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IPC Subclass
G06E

OPTICAL COMPUTING DEVICES

Introduced: January 1990

Classification Context

Section:
PHYSICS
Class:
COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
Subclass:
OPTICAL COMPUTING DEVICES

Description

G06E covers computing and calculating devices that use optical phenomena as the primary operational mechanism, including photonic processors and light-based logic systems. These technologies employ photons, light beams, or optical signals to perform computational functions such as arithmetic operations, data processing, and logical operations that are traditionally handled by electronic computers. Typical inventions include optical gates, photonic circuits, holographic processors, and systems using interference or diffraction for information manipulation. This subclass excludes purely electronic computing devices (G06F) and optical display or measurement instruments lacking computational function.

Additional Content

Digital storage using optical elements

Related Keywords

COMPUTING optically

2 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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  • G06E 3/00 Devices not provided for in group , e.g. for processing analogue or hybrid data

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class G06, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

  1. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 66,669
  2. IBM (INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION) US 62,313
  3. MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING US 41,918
  4. GOOGLE US 32,969
  5. SGCC(STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA) 30,822
  6. INTEL CORPORATION US 30,010
  7. TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY 28,235
  8. HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY CN 26,079
  9. APPLE US 21,891
  10. HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY 20,505