Patent Office, Results of Patent Analysis of 5 Major Countries
FinPET decreased and GAA increased.
GAA, evaluated as a core technology for 3nm semiconductor process


Nanometer (nm) is a unit of semiconductor circuit line width. The smaller the line width, the smaller the chip size, the lower the power consumption, and the faster the processing speed. In order to process more data than now, a 3nm process technology that is finer than 5nm technology is needed. Accordingly, the competition for semiconductor miniaturization process technology that is more advanced than FinFET is also expected to become fierce.

FinFET technology, which led the semiconductor miniaturization process technology, is declining, and Gate All Around (GAA) technology is emerging. The Patent Office announced on the 20th that after analyzing patents from five major countries, the number of patent applications for FinFET technology, the mainstay of semiconductor miniaturization process technology, has been decreasing since 2017, but GAA technology is increasing.

Unlike FinFET technology, which has three sides through which the current flows: top, left, and right, GAA technology is a next-generation technology that has four sides: top, left, right, and bottom.

FinFET technology peaked at 1,936 cases in 2017, then declined to 1,636 cases in 2018, 1,560 cases in 2019, and 1,508 cases (expected) in 2020. On the other hand, GAA patents showed an annual growth rate of nearly 30%, increasing to 173, 233, 313, and 391 (expected) during the same period.

The order of FinFET technology applications was TSMC (30.7%), SMIC (11%), Samsung Electronics (8.6%), IBM (8.1%), and GlobalFoundries (5.4%). Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, and American companies were seen competing for FinFET technology. The order of GAA technology patent applications was TSMC (31.4%), Samsung Electronics (20.6%), IBM (10.2%), GlobalFoundries (5.5%), and Intel (4.7%). Taiwanese and Korean companies are leading, and American companies are following suit.

Apart from the application, the GAA field is also expected to be a battle between TSMC and Samsung Electronics. Only two companies have properly utilized FinFET technology. The Apple M1 chip and Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 AP are the results of TSMC and Samsung Electronics’ FinFET technology, respectively.

Samsung Electronics plans to be the first in the world to apply GAA technology starting with the 3nm process next year. TSMC has announced that it plans to introduce this technology starting with the 2nm process in 2023. China's SMIC, which ranked second in the FinFET field, has fallen out of the rankings. In the future, the gap with China in this field is expected to widen further amid competition among Taiwan, Korea, and the United States.

“Currently, TSMC and Samsung Electronics are the only companies in the world that can manufacture semiconductor chips with process technology below 5nm,” said Bang Ki-in, an official at the Semiconductor Examination Division of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. “Considering Intel’s recent entry into the foundry business and the Biden administration’s concentrated investment in semiconductors, the technological competition for cutting-edge semiconductors is expected to intensify further.”

He added, “Ultimately, the shortcut to gaining an advantage in competition is who can succeed in innovation quickly and block latecomers with strong intellectual property rights.”