Patent ranking · Data retrieved 13 October 2026

Atomic Layer Processing Patent Leaderboard 2026

Research Atomic Layer Processing in Eureka
13 October 2026Data: Patsnap, retrieved 13 October 2026How this ranking is calculated
01 · Ranking

Top 50 Atomic Layer Processing patent applicants by publications

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO LTD has rank 1 with 2,124 publications, and APPLIED MATERIALS INC has rank 2 with 2,068 publicationsS2. LAM RES CORP has rank 3 with 1,646 publications and ASM IP HLDG BV has rank 4 with 1,135 publicationsS2. BENEQ OY and SEMICON MFG INT (SHANGHAI) CORP share rank 11 with 329 publications each, while HANSOL CHEM and RGT UNIV OF CALIFORNIA share rank 28 with 125 publications eachS2. UCHICAGO ARGONNE LLC and UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP share rank 31 with 120 publications eachS2.

Fig. 01

Top 50 applicants (51 rows, tie at the last rank)

publications · share of 30,047 in scope

Select any applicant to open its atomic layer processing publications in Patsnap Eureka.

1TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO LTD2,1247.1%
2APPLIED MATERIALS INC2,0686.9%
3LAM RES CORP1,6465.5%
4ASM IP HLDG BV1,1353.8%
5TOKYO ELECTRON LTD8102.7%
6INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION6592.2%
7SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD5281.8%
8VERSUM MATERIALS US LLC4191.4%
9MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC3851.3%
10INTEL CORP3491.2%
=11BENEQ OY3291.1%
=11SEMICON MFG INT (SHANGHAI) CORP3291.1%
13SEMICON MFG INT (BEIJING) CORP2820.9%
14CHANGXIN MEMORY TECH INC2670.9%
15MERCK PATENT GMBH2610.9%
16ENTEGRIS INC2450.8%
17PICOSUN OY2350.8%
18INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO ELECTRONICS CENT (IMEC VZW)1830.6%
19LAIR LIQUIDE SA POUR LETUDE & LEXPLOITATION DES PROCEDES GEORGES CLAUDE1750.6%
20ADEKA CORP1740.6%
Show ranks 21 to 49
21BASF SE1600.5%
22YANGTZE MEMORY TECH CO LTD1580.5%
23INST OF MICROELECTRONICS CHINESE ACAD OF SCI LTD1530.5%
24SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO LTD1450.5%
25SK HYNIX INC1410.5%
26I TEN1350.4%
27NAN YA TECH1270.4%
=28HANSOL CHEM1250.4%
=28RGT UNIV OF CALIFORNIA1250.4%
30LUMILEDS LLC1210.4%
=31UCHICAGO ARGONNE LLC1200.4%
=31UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP1200.4%
33BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO LTD1160.4%
34NANEXA1130.4%
=35HUAZHONG UNIV OF SCI & TECH1120.4%
=35TOKYO ELECTRON US HOLDINGS INC1120.4%
37THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO1100.4%
=38GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC1060.4%
=38SKYTECH1060.4%
40SAUDI ARABIAN OIL CO1030.3%
41BEIJING NAURA MICROELECTRONICS EQUIP CO LTD920.3%
42NEDERLANDSE ORG VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNO880.3%
43LG CHEM LTD870.3%
44LUXEMBOURG INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (LIST)850.3%
45JIANGSU MICROVIA NANO EQUIP TECH CO LTD830.3%
46PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO LTD820.3%
=47MONOLITHIC 3D INC800.3%
=47SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES LLC800.3%
=49FUDAN UNIVERSITY780.3%
=49JUSUNG ENG780.3%
=49TOPPAN HOLDINGS INC780.3%
  • Ranked by the number of patent publications matching the query in source S1, application years 2016 to 2026, as recorded in the Patsnap database on 13 October 2026. Names are shown exactly as recorded; affiliated entities are not combined.
  • Bar length is scaled to the rank 1 count.
  • Share is each applicant's publications as a share of all publications in scope. A publication with several applicants counts for each of them, so counts and shares in this table overlap and are not added together.
  • Applicants with equal counts share a rank, marked with "=".
  • Applicants identified as individuals rather than organisations are removed from this table and the remaining applicants are ranked among themselves. That identification is not exhaustive, so an individual can still appear in the table. Publications of removed applicants stay inside the total and every share on this page.
  • The first 20 rows are shown; the remaining 31 rows are listed under "Show ranks 21 to 49".
  • 51 rows are shown because applicants are tied at rank 49.

