Semiconductors & Integrated Circuits
Protecting Innovation at the Heart of Hardware Performance
Semiconductors remain the backbone of modern computing—powering everything from data centers and autonomous vehicles to smartphones, aerospace systems, and IoT devices. At Schmeiser Olsen, we work with clients developing next-generation chip architectures, packaging methods, and fabrication techniques to secure patents that reflect both deep engineering complexity and strategic commercial value.
Our team understands the intersection of circuit design, system integration, and manufacturing realities. We advise on patents that not only describe physical hardware but also capture the nuanced electrical, thermal, and architectural considerations that make a design scalable, manufacturable, and valuable in the marketplace.Whether you’re optimizing silicon performance at the device level or integrating custom ICs into advanced platforms, we help you define and protect what makes your hardware competitive.
Patent Strategy for Advanced Semiconductor Technologies
Patents in this space must do more than identify a layout—they must articulate how a design improves system performance, power efficiency, or manufacturability. We work with semiconductor companies, fabless design houses, and R&D teams to develop protection strategies that align with the full lifecycle of chip innovation. We focus on the technical breakthroughs that improve physical behavior, reduce constraints, or enable integration into high-performance systems. We help clients secure patents in areas such as:
Chip Architecture & Logic Design
– Custom microarchitecture pipelines for optimized instruction throughput
– Heterogeneous compute architectures (e.g., CPU-GPU-ASIC SoCs)
– Branch prediction, speculative execution, and out-of-order logic designs
– Clock gating, dynamic voltage scaling, and power management techniques
Semiconductor Device Innovation
– FinFET, GAAFET, and nanosheet transistor structures
– Gate oxide engineering, dopant profiling, and channel isolation
– Low-leakage device designs for sub-5nm process nodes
– 3D transistors, vertical integration, and transistor stacking strategies
Memory and Storage Architectures
– Embedded memory integration (e.g., SRAM, DRAM, MRAM) for edge and mobile SoCs
– Error correction codes (ECC) and redundancy schemes for high-reliability applications
– High-bandwidth memory interfaces and cross-chip interconnect
– Innovations in non-volatile storage (e.g., RRAM, PCM) for AI-optimized compute
Packaging, Interconnect & Thermal Management
– Advanced chiplet-based system design and heterogeneous integration
– TSV (through-silicon via) and interposer layout for 2.5D/3D ICs
– Thermal interface materials (TIMs) and dynamic heat distribution solutions
– Electromagnetic shielding and signal integrity optimization
Fabrication & Process-Level Innovation
– Advanced chiplet-based system design and heterogeneous integration
– TSV (through-silicon via) and interposer layout for 2.5D/3D ICs
– Thermal interface materials (TIMs) and dynamic heat distribution solutions
– Electromagnetic shielding and signal integrity optimization
Robotic Actuation & End Effectors
Multi-axis robotic arms with mechanical precision systems
End effectors designed for gripping, cutting, or adaptive handling
Compliant mechanisms for collaborative robotics (cobots)
High-durability drive and linkage systems for repetitive tasks
practical insight
Navigating Patent Eligibility in Semiconductor Technologies
Although semiconductor inventions are generally less prone to §101 challenges than software or AI, abstract idea scrutiny can still apply—especially for high-level signal flow descriptions, layout automation methods, or firmware-embedded features.
We ensure that each claim is grounded in physical structure, electrical behavior, or process-level transformation—clearly distinguishing it from abstract logic or design automation.
Our team highlights how the claimed invention improves physical operation or enables new use cases at the device or system level. This may involve illustrating how a new transistor geometry reduces leakage, how a packaging innovation solves a thermal bottleneck, or how an interconnect topology enables multi-die communication without signal degradation.
Where appropriate, we support these claims with system-level context, benchmark metrics, or comparative behavior under varying thermal and voltage conditions. Our experience allows us to anticipate examiner objections and proactively prepare §101 arguments—while preserving the scope and commercial value of the claims.
Partner with Counsel Who Understand Energy Systems
At Schmeiser Olsen, we partner with engineering teams and IP stakeholders developing high-performance chips, scalable compute platforms, and advanced system integrations. We deliver clear, technically sound patents that align with your product architecture, protect competitive advantage, and support licensing, investment, or commercial scale.
Work with patent counsel fluent in semiconductors—from device physics to system deployment.
Contact Schmeiser Olsen ->