- Capability group
- Semiconductors & Advanced Computing
- Domain
- Critical Technology · Hard Power
- Identifier
- factbase.org/cap/WPY8136006
Papers
2.5k
2020–2024
Paper growth
−0%
2020–24 on 2015–19
Patent families
147.7k
2020–2024
Filed abroad
50%
families in more than one office
What it covers
What the capability covers and what it leaves to others, and the indicators it will be measured by.
Bounds
Covers process technology and fabrication capacity as capability; the fabrication plant as a facility belongs to Strategic Infrastructure's Production Systems, and mature-node capacity reads at the same layers with different weights.
Lineage
New in v0.1, from the split of the v0.0 design-and-fabrication node (retired), on the same logic: the capacity to fabricate is the scarcest position in the chain and warrants its own record.
Indicators
- leading-edge wafer capacity sharePending
- foundry revenue sharePending
- fab construction pipelinePending
Who publishes it
Papers classified to the capability, by year and by the nation of their authors' institutions, 2020–2024. Read from the v0.0 research topic Advanced integrated circuit design and fabrication, which it shares with Semiconductor Design & EDA.
Papers by year
The five leading nations, papers by year
Share of papers, 2020–2024
Of papers with a known author nation; 25% have none and are left out.
- 1China24.0%521 papers
- 2United States12.8%278 papers
- 3India10.7%232 papers
- 4Germany4.7%103 papers
- 5South Korea4.4%96 papers
- 6Japan3.7%81 papers
- 7Italy3.3%72 papers
- 8Taiwan3.3%71 papers
- 9United Kingdom2.8%61 papers
- 10Canada2.6%56 papers
Leading institutions, 2020–2024
By fractional count: each paper divided among its authors' institutions.
- 1University of Electronic Science and Technology of China42fractional papers
- 2Xidian University30fractional papers
- 3Southeast University29fractional papers
- 4Hangzhou Dianzi University17fractional papers
- 5National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University16fractional papers
- 6South China University of Technology15fractional papers
- 7Chinese Academy of Sciences13fractional papers
- 8Tianjin University12fractional papers
- 9Tsinghua University10fractional papers
- 10Beijing Institute of Technology9fractional papers
Who patents it
Patent families by the nation of origin of their applicants and their earliest priority year, from the CPC and IPC classes the capability is read from. 2025 onwards is incomplete: families are published 18 months after priority.
Families by priority year
The five leading origins, families by year
19,953 applicants filed here in 2015–2024; the five largest held 18% of families (HHI 101 of 10,000: unconcentrated).
Share of families by origin, 2020–2024
- 1China38.3%56,585 families
- 2Japan20.2%29,848 families
- 3South Korea12.7%18,787 families
- 4United States12.5%18,492 families
- 5Taiwan10.6%15,662 families
- 6Germany1.3%1,960 families
- 7Netherlands0.8%1,248 families
- 8France0.8%1,134 families
- 9Singapore0.7%966 families
- 10Switzerland0.3%463 families
Applicants filing most internationally, 2015–2024
Families filed in more than one office, by applicant as the offices name them.
- 1SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD11,759international families
- 2TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MFG CO LTD10,855international families
- 3TOKYO ELECTRON LTD5,910international families
- 4TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MFG4,129international families
- 5APPLIED MATERIALS INC3,753international families
- 6INTEL CORP3,231international families
- 7KIOXIA CORP2,472international families
- 8SK HYNIX INC2,305international families
- 9BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO LTD2,061international families
- 10DISCO CORP1,996international families
Classification read
- H10P Semiconductor manufacturing processes: deposition, etch, implant, lithography steps · 4m documents
- H10D30/01 Manufacture of field-effect transistors · 617.2k documents
- H10D30/62 FinFET transistors · 101.4k documents
- H10D30/501 Nanosheet and gate-all-around transistors · 34.4k documents
- H10D84/00 Integrated circuits on semiconductor wafers, e.g. CMOS · 1.1m documents
- H10D88/00 Three-dimensional integrated devices · 43.5k documents
- H10B Memory devices: DRAM, flash, resistive and magnetic memory · 1.1m documents
- H10W10/00 Isolation regions between components in chips · 285k documents
- H10W20/00 On-chip interconnections and through-silicon vias · 1.4m documents
Shares inventions with
Capabilities whose classes the same families also fall in, by overlap (Jaccard).
- Semiconductor Equipment & Materials47,125 families · 0.248
- Advanced Packaging & Heterogeneous Integration40,102 families · 0.216
- Compound & Power Semiconductors17,261 families · 0.121
- Nanomaterials & Metamaterials5,517 families · 0.034
- Semiconductor Design & EDA4,003 families · 0.028
Who makes it
The companies that research, design, make, supply and operate the technology, the global leaders and the leading firms of every region.