Source: applicant counts, retrieved 13 October 2026S2

02 · Data

More views of the same search

By application year

Share of publications with a grant date

One point per application year

0%50%100%74%74%74%161820222426

Publications whose application has a recorded grant date, as a share of all publications, per application year. Not an allowance rate.S3

Application year 2016 recorded 2,918 publications with 2,160 carrying a grant date, a share of 74.0%, while application year 2021 recorded 3,503 publications with 2,334 carrying a grant date, a share of 66.6%S3. Application year 2025 recorded 1,990 publications with 210 carrying a grant date, a share of 10.6%S3.

Open atomic layer processing publications by application year in Eureka

Office of publication

Publications by filing office

Publications per office · share of all publications in scope

US13,688 45.6%CN4,429 14.7%WO3,027 10.1%EP2,559 8.5%TW1,357 4.5%KR1,300 4.3%

Each publication is counted once, under the office that published it. WO is WIPO (PCT international applications) and EP the European Patent Office. This shows where publications appeared, not where inventions originated.S4

The US office published 13,688 publications, a share of 45.6% of the 30,047 publications in scope, while the CN office published 4,429 publications, a share of 14.7%S4. The WO office published 3,027 publications, a share of 10.1%S4.

Open the US, CN and WO publications in Eureka

As recorded

Publications by legal status

Publications per status · share of all publications in scope

Active16,422 54.7%Pending6,207 20.7%Inactive4,293 14.3%PCT designated stage expired2,617 8.7%PCT designated stage410 1.4%Undetermined98 0.3%

Simple legal status recorded by Patsnap on the retrieval date; one status per publication. Not a statement that any patent is valid, enforceable or in force.S5

Publications recorded as Active account for 16,422 publications, a share of 54.7% of the 30,047 publications in scope, while publications recorded as Pending account for 6,207 publications, a share of 20.7%S5. Publications recorded as Inactive account for 4,293 publications, a share of 14.3%S5.

Open atomic layer processing publications by legal status in Eureka

Current assignee

Publications by current assignee type

Publications per type · shares overlap

Company25,485 84.8%Academy4,791 15.9%Person457 1.5%Government195 0.6%Other184 0.6%Hospital10 <0.1%Bank3 <0.1%

Type of the current assignee as classified by Patsnap, which can differ from the applicant in the ranking. A publication can count under more than one type.S6

The current assignee type Company is recorded on 25,485 publications, a share of 84.8% of the 30,047 publications in scope, while the type Academy is recorded on 4,791 publications, a share of 15.9%S6. The type Person is recorded on 457 publications, a share of 1.5%S6.

Open the current assignees of atomic layer processing publications in Eureka

Classification

Publications by IPC subclass

Publications per subclass · shares overlap

H01L14,734 49.0%C23C11,133 37.1%H10P5,410 18.0%H10D2,702 9.0%H10B1,852 6.2%H01M1,612 5.4%H01J1,471 4.9%H10W1,336 4.4%H10N1,290 4.3%C07F1,118 3.7%

International Patent Classification subclasses. A publication usually carries several, so it counts under each of them.S7

IPC subclass H01L is recorded on 14,734 publications, a share of 49.0% of the 30,047 publications in scope, while subclass C23C is recorded on 11,133 publications, a share of 37.1%S7. Subclass H10P is recorded on 5,410 publications, a share of 18.0%S7.

