Wafer Alignment & Stage Patents: Who Leads, Filing Trends 2026
- Filing activity has cooled since 2017. the peak year in this dataset, with 2022's midpoint sitting at roughly two-thirds of that level and no recovery through the most recent full year.
- G03F dominates the claim map. 507 of 592 records touch photolithography and photomechanics, with H01L semiconductor-device claims layered on top of most of them.
- One record dwarfs the citation table. US20030025890A1 carries 1,128 citations, over six times the next most-cited record, marking it as a foundational reference rather than a live filing threat.
What this patent set covers
This landscape tracks 592 patent families filed against wafer stage and lithography alignment claims, spanning nanometer positioning, vibration isolation, interferometric measurement, thermal stability and acceleration control. The search combines title-level stage and positioning-system language with claim-description terms and IPC codes across G03F, G03F9 and H01L21, so it captures both the exposure-tool hardware and the semiconductor-process claims built on top of it.
Coverage runs from 2015 through the middle of 2026, with the most recent year necessarily undercounted because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months. Receiving-office data shows the bulk of activity filed through the United States, followed by the European Patent Office and Japan, with a smaller but non-trivial share routed through the PCT system and Singapore.
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Trend and technology composition
The filing curve and the IPC breakdown together show a field that built out its core stage-and-alignment claims early and has since shifted filing weight toward adjacent semiconductor-process classes rather than expanding the stage hardware itself.
A peak in 2017, no recovery since
Filings peaked at 14 in 2017. By the 2022 midpoint the count had fallen to 9, and the trend through the most recent full year shows no sign of a second wave. Read the tail end cautiously: publication lag means the last one to two years will always understate true filing activity.
G03F and H01L carry the claim weight
507 of 592 records sit in G03F (photolithography and photomechanics), and 305 also touch H01L (semiconductor devices), confirming that most stage and alignment claims are drafted alongside process-integration language rather than as standalone mechanical patents. Smaller clusters in G01B (measuring length and dimensions) and B81B (MEMS) mark narrower, less contested branches.
Shares are the percentage of the 592 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Wafer Alignment and Stage Systems with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about wafer alignment and stage systems and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe records that anchor this landscape
US20020180945A1 — Connection assembly of wafer stage chamber
A connection assembly links a component inside a chamber to a stationary surface while preserving a controlled atmosphere around the wafer stage. It pairs a vibration isolation connection assembly with a bellows assembly, isolating the stage mechanism from external vibration while allowing motion of the enclosed part relative to the chamber wall.Filed by Nikon Corporation; published 2002-12-05.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20030025890A1 | Exposure apparatus and exposure method capable of controlling illumination distribution | 1,128 |
| 2 | US6940582B1 | Parallel link mechanism, exposure system and method of manufacturing the same, and method of manufacturing de… | 184 |
| 3 | US6771350B2 | Exposure apparatus and exposure method capable of controlling illumination distribution | 178 |
| 4 | US6992751B2 | Scanning exposure apparatus | 175 |
| 5 | US20040100297A1 | Semiconductor device inspection apparatus and inspection method | 140 |
| 6 | US6731371B1 | Exposure method and apparatus, and method of fabricating a device | 100 |
| 7 | US6260282B1 | Stage control with reduced synchronization error and settling time | 98 |
| 8 | US6172738B1 | Scanning exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using the same | 97 |
| 9 | US6553277B1 | Method and apparatus for vacuum treatment | 88 |
| 10 | US20070247640A1 | Exposure Apparatus, Exposure Method and Device Manufacturing Method, and Surface Shape Detection Unit | 82 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favor older filings; treat this table as a map of technical influence, not of which claims are still commercially live.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three patterns matter more than the raw counts: where citation weight concentrates, how classification overlaps, and what the co-filing pairs reveal about internal team structure at the leading assignee.
One filing anchors the whole field
US20030025890A1, on illumination-distribution control during exposure, carries more than six times the citations of the next-ranked record. That gap signals a foundational reference that later filings build against rather than compete with directly.
Stage claims are drafted as process claims
The heavy overlap between G03F and H01L means most wafer stage and alignment patents are filed as part of a broader exposure or semiconductor-process claim set, not as isolated mechanical inventions. Freedom-to-operate work here needs to check both classes together.
A field past its filing peak
2017 was the high-water mark at 14 filings; by the 2022 midpoint that had dropped to 9, and momentum tracking shows the leading assignees at zero new filings in the latest tracked year. Flat or declining filing volume does not mean the technology is settled — it can also mean claim space is already occupied.
