By Greg Gao

(JW Insights) Mar 27 -- An analysis of the effective patents of gallium oxide power semiconductor components showed that there are 1,011 such patents as of September 2021, of which China has 328 and Japan has 313, the two countries account for more than 50% of the total, according to a recent report from South Korean tech media The Elec. 

Of the 460 new patents filed between September 2021 and November 2022, most are from China (240) and Japan (87), said The Elec, citing patent research firm AnA Patent’s statistics.

In the semiconductor industry, gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is attracting attention as the next-generation power semiconductor material following SiC (silicon carbide) and GaN (gallium nitride) for its advantages like ultra-wide bandgap and increased efficiency. Recently, South Korea held the “Gallium Oxide Power Semiconductor Technology Roadmap Seminar”, at which the patent application of gallium oxide in various countries was announced.

A analyst at AnA Patent said, “In just one year and two months, the number of patents related to gallium oxide power semiconductor devices has increased by about 50%, and the filing of patents around the world is very active. Although the actual technical capabilities cannot be judged by the number of patents alone, it is worth noting that China and Japan have filed for a large number of patents in this area.”