Open the H01L, C23C and H10P publications in Eureka

Machine classification

Counts by technical effect tag

Count per tag

improve performance1,766Improve reliability1,329Improve performance1,147Improve efficiency1,141low cost912Improve stability883easy to control740

Data source: Patsnap technical-effect analysis for the S1 query, retrieved 13 October 2026. Tags are assigned by machine classification and one document can carry several. Tags that differ only in capitalisation are separate tags in the source and are shown as recorded; their counts overlap and are not combined. Counted on the analysis module's own basis, which differs from the publication counts above; not comparable with them.S8

The technical effect tag "improve performance" has a count of 1,766, and the tag "Improve reliability" has a count of 1,329S8. The tag "low cost" has a count of 912S8.

Open atomic layer processing publications by technical effect in Eureka

Model estimate

Counts by estimated value band

Count per estimated value band (USD)

$1 - $30K4,183$30K - $300K3,541$300K - $600K802$600K - $3M1,657> $3M182

Data source: Patsnap portfolio-value analysis for the S1 query, retrieved 13 October 2026. Bands are estimates from Patsnap's patent valuation model, not appraisals, prices or offers, and only documents with an estimate are counted. Counted on the analysis module's own basis, which differs from the publication counts above; not comparable with them.S9

The estimated value band "$1 - $30K" has a count of 4,183, and the band "$30K - $300K" has a count of 3,541S9. The band "> $3M" has a count of 182S9.

05 · Questions

Questions & Answers

Who has the most atomic layer processing patent publications?

In the query used for this page, TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO LTD has rank 1 with 2,124 matching publications, application years 2016 to 2026S2. APPLIED MATERIALS INC has rank 2 with 2,068 publicationsS2. LAM RES CORP has rank 3 with 1,646 publicationsS2. Counts are patent publications as recorded in the Patsnap database on 13 October 2026S1.

How many atomic layer processing patent publications are there?

30,047 patent publications match the query used for this page, application years 2016 to 2026S1. The query text is listed under Sources, and the count is as recorded in the Patsnap database on 13 October 2026S1.

Which patent office published the most atomic layer processing patent publications?

Of the 30,047 publications matching the query used on this page, US published 13,688, or 45.6%S4. Each publication is counted once, under the office that published itS4.

Which IPC subclasses appear most often in atomic layer processing patent publications?

Among the 30,047 publications matching the query used on this page, H01L appears on 14,734 (49.0%), C23C appears on 11,133 (37.1%), H10P appears on 5,410 (18.0%)S7. A publication usually carries several IPC codes, so these counts overlapS7.

How is this patent leaderboard calculated?

Every publication matching one fixed search query is counted once for each applicant named on it, using the applicant name as normalised in the Patsnap databaseS2. Applicants are ranked by that count, applicants with equal counts share a rank, and affiliated entities are listed separatelyS2.