50 companies in this capability, from 20 nations across 7 regions. Sorted by how experts see each company's global relevance in the field, from very high to very low.
- Very high5 companies
- 1Very highContract manufacturingHsinchuTaiwan198784k2330
Largest foundry in the world with about two-thirds of foundry revenue; first to volume production at 3nm and 2nm (N2).
Very high relevance · Contract manufacturing · Taiwan, Hsinchu · founded 1987 · 84k staff
- 2Very highComponents & subsystemsSuwonSouth Korea1969268k005930
Runs leading-edge logic (first gate-all-around 3nm) and the world's largest DRAM and NAND fabs; tops international patent filings in this capability.
Very high relevance · Components & subsystems · South Korea, Suwon · founded 1969 · 268k staff
- 3Very highEquipment & machineryVeldhovenNetherlands198444kASML
Sole supplier of EUV and High-NA EUV lithography scanners, without which no sub-7nm node can be made.
Very high relevance · Equipment & machinery · Netherlands, Veldhoven · founded 1984 · 44k staff
- 4Very highComponents & subsystemsSanta ClaraUnited States1968109kINTC
The only US-headquartered leading-edge logic manufacturer, ramping its 18A node with RibbonFET and backside power through Intel Foundry.
Very high relevance · Components & subsystems · United States, Santa Clara · founded 1968 · 109k staff
- 5Very highEquipment & machinerySanta ClaraUnited States196736kAMAT
Largest wafer fab equipment maker by revenue, leading in deposition, etch, CMP, ion implant and e-beam inspection.
Very high relevance · Equipment & machinery · United States, Santa Clara · founded 1967 · 36k staff
- High11 companies
- 6HighEquipment & machineryTokyoJapan1963–8035
Dominant supplier of coater/developer tracks used with EUV, and a major supplier of etch, deposition and cleaning tools.
High relevance · Equipment & machinery · Japan, Tokyo · founded 1963
- 7HighEquipment & machineryFremontUnited States198017kLRCX
Market leader in plasma etch and a major deposition supplier, critical for high-aspect-ratio 3D NAND and GAA logic.
High relevance · Equipment & machinery · United States, Fremont · founded 1980 · 17k staff
- 8HighComponents & subsystemsIcheonSouth Korea1983–000660
Leading HBM maker and number-two DRAM producer, running 1b/1c-nm-class DRAM processes at Icheon and Cheongju.
High relevance · Components & subsystems · South Korea, Icheon · founded 1983
- 9HighEquipment & machineryMilpitasUnited States197515kKLAC
Dominant supplier of the wafer and reticle inspection and metrology systems that drive yield at advanced nodes.
High relevance · Equipment & machinery · United States, Milpitas · founded 1975 · 15k staff
- 10HighContract manufacturingShanghaiChina2000–0981
China's largest foundry and the third-largest worldwide; it makes 7nm-class (N+2) chips with DUV multi-patterning despite export controls.
High relevance · Contract manufacturing · China, Shanghai · founded 2000
- 11HighComponents & subsystemsBoiseUnited States197848kMU
Third-largest DRAM maker, first to ship 1-beta DRAM, and building new leading-edge memory fabs in Idaho and New York.
High relevance · Components & subsystems · United States, Boise · founded 1978 · 48k staff
- 12HighEquipment & machineryOberkochenGermany184643kPrivate
Its ZEISS SMT unit is the sole maker of the EUV and High-NA EUV optics in ASML scanners.
High relevance · Equipment & machinery · Germany, Oberkochen · founded 1846 · 43k staff
- 13HighAdvanced materialsTokyoJapan1926–4063
World's largest supplier of 300mm silicon wafers, and a major supplier of photoresists and photomask blanks.
High relevance · Advanced materials · Japan, Tokyo · founded 1926
- 14HighEquipment & machineryAlmereNetherlands1968–ASM
Market leader in atomic layer deposition (ALD) and epitaxy, which are essential to gate-all-around transistors.
High relevance · Equipment & machinery · Netherlands, Almere · founded 1968
- 15HighComponents & subsystemsTokyoJapan2017–285A
Co-inventor of NAND flash and a top-three NAND maker, running 3D NAND (BiCS) fabs at Yokkaichi and Kitakami jointly with Sandisk.
High relevance · Components & subsystems · Japan, Tokyo · founded 2017
- 16HighResearch & IPLeuvenBelgium1984–Private
The world's leading pre-competitive semiconductor process R&D hub, running the High-NA EUV lab with ASML and the sub-2nm roadmap (CFET, backside power).
