KnowMade releases latest RF GaN patent data
KnowMade has announced the Q2 2026 update of its RF GaN Technology Patent Monitor. More than 110 new patent families were published during the quarter, with Chinese entities accounting for more than 70 of these newly published inventions.
Chinese applicants were responsible for the majority of new patent families published in Q2 2026. Their protection strategies remained largely focused on China, although Huawei, Ampleon and San’an each filed a PCT application during the quarter. Across the RF GaN patent landscape, new filings were concentrated primarily in China and the United States, a pattern also visible among patent families granted for the first time.
Most newly published inventions concerned RF GaN devices or the circuits and applications that use them. Patent activity relating to wafers, epitaxial wafers, packaging and modules was more limited during the quarter. This distribution highlights where recent disclosed inventive activity is concentrated across the RF GaN supply chain.
More than 80 patent families received a first grant in Q2 2026. Over 50 were attributed to Chinese IP players, led by CETC and Xidian University. These first grants provide a distinct measure of patent portfolio development alongside the publication of new inventions.
Industrial leaders and academic players strengthen their IP positions
In China, industrial companies and academic institutions both featured prominently among the quarter’s active RF GaN patent assignees. Xidian University led the academic group. Outside China, the most active patent applicants were predominantly industrial companies, with South Korea’s ETRI a notable academic exception.
State-backed CETC remained a leading industrial player in China, with eight patent families granted for the first time in Q2 2026. Huawei and San’an also recorded newly granted families. Outside China, NXP stood out with ten newly published patent families, the highest figure among the companies shown in the quarter’s activity chart. Sumitomo Electric combined four newly published families with three families granted for the first time. HRL, Mitsubishi Electric and NEC each recorded two newly granted families.
More than 80 patent families lost at least one member during the quarter. Intel accounted for 13 of the affected families, the highest figure identified among assignees in this category. The loss of a family member does not, by itself, mean that protection for the invention has ended in every jurisdiction.
More than 30 newcomers enter the RF GaN patent landscape
KnowMade identified more than 30 new entrants during Q2 2026, most of them Chinese entities. Among them, Unicompound Semiconductor disclosed three inventions concerning RF GaN HEMT device engineering. Its patents describe the use of air cavities and air bridges around gate and field- plate regions to reduce parasitic capacitance while addressing passivation, breakdown performance and high-frequency operation.
Outside China, Seoul Viosys emerged with two disclosed inventions focused on GaN HEMT epitaxy and heterostructure engineering. They address aspects such as barrier and channel composition, ultrathin interlayers, defect and leakage reduction, and optimisation of the two-dimensional electron gas. These approaches aim to improve high-frequency device performance for applications including radar.
KnowMade says that the arrival of these companies shows why monitoring new patent applicants matters alongside tracking established patent owners: early publications can reveal technical priorities before a large patent portfolio has formed.
Pictured above: RF GaN patenting activity of selected companies in Q2 2026. The horizontal axis shows newly published patent families and the vertical axis shows families granted for the first time. Bubble size represents all families analysed for each company during the quarter, including families affected by legal-status changes.