Method
  • Unit. Every count on this page, except the counts in the Patsnap analysis charts (see below), is a count of patent publications. An application and its granted patent are separate publications, and the same invention filed in several countries appears once per publication. Counts are not counts of inventions or patent families.
  • Publication types. All publication types returned by the query are counted, including utility models and design patents where they match. No publication type is excluded or weighted.
  • Scope. One fixed search query defines every figure on the page. It matches publications with application dates from 2016-01-01 to 2026-12-31S1. The full query is listed under source S1.
  • Limits of the query. The query is a keyword search. It can include publications that are not about atomic layer processing and can miss publications that are. A different query would give different counts and could give a different order.
  • Applicant names. Applicants are the applicant names recorded on each publication as normalised by Patsnap. Patsnap's normalisation can abbreviate legal forms (for example KK or UNIV) and combine spelling variants of one name; this page applies no further shortening, translation or merging and shows each name as Patsnap records it. Subsidiaries, affiliates and group companies are listed as separate applicants. No statement on this page describes any relationship between applicants.
  • Ownership. The ranking counts the applicant named on each publication, not the current owner. Changes of ownership after filing are not reflected, so the ranking is not a ranking of current patent owners.
  • Individuals. The ranking lists organisations. Applicants are identified as individuals by matching them against the inventors found by the same query and, for names written in Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters, by the absence of any organisational wording; those applicants are removed and the remaining applicants are ranked among themselves. Neither test is exhaustive: the inventor list it matches against is itself capped, and a personal name in Latin script with no organisational wording cannot be told apart from a short company name by rule. Publications of removed applicants stay inside every total and share.
  • Co-applicants. A publication with several applicants counts once for each of them. Applicant counts therefore overlap and are not added together on this page.
  • Ties. Applicants with equal counts share a rank (shown with "="), and the next rank is skipped. When applicants are tied at rank 50, all of them are listed.
  • Recent years. Patent applications are generally published about 18 months after their earliest priority date, so counts for the most recent application years are incomplete and will change as more applications are published. Applicants whose filings are concentrated in recent years are therefore counted less completely than applicants with older filings.
  • Comparability. Patent offices publish differently: some publish both an application and a granted patent, and some also issue utility models. Publication counts are therefore not directly comparable between applicants that file in different countries.
  • Grant dates. For each application year, the share of publications whose application has a grant date in the Patsnap record. When an application is granted, its earlier pre-grant publication carries the grant date as well. This is not an allowance rate: one application can appear as more than one publication, and applications still under examination have no grant date yet.
  • Language. Applicant names are shown in the language and form of the Patsnap record.
  • Data and date. All figures come from the Patsnap patent database and were retrieved on 13 October 2026. Patent records are updated as documents publish, lapse, transfer or are corrected, so figures can change after this date.
  • Filing offices. Each publication is counted once, under the patent office that published it. WO denotes international applications published by WIPO under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and EP the European Patent Office; neither is a national grant. The same invention filed in several countries appears once under each office, so office counts describe where publications appeared, not where inventions originated.
  • Legal status. The legal-status chart shows the simple legal status that Patsnap recorded for each publication on the retrieval date (Active, Pending, Inactive, PCT designated stage, PCT designated stage expired, Undetermined). The status summarises recorded legal events, can lag or differ from the official register, and is not a statement that any patent is valid, enforceable or in force.
  • Current assignee type. The assignee-type chart classifies the current assignee recorded by Patsnap (Company, Academy, Hospital, Person, Government, Other). The current assignee can differ from the applicant counted in the ranking. A publication whose current assignees are of different types counts under each type, so these counts and shares overlap.
  • IPC subclasses. The IPC chart counts publications under each International Patent Classification subclass assigned to them. A publication usually carries several IPC codes, so it counts under each of its subclasses and these counts and shares overlap.
  • Patsnap analysis charts. The technical-effect and estimated-value charts show counts returned by Patsnap's analysis modules for the same query. Each module uses its own counting basis, which differs from the publication counts used elsewhere on this page. Those counts are therefore shown on their own: they are not expressed as shares of the publication total and are not compared with the publication counts.
  • Estimated values. Value bands are estimates in US dollars from Patsnap's patent valuation model. They are not appraisals, market prices, offers or a basis for any transaction, and only documents that carry an estimate are counted.
  • Technical effects. Technical effect tags are assigned by Patsnap's machine classification of the effects stated in patent text. Only tagged publications are counted, and one publication can carry several tags.

Sources
  1. S1
    Scope query and total count

    Number of patent publications of all types (including utility models and design patents where they match) in the Patsnap database matching the keyword query below, with application dates from 2016-01-01 to 2026-12-31. Query: (TAC:("atomic layer deposition" OR "atomic layer etching" OR "area selective deposition" OR "thermal atomic layer etch" OR "plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition" OR "atomic layer deposition precursor")) AND APD:[20160101 TO 20261231]. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

  2. S2
    Applicant counts

    Number of publications matching the S1 query for each applicant, using the applicant name recorded on each publication as normalised by Patsnap and shown exactly as recorded. Later changes of ownership are not reflected. A publication with several applicants is counted once for each of them. Affiliated entities are not combined. Applicants identified as individuals are removed and the remaining applicants are ranked among themselves; their publications stay in the S1 total. Ties share a rank. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

  3. S3
    Publications and grant dates by application year

    For each application year, the number of publications matching the S1 query, and the number of those publications whose application has a grant date (ISD) in the Patsnap record. When an application is granted, its earlier pre-grant publication carries the grant date as well. The share is not an allowance rate: one application can appear as more than one publication, and applications still under examination have no grant date yet. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