High relevance · Research & IP · Belgium, Leuven · founded 1984
- Moderate22 companies
- 17ModerateContract manufacturingMalta, New YorkUnited States2009–GFS
Major specialty foundry offering 12–22nm FinFET and FD-SOI from fabs in the US, Germany and Singapore; majority-owned by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala.
Moderate relevance · Contract manufacturing · United States, Malta, New York · founded 2009
- 18ModerateContract manufacturingTokyoJapan2022––
Japan's state-backed leading-edge venture, which ran a 2nm GAA pilot line at its Chitose, Hokkaido fab in 2025 using IBM technology.
Moderate relevance · Contract manufacturing · Japan, Tokyo · founded 2022
- 19ModerateContract manufacturingHsinchuTaiwan1980–2303
A top-five global foundry with 14–28nm capacity in Taiwan, Singapore and Japan, and a 12nm development partnership with Intel.
Moderate relevance · Contract manufacturing · Taiwan, Hsinchu · founded 1980
- 20ModerateContract manufacturingShanghaiChina1996–1347
China's second-largest foundry; through its Huali units it runs 28/22nm and is developing 14nm-class processes in Shanghai and Wuxi.
Moderate relevance · Contract manufacturing · China, Shanghai · founded 1996
- 21ModerateAdvanced materialsTokyoJapan1999–3436
Second-largest maker of silicon wafers, supplying the ultra-flat 300mm wafers that leading-edge logic and memory require.
Moderate relevance · Advanced materials · Japan, Tokyo · founded 1999
- 22ModerateEquipment & machineryKyotoJapan1943–7735
Global leader in single-wafer and batch wafer cleaning equipment for advanced fabs.
Moderate relevance · Equipment & machinery · Japan, Kyoto · founded 1943
- 23ModerateEquipment & machineryYokohamaJapan1960–6920
Sole supplier of actinic EUV mask-blank and photomask inspection systems.
Moderate relevance · Equipment & machinery · Japan, Yokohama · founded 1960
- 24ModerateEquipment & machineryBeijingChina2001–002371
China's largest wafer fab equipment maker, supplying etch, PVD/CVD, thermal and cleaning tools to SMIC, YMTC and CXMT.
Moderate relevance · Equipment & machinery · China, Beijing · founded 2001
- 25ModerateEquipment & machineryDitzingenGermany192319kPrivate
Sole supplier of the high-power CO2 drive lasers that generate the tin-plasma light in EUV scanners.
Moderate relevance · Equipment & machinery · Germany, Ditzingen · founded 1923 · 19k staff
- 26ModerateChemicals & gasesTokyoJapan1957–State-owned
Top supplier of ArF and EUV photoresists, including Inpria metal-oxide EUV resists; taken private in 2024 by the state-backed Japan Investment Corporation.
Moderate relevance · Chemicals & gases · Japan, Tokyo · founded 1957
- 27ModerateChemicals & gasesDarmstadtGermany166863kMRK
Its Electronics sector (which includes Versum Materials) supplies deposition precursors, specialty gases, CMP slurries and patterning materials to leading fabs.
Moderate relevance · Chemicals & gases · Germany, Darmstadt · founded 1668 · 63k staff
- 28ModerateChemicals & gasesBillericaUnited States19668,000ENTG
Leading supplier of the filtration, purification, CMP consumables and specialty chemicals that advanced-node yield depends on.
Moderate relevance · Chemicals & gases · United States, Billerica · founded 1966 · 8,000 staff
- 29ModerateEquipment & machineryShanghaiChina2004–688012
Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (AMEC)China's leading plasma etch tool maker, with CCP etchers qualified at TSMC and at Chinese advanced fabs.
Moderate relevance · Equipment & machinery · China, Shanghai · founded 2004
- 30ModerateComponents & subsystemsHefeiChina2016–State-ownedChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT)
China's DRAM champion, backed by the Hefei government; it makes DDR5/LPDDR5 and is developing HBM, with fast-growing global DRAM share.
Moderate relevance · Components & subsystems · China, Hefei · founded 2016
- 31ModerateComponents & subsystemsWuhanChina2016–State-ownedYangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC)
China's 3D NAND champion, whose Xtacking hybrid-bonding architecture has reached more than 200 layers.
Moderate relevance · Components & subsystems · China, Wuhan · founded 2016
- 32ModerateHardware & devicesTokyoJapan1937–7751
Supplies i-line/KrF steppers and the FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint lithography system, an alternative patterning route to 5nm-class features.
Moderate relevance · Hardware & devices · Japan, Tokyo · founded 1937
- 33ModerateEquipment & machineryTokyoJapan1937–6146
Dominant supplier of the wafer dicing, grinding and thinning equipment needed for HBM stacking and advanced packaging.
