Toshiba takes on Global Power Technology in SiC patent filings
Chinese power chip developer Global Power Technology is being challenged by Toshiba at the top of the rankings for patent filing for silicon carbide (SiC) power technology.
The latest data from analyst KnowMade in France saw over 840 new patent families filed globally in Q1 2025. The patenting activity of the quarter is marked by the acceleration of Toshiba in the SiC power device patent landscape to match Global Power Technology.
The Chinese company has been a regular top patent applicant in the last four quarters, focusing almost exclusively on the design of SiC MOSFET structures.
This was the first quarter with over 420 patent families granted, with five Japanese companies – Denso/Toyota, Fuji Electric, Sumitomo Electric, Mitsubishi Electric and Toshiba – alongside GPT. All of these are supplying devices for electric vehicle applications, highlighting the underlying shift in technology. Similarly the Nissan–Renault alliance filed a patent targeting enhanced gate reliability of trench SiC MOSFET with an electric-field relaxation region beneath the gate trench.
At the same time over 120 patents expired or were abandoned during the quarter, nearly 20% of which originated from Wolfspeed which is currently facing bankruptcy.
Microchip Technology has resumed its patenting activity in the SiC power device patent landscape, disclosing three inventions related to a hybrid SiC MOSFET with a silicon channel to provide increased carrier mobility and other potential benefits in terms of switching losses, power density,
The quarter also witnessed about 40 patent transfers, with several patent reassignments from Qorvo to United Silicon Carbide following its acquisition by onsemi in January. There were also 15 new companies in the quarter, with most of them coming from China.
SICC remains one of the most prolific patent applicants in the SiC substrate patent landscape and is still among the few Chinese companies seeking patent protection for innovations outside China. Its recent PCT applications target enhanced crystal quality by reducing the residual internal stress and by achieving a more uniform stress distribution across large-diameter 200mm wafers.
Meanwhile, Purdue University introduced a SiC MOS-based power device with ultra-short channel lengths for an ultra-low specific on-resistance.
Diving into next-generation SiC devices, our Q1 2025 report highlights companies publishing new patent applications targeting SiC superjunction structures (Rohm, Toshiba), SiC JFET (Onsemi) and SiC IGBT (Hitachi, GlobalFoundries, Rohm, Toshiba).
In a newly published patent application, Hitachi considers the use of semi-insulating SiC substrates for medium voltage (MV) applications over 10kV to reduce the manufacturing costs of the corresponding SiC devices, whether a PiN-Diode or an IGBT.
The integration of devices into medium voltage 15kV power modules has also been considered in a new patent publication from Aalborg University, aiming at reducing the maximum electric field in the trench between high voltage and ground pads.
Packaging is also a key area for innovation, and Onsemi has applied for patents on flip chip and pre-molded clip power modules, Hitachi for die-attach featuring high bonding reliability at high temperatures and Semikron Danfoss for a three-level power module with a low inductance layout.
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