the Netherlands trailing well behind. Freedom-to-operate work should weight US and Korean prosecution history first.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to tandem solar cell transparent electrode, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claims
The assignee ranking is rendered separately; what stands out here is the shape of the field rather than any single name. Momentum has stalled broadly — the tracked assignees in this dataset each show zero filings in the most recent year, consistent with the overall decline from the 2017 peak.
A modest, fragmented field
With only 52 families across the entire dataset, no single assignee can build the kind of dense thicket seen in larger solar segments. That makes individual filings more consequential for freedom-to-operate analysis than in higher-volume technologies.
Recent-year activity has gone quiet
Every assignee tracked for recent-year momentum shows zero filings in the latest year. Combined with the broader downward trend from 2017, this reads as a technology area where the early claiming has largely finished rather than one heating up.
Filing is not globally distributed
Records land at six receiving offices, but the United States and South Korea alone account for the large majority. Japan and the Netherlands each show only a single record, meaning coverage outside the US-Korea-Europe axis is thin.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| LG Electronics Inc. | 0 | — |
| Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) | 0 | — |
| Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research / Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) | 0 | — |
| Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) | 0 | — |
| Hanwha Solutions Corporation | 0 | — |
| Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) | 0 | — |
| Toshiba Corporation | 0 | — |
| Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The landscape points to a small, early-staked field with concentrated jurisdiction coverage. These are the natural follow-ups.
Map claim language, not just classification
Because 51 of 52 records share an IPC subclass, differentiation lives in claim wording around electrode structure, patterning and junction-layer composition. A claim-chart comparison across the top-cited filings will surface where language actually diverges.
Explore claims in EurekaCheck the quiet years for filed-not-published activity
The decline toward 2026 is partly a publication-lag artefact. Before concluding the space is abandoned, screen for recent applications that have not yet published.
Run a freshness check in EurekaStress-test the under-claimed branches
The gate chips above point to structural and material combinations with thin coverage in this dataset. Each merits its own targeted prior-art search before committing claim language.
Search white space in EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
In a tandem or multijunction solar cell, a transparent electrode is a conductive layer that lets sunlight pass through to the sub-cells beneath it while still carrying current out of the device. Common approaches include transparent conductive oxide films such as indium tin oxide, ITO-free alternatives built from metal nanowires or conductive polymers, and recombination-layer electrodes placed between two sub-cells in a monolithic stack. The choice of electrode affects both optical transmission and series resistance, so it is one of the most heavily claimed elements in tandem cell architecture.
The dataset shows filings peaking at 9 in 2017 and falling to roughly 2 by 2022, with 2026 showing no records so far. Part of this is a genuine slowdown as early entrants staked out core claim territory, and part of it is publication lag, since patent applications typically publish around eighteen months after filing, meaning the most recent one to two years are undercounted. Readers should treat the 2025-2026 figures as provisional rather than as evidence the field has stopped.
The United States and South Korea account for the large majority of filings in this dataset, at 26 and 10 records respectively, with Europe and WIPO trailing at single digits and Japan and the Netherlands each showing only one. A freedom-to-operate search should prioritise US and Korean prosecution and granted-claim history first, then extend to EPO filings, since coverage outside those three regions is thin in the current data.
Yes, to a degree. While 51 of 52 records sit in H01L (semiconductor devices), 17 also carry an H10K classification, which covers organic semiconductor devices including OLEDs. That overlap suggests some transparent electrode architectures developed for organic photovoltaics or organic light-emitting devices are being adapted into tandem silicon-perovskite stacks, rather than the electrode work being developed in isolation for solar.
Not especially, by patent-landscape standards — 52 total families is a small dataset, and recent-year filing activity across tracked assignees has dropped to zero. That said, low volume does not mean the space is open by default: dense citation of a handful of older filings, such as the 1990s-era tandem cell patent that anchors this dataset, means foundational architecture claims are already established. New filers should focus on specific electrode structures and materials rather than broad tandem-cell architecture claims.
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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.