  4. S4
    Publications by filing office

    Number of publications matching the S1 query for each patent office that published them (the publication authority: for example CN is the China National Intellectual Property Administration, EP the European Patent Office, and WO international applications published by WIPO under the Patent Cooperation Treaty). Each publication has one office, so these counts add up to the S1 total. The same invention filed in several countries appears once under each office. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

  5. S5
    Publications by recorded legal status

    Number of publications matching the S1 query for each simple legal status recorded by Patsnap on the retrieval date (Active, Pending, Inactive, PCT designated stage, PCT designated stage expired, Undetermined). Each publication has one status, so these counts add up to the S1 total. The status is Patsnap's summary of the recorded legal events; it can lag or differ from the official register and is not a statement that any patent is valid, enforceable or in force. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

  6. S6
    Publications by current assignee type

    Number of publications matching the S1 query for each type of current assignee (Company, Academy, Hospital, Person, Government, Other), as classified by Patsnap. This describes the current assignee recorded by Patsnap, which can differ from the applicant counted in the ranking (S2). A publication whose current assignees are of different types counts under each type, so the counts can add up to more than the S1 total. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

  7. S7
    Publications by IPC subclass

    Number of publications matching the S1 query for each International Patent Classification (IPC) subclass assigned to them. A publication usually carries several IPC codes, so it counts under each of its subclasses and the counts add up to more than the S1 total. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

  8. S8
    Technical effect tags (Patsnap analysis)

    Counts by technical effect tag returned by Patsnap's technical-effect analysis for the S1 query. Tags are assigned by Patsnap's machine classification of the effects stated in patent text, and one document can carry several tags. This analysis uses its own counting basis, which can differ from the publication counts used elsewhere on this page, so these counts are not comparable with the S1 total. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

  9. S9
    Estimated value bands (Patsnap valuation model)

    Counts by estimated value band returned by Patsnap's portfolio-value analysis for the S1 query. The bands are estimates in US dollars produced by Patsnap's patent valuation model from patent data. They are not appraisals, market prices or offers. Only documents that carry an estimate are counted, and the analysis uses its own counting basis, which differs from the publication counts used elsewhere on this page, so these counts are not comparable with the S1 total. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

Disclaimer

Not legal advice. This page reports counts of patent publications that match a database search and is provided for general information only. It is not legal advice and it is not a freedom-to-operate, novelty, validity, infringement or valuation opinion. A count of publications does not measure the scope, strength, enforceability or value of any patent. Decisions about patent rights require a search designed for the question and review by qualified patent counsel.

Scope defines the result. All figures describe 30,047 patent publications matching the keyword query listed under source S1, with application dates from 2016-01-01 to 2026-12-31, as recorded on 13 October 2026S1. The query can include publications outside the topic named in the title and miss some within it. The figures do not describe any market, product, revenue or company activity, and a rank on this page is not a statement about any organisation's position in a technology or industry.

No characterisation of any party. Rankings describe publication counts only. Nothing on this page states or implies anything about any organisation's products, finances, strategy, conduct, ownership or corporate relationships, or that any patent is valid, invalid, infringed or in force.

Estimates are not appraisals. Estimated value bands are produced by a statistical model from patent data. They are not an appraisal, a market price, an offer, a solicitation, or a basis for any transaction or investment decision, and they are not a statement about the value of any organisation's patents.

Names and third-party material. Applicant names appear as recorded in patent data and are used only to identify applicants of record. Company names may be trademarks of their owners; their appearance does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by Patsnap.

Corrections. If you believe a figure on this page is wrong, contact Patsnap through the contact page linked at the foot of this site. We will check it against the source data and correct the page if needed.

Patsnap Eureka

Research Atomic Layer Processing in Patsnap Eureka

Open the publications behind any count on this page, read their claims and legal status, and ask follow-up questions about any applicant in the ranking.

Eureka runs a new search, so its counts can differ from the figures on this page.

Research Atomic Layer Processing in EurekaGenerate your own report

Help us improve

Something wrong, out of date, or missing on this page? Tell us and it goes straight to the team that maintains it.