Superconductor Patents

Superconductor patents cover HTS coated conductor wire and tape innovations; SQUID and Josephson junction quantum sensing innovations; superconducting qubit and quantum processor innovations; and superconducting magnet innovations for MRI, fusion, and particle accelerator applications — with IP held by materials companies, quantum computing leaders, and magnet system manufacturers: MAJOR SUPERCONDUCTOR PATENT HOLDERS: AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR AMSC: 500+; specific HTS wire innovations (specific specific REBCO 2G HTS coated conductor: specific specific IBAD ion-beam assisted deposition MgO buffer 10-30 nm from specific specific LaMnO₃ seed layer from specific specific YBCO YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋ₓ 12 μm PLD pulsed laser deposition+MOCVD metalorganic from specific specific 500 A/cm-w at 77 K self-field from specific specific fault current limiter FCL resistive type SFCL from specific specific 138 kV cable 600 MVA from specific specific MRI/NMR 9.4-23.5 T from specific specific SuperPower SuNAM Fujikura Sumitomo competing REBCO); IBM: 3,000+; specific qubit innovations (specific specific transmon qubit: specific specific Al Josephson junction Al₂O₃ barrier from specific specific EJ/EC ratio >50 reduced charge noise from specific specific frequency 4-8 GHz from specific specific T1 relaxation 1-5 ms from specific specific T2 coherence 100 μs from specific specific 99.9% single-qubit gate fidelity at specific specific 20 mK dilution refrigerator from specific specific Eagle 127 qubit 2021 from specific specific Osprey 433 qubit 2022 from specific specific Heron 133 qubit 2023 tunable coupler from specific specific quantum volume QV 4,096 2023 from specific specific Condor 1,121 qubit 2023 from specific specific Kookaburra 1,386 qubit 2024 heavy-hex lattice); GOOGLE: 2,000+; specific qubit innovations (specific specific Sycamore 53 qubit NISQ random quantum circuit sampling 200 sec vs. specific specific 10,000 year classical 2019 from specific specific Willow 105 qubit 2024 below-threshold QEC from specific specific surface code distance-7 cycle logical error rate 1.1% vs. specific specific physical 0.15% threshold from specific specific Xmon qubit 3D cross-shaped 3D grounding plane from specific specific tunable coupler 100 ns gate from specific specific readout resonator dispersive 99.6% 2Q gate fidelity); SUPERPOWER: 500+; BRUKER: 1,000+; SUMITOMO ELECTRIC: 1,000+; COMMONWEALTH FUSION: 100+.

REBCO coated conductor manufacturing innovations for critical current density, in-field performance, and cost reduction; MgB2 wire innovations for MRI and lower-cost superconducting systems; and BSCCO Bi-2223 Ag-sheathed tape innovations represent three core HTS materials patent domains: REBCO COATED CONDUCTOR PATENTS: SUPERPOWER; FUJIKURA; AMSC; SUNAM; SHOWA ELECTRIC WIRE: specific REBCO innovations (specific specific IBAD+MOCVD process: specific specific IBAD ion beam 45° from specific specific MgO 10 nm textured buffer layer from specific specific Ic(B,θ) critical current vs. field angle from specific specific 1,200 A/cm-w at 65