INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS

Description

H10H covers inorganic semiconductor devices designed to emit light through the application of electrical potential barriers, primarily encompassing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and related structures. These devices utilize p-n junctions or heterojunctions in inorganic materials (such as GaAs, GaN, InP, and silicon carbide) where charge carriers recombine across a potential barrier to generate photons. The classification includes LED architectures, quantum well structures, and similar technologies where the barrier engineering directly controls light emission characteristics. This subclass excludes organic light-emitting devices (covered under H10K) and laser diodes (covered under H01S), focusing instead on spontaneous emission devices.

Filing statistics

IPC subclass H10H recorded 5,565 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 5 in 2013 to 2,046 in 2023 (+40820%). The most active applicants in class H10 are SAMSUNG DISPLAY (21,044 applications), SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY (14,774 applications) and LG DISPLAY COMPANY (9,454 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

Additional Content

Semiconductor lasers