Named-inventor pairs cluster around one assignee
The strongest co-assignee links in this dataset all run through Nikon, pairing the company with individual named inventors across multiple filings. That pattern points to a stable internal engineering team rather than joint ventures or cross-licensing arrangements.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to wafer alignment and stage systems, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claim space, and where it is open
Filing activity concentrates around a small set of exposure-tool and foundry-linked assignees, with named individual inventors appearing as recurring co-filers rather than as independent applicants. Momentum has cooled across the board: none of the tracked leading assignees show new filings in the latest year.
Nikon anchors the historical core
Nikon's filings and its recurring co-inventor pairings account for the strongest links in the co-assignee network, reflecting a long-running internal stage-engineering program built up well before this dataset's peak year.
Canon files alongside process integration
Canon's presence in this set tracks the same G03F/H01L overlap seen across the field, suggesting its stage and alignment claims are typically bundled with process or device claims rather than filed as stand-alone mechanical patents.
Foundry assignees file close to fabrication sites
SMIC and Shanghai Micro Electronics appear among the tracked assignees with zero latest-year momentum, but their historical filings, together with the Singapore receiving-office count, point to fabrication-adjacent filing strategy rather than tool-vendor strategy.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Nikon Corporation | 0 | — |
| Canon Inc. | 0 | — |
| Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd | 0 | — |
| Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corporation (SMIC) | 0 | — |
| Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd. (SMEE) | 0 | — |
| SHIBAZAKI YUICHI | 0 | — |
| Silicon Valley Group, Inc. | 0 | — |
| KANAYA YUHO | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with concentrated legacy claims and a cooling filing rate — useful context, but not a substitute for claim-by-claim review before committing engineering resources.
Run a freedom-to-operate check on the G03F/H01L overlap
Because most stage claims are bundled with process claims, a clearance search limited to G03F alone will miss blocking art sitting in H01L. Pull both classes together for any new stage-mechanism design.
Explore this in EurekaMap the under-claimed branches against your own roadmap
MEMS-based actuation and motor-integrated stage drives show thinner filing density in this set. Confirm whether that reflects genuine white space or simply narrower search terms before treating it as open ground.
Run a white-space scanCommon questions on wafer alignment and stage patents
Nikon shows the strongest internal filing network in this dataset, with recurring co-inventor pairings pointing to a long-running stage-engineering program. Canon appears as a close peer with similar overlap between stage claims and semiconductor-process claims. Foundry-side entities such as SMIC and Shanghai Micro Electronics also appear, though their filing pattern looks tied to fabrication needs rather than tool development, and none of these leading names show new filings in the most recent tracked year.
Filings peaked at 14 in 2017 and had fallen to 9 by the 2022 midpoint, with the trend continuing downward through the latest full year. This does not necessarily mean the technology has stopped evolving; a flat or declining filing curve in a mature IPC cluster like G03F often means core mechanical claim space is already occupied and later work shifts into adjacent process integration instead. It is also worth remembering that publication lag of roughly 18 months means the very last one to two years in any dataset will read lower than the true filing rate.
It is titled 'Exposure apparatus and exposure method capable of controlling illumination distribution' and carries 1,128 citations in this dataset, more than six times the next most-cited record. That level of citation concentration marks it as a foundational reference that later filings across the field build on or design around, rather than a currently contested claim boundary. Anyone drafting new illumination-control claims in exposure apparatus should expect this record to surface in any prior-art search.
The smaller IPC clusters in this dataset, B81B (MEMS structures), H02K (electric motors and generators) and G01B (dimensional measurement), show meaningfully lower record counts than the dominant G03F and H01L classes. That gap suggests thinner claim coverage around MEMS-based stage actuation, motor-integrated drive mechanisms and metrology feedback loops built directly into the stage. These branches are worth a targeted search before assuming they are open, since a narrow search string can understate real activity.
A patent family groups all the related filings, continuations and jurisdictional counterparts that stem from one underlying invention, so counting families instead of raw documents avoids overweighting applicants who file aggressively across multiple offices. This dataset tracks 592 families across 592 published records, and the receiving-office breakdown, weighted toward the United States, EPO and Japan, shows where those families were pursued for protection. For competitive analysis, family counts give a fairer picture of how many distinct inventions are actually in play.
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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.