Moderate relevance · Equipment & machinery · Japan, Tokyo · founded 1937
- 34ModerateAdvanced materialsBerninFrance1992–SOI
World leader in silicon-on-insulator engineered substrates (Smart Cut), used for FD-SOI and RF nodes.
Moderate relevance · Advanced materials · France, Bernin · founded 1992
- 35ModerateContract manufacturingMigdal HaEmekIsrael1993–TSEM
Israel's specialty analog foundry, with fabs in Israel, the US and Japan producing SiGe, silicon photonics and 65nm RF/power processes.
Moderate relevance · Contract manufacturing · Israel, Migdal HaEmek · founded 1993
- 36ModerateEquipment & machineryRehovotIsrael1993–NVMI
Leading supplier of optical and chemical metrology for process control in GAA logic and 3D NAND.
Moderate relevance · Equipment & machinery · Israel, Rehovot · founded 1993
- 37ModerateEquipment & machinerySt. Florian am InnAustria1980–Private
Leader in wafer bonding (including the hybrid bonding behind backside power and 3D stacking) and in nanoimprint lithography equipment.
Moderate relevance · Equipment & machinery · Austria, St. Florian am Inn · founded 1980
- 38ModerateComponents & subsystemsHaagSwitzerland1965–VACN
World's dominant maker of high-end vacuum valves, built into most etch, deposition and EUV tools.
Moderate relevance · Components & subsystems · Switzerland, Haag · founded 1965
- Low7 companies
- 39LowContract manufacturingBengaluruIndia2020–Private
Building India's first commercial 300mm fab at Dholera, Gujarat (28–110nm) with technology from PSMC, under the India Semiconductor Mission.
Low relevance · Contract manufacturing · India, Bengaluru · founded 2020
- 40LowContract manufacturingHsinchuTaiwan1994–6770
Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC)Taiwanese foundry with memory and logic fabs; its process know-how is being licensed to Tata's Dholera fab in India.
Low relevance · Contract manufacturing · Taiwan, Hsinchu · founded 1994
- 41LowEquipment & machineryAbingdonUnited Kingdom1959–OXIG
UK supplier of plasma etch, deposition and atomic-layer processing tools (Plasma Technology) for compound and specialty semiconductor fabs.
Low relevance · Equipment & machinery · United Kingdom, Abingdon · founded 1959
- 42LowContract manufacturingKulimMalaysia1995–Private
Malaysia's only front-end wafer foundry, offering CMOS, MEMS and silicon photonics down to 90nm; owned by DNeX and CGP.
Low relevance · Contract manufacturing · Malaysia, Kulim · founded 1995
- 43LowContract manufacturingSingaporeSingapore2021––
Singapore-founded maker of advanced chiplet panel-level packaging; it operates a Tampines fab and is building a plant in Novara, Italy.
Low relevance · Contract manufacturing · Singapore, Singapore · founded 2021
- 44LowEquipment & machineryPenangMalaysia2000–0097
Malaysian maker of machine-vision inspection systems for semiconductor back-end and advanced packaging lines.
Low relevance · Equipment & machinery · Malaysia, Penang · founded 2000
- 45LowComponents & subsystemsZelenogradRussia1964–MIKR
Russia's largest chipmaker, part of the Element group, running 180–90nm (and limited 65nm) CMOS lines under Western sanctions.
Low relevance · Components & subsystems · Russia, Zelenograd · founded 1964
- Very low5 companies
- 46Very lowContract manufacturingMohaliIndia1976–State-owned
Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL)India's government-owned 180nm CMOS fab, producing strategic and space chips; it is being modernised under the India Semiconductor Mission.
Very low relevance · Contract manufacturing · India, Mohali · founded 1976
- 47Very lowOperations & infrastructureHanoiVietnam1989–State-owned
Vietnam's state-owned military telecoms group, which designs chips and leads the government programme to build the country's first semiconductor fab at Hoa Lac.
Very low relevance · Operations & infrastructure · Vietnam, Hanoi · founded 1989
- 48Very lowDesignPorto AlegreBrazil2008–State-owned
Latin America's only front-end CMOS wafer fab, at 600nm; the federal government reversed its liquidation in 2023 and is reviving it.
Very low relevance · Design · Brazil, Porto Alegre · founded 2008
- 49Very lowContract manufacturingSão LeopoldoBrazil2009–Private
Brazil's leading semiconductor packaging and test plant, a joint venture of Hana Micron and Parit that builds memory and IoT modules.
Very low relevance · Contract manufacturing · Brazil, São Leopoldo · founded 2009
- 50Very lowHardware & devicesSydneyAustralia2017––
Uses scanning-tunnelling-microscope lithography to fabricate atomic-precision phosphorus-in-silicon devices; Oceania's most advanced fabrication capability.
Very low relevance · Hardware & devices · Australia, Sydney · founded 2017
