Date: May 15, 2006
Source: KIPO
KIPO has recently analyzed the patent application trend related to the core technology fields of exposure equipment from Korea/US/Japan during the past 21 years. The result shows that the number of domestic patent applications has increased drastically, overcoming Korea’s prior inactivity in this area.
As semiconductor chips are getting smaller while their capacity is getting larger, high-precision exposure equipment is required in minute circuit patterns. In order to build a circuit pattern, a light source is beamed through a mask with a pattern to a semiconductor wafer, so that the pattern can be transferred from the mask to the sensitizer. This technology, using a light source to form a precise pattern on a part, is called photolithography, and exposure equipment is the device used in this process.
The total number of applications filed by Korea/US/Japan during the past 21 years related to the core technology fields of exposure equipment (Illuminator, Reticle System, Plate Handler, and Edge Exposure) used in semiconductors and displays is 4,804. (For the US, only registered patents are counted.) Categorized by technology, 48% (2,342) of all applications were related to Illuminators, while 30% (1,438) to Reticle System, 17% (803) to Plate Handler, and 5% (223) to Edge Exposure. Categorized by applicants, 21% (1,012) of all applications were filed by Koreans, 36% (1,717) by Americans, and 43% (2,077) by Japanese.
The number of Japanese applications was greater than Korean or American, especially in the Illuminators field. It seems that Japanese exposure equipment companies, such as Nikon Corporation (the market leader of world’s exposure equipment) and Canon Corporation, are continuously filing patents to place Japan on top of the ranking.
Looking at the application ratio during the past 5 years (‘01~’05), Korea is taking up 31.8% (475), the US 36.8% (549), and Japan 31.4% (468). Compared to the application ratio during the past 16 years, when Korea took up 16.2% (537), US 35.2% (1168) and Japan 48.6% (1609), the ratio shows clearly that the number of domestic patents are increasing drastically, overcoming previous domestic inactivity.
Among Korean companies, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor are showing positive patent activities. Their activities are limited in domestic areas. For Samsung Electronics, the foreign application ratio is merely 8.4%, falling far behind the domestic application ratio of 91.6%. In order to overcome the high technical barriers of foreign companies, the importance of exposure equipment core technology fields must be recognized by corporations as well as by the government. Investment and R&D shall be made more actively to secure technological competitiveness. Also, patent rights must be secured through foreign applications.