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SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France – June 10, 2025 │ KnowMade today announced the publication of its Q1 2025 IP report on GaN electronics, highlighting robust patenting activity across both power and RF segments. Amid on-going patent disputes between leaders in the power GaN device market, companies keep executing their strategy to address this market. Recent patent filings emphasize critical aspects of power GaN technology such as gate design and packaging, resulting in sustained patent portfolio growth. Meanwhile, key RF market players keep expanding their IP activities in the RF GaN landscape, underlining the technology’s critical role in next-generation wireless applications.
Q1 2025 GaN Electronics IP Activity at a Glance
During the first quarter of 2025, a total of 540 new patent families were published, with Xidian University and major Chinese entities such as CETC and Innoscience leading the patent filings, followed by contributions from Nuvoton, STMicroelectronics, and Toshiba. Over 330 patent families were granted for the first time, notably reinforcing portfolios at Innoscience, STMicroelectronics, Infineon, Navitas, and EPC, alongside significant grants to Panasonic and TSMC. The quarter also saw more than 110 patents abandoned and over 70 patents expired, primarily from well-established patent holders including Wolfspeed, Infineon, and Fujitsu.
Approximately 10 IP collaborations (patent co-filings) were recorded, most partnerships formed between industry and academic organizations. For instance, Safran published a patent application with CNRS, CNAM and several universities in Paris, for an on-board aeronautical power circuit with active filtering. Also, Volkswagen cooperated with the University of Tennessee on GaN-based three-level active neutral point clamped power module designs, resulting in joint patent publications in Q1 2025.
Nearly 40 patent transactions took place this quarter, predominantly within China, such as the transfer of several RF GaN patents from Xidian University to Huawei and power module company Macmic Science & Technology’s acquisition of a GaN device patent from UESTC.
In addition, a new lawsuit was initiated in February 2025 when Innoscience appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals to challenge the U.S. International Trade Commission’s ruling in last November on EPC’s patent US 8,350,294.
Approximately 10 IP collaborations (patent co-filings) were recorded, most partnerships formed between industry and academic organizations. For instance, Safran published a patent application with CNRS, CNAM and several universities in Paris, for an on-board aeronautical power circuit with active filtering. Also, Volkswagen cooperated with the University of Tennessee on GaN-based three-level active neutral point clamped power module designs, resulting in joint patent publications in Q1 2025.
Nearly 40 patent transactions took place this quarter, predominantly within China, such as the transfer of several RF GaN patents from Xidian University to Huawei and power module company Macmic Science & Technology’s acquisition of a GaN device patent from UESTC.
In addition, a new lawsuit was initiated in February 2025 when Innoscience appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals to challenge the U.S. International Trade Commission’s ruling in last November on EPC’s patent US 8,350,294.
Top Innovators in Power GaN
Toshiba, Texas Instruments (TI), and Rohm each published more than six new inventions. In particular, Rohm introduced multiple innovations aimed at enhancing the reliability of normally-off GaN devices by leveraging p‑GaN gate layer techniques and superlattice buffer structures. TI unveiled a novel gate structure incorporating a p‑type poly‑Si layer to decouple parasitic capacitances and improve gate depletion behavior, alongside trench-based substrate-to-source connections for GaN power devices and a HEMT design featuring a doped barrier to boost threshold voltage stability and drain current stability. Moreover, TI disclosed a packaging solution wherein a GaN FET is co-packaged with its driver for optimized half-bridge modules.
Leading RF GaN Developments
Sony, Sumitomo Electric, and Macom disclosed six, five, and four RF-focused inventions, respectively. While Sumitomo Electric and Sony were focused on RF GaN device designs, Macom’s patenting activity related to RF amplifier circuitry and advanced packaging techniques.
Interestingly, Sumitomo Electric focused on RF GaN-on-SiC devices fabricated on nitrogen-polarity GaN epitaxial structures. Academic research also made a significant contribution on this topic with UCSB publishing an invention that improves the linearity of deep-recess GaN MIS‑HEMTs through corrugation of N-polar structures. MONDE Wireless, a UCSB spin-off, also mentioned N-polar GaN HEMTs grown on miscut substrates in another Q1-2025 patent publication.
Interestingly, Sumitomo Electric focused on RF GaN-on-SiC devices fabricated on nitrogen-polarity GaN epitaxial structures. Academic research also made a significant contribution on this topic with UCSB publishing an invention that improves the linearity of deep-recess GaN MIS‑HEMTs through corrugation of N-polar structures. MONDE Wireless, a UCSB spin-off, also mentioned N-polar GaN HEMTs grown on miscut substrates in another Q1-2025 patent publication.
Emerging players
New entrants to the GaN electronics IP landscape were predominantly Chinese, with LED manufacturer Anhui GaN Semiconductor filing several epiwafer patent applications for both power and RF uses, and battery manufacturer CATL submitting its first GaN-related invention targeting battery management systems. In the U.S., Tesla entered the arena with a packaged integrated circuit device featuring enhanced power surge heat dissipation, and Soctera, a Cornell University spin-off, proposed a GaN device structure using an AlN back barrier layer and in-situ two-step passivation process to mitigate current collapse.
KnowMade’s GaN Electronics Patent Monitoring Service
Subscribing to KnowMade’s GaN Electronics Quarterly Patent Monitor provides timely insights into emerging technologies and competitor activities. This service offers comprehensive quarterly analysis reports accompanied by an updated patent database, essential tools for tracking competitors’ IP developments and uncovering strategic opportunities.
The added value of this monitoring service lies in year-round access to a dedicated analyst, enabling you to request additional research on specific technologies or companies’ patent portfolios, and to customize the monitoring service by including specific players and/or segments to better suit your strategic needs.
Reach out to us at contact@knowmade.fr for subscriptions and further details.
Press contact
contact@knowmade.fr
Le Drakkar, 2405 route des Dolines, 06560 Valbonne Sophia Antipolis, France
www.knowmade.com
About KnowMade
KnowMade is a technology intelligence and IP strategy consulting company specialized in analyzing patents and scientific publications. The company helps innovative companies, investors, and R&D organizations to understand competitive landscape, follow technological evolutions, reduce uncertainties, and identify opportunities and risks in terms of technology and intellectual property.
KnowMade’s analysts combine their strong technology expertise and in-depth knowledge of patents with powerful analytics tools and methodologies to turn patent information and scientific literature into actionable insights, providing high added value reports for decision makers working in R&D, innovation strategy, intellectual property, and marketing. Our experts provide prior art search, patent landscape analysis, freedom-to-operate analysis, IP due diligence, and monitoring services.
KnowMade has a solid expertise in Compound Semiconductors, Power Electronics, Batteries, RF Technologies & Wireless Communications, Solid-State Lighting & Display, Photonics, Memories, MEMS & Sensors, Semiconductor Packaging, Medical Devices, Medical Imaging, Microfluidics, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutics, and Agri-Food.
The added value of this monitoring service lies in year-round access to a dedicated analyst, enabling you to request additional research on specific technologies or companies’ patent portfolios, and to customize the monitoring service by including specific players and/or segments to better suit your strategic needs.
Reach out to us at contact@knowmade.fr for subscriptions and further details.
Press contact
contact@knowmade.fr
Le Drakkar, 2405 route des Dolines, 06560 Valbonne Sophia Antipolis, France
www.knowmade.com
About KnowMade
KnowMade is a technology intelligence and IP strategy consulting company specialized in analyzing patents and scientific publications. The company helps innovative companies, investors, and R&D organizations to understand competitive landscape, follow technological evolutions, reduce uncertainties, and identify opportunities and risks in terms of technology and intellectual property.
KnowMade’s analysts combine their strong technology expertise and in-depth knowledge of patents with powerful analytics tools and methodologies to turn patent information and scientific literature into actionable insights, providing high added value reports for decision makers working in R&D, innovation strategy, intellectual property, and marketing. Our experts provide prior art search, patent landscape analysis, freedom-to-operate analysis, IP due diligence, and monitoring services.
KnowMade has a solid expertise in Compound Semiconductors, Power Electronics, Batteries, RF Technologies & Wireless Communications, Solid-State Lighting & Display, Photonics, Memories, MEMS & Sensors, Semiconductor Packaging, Medical Devices, Medical Imaging, Microfluidics, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutics, and Agri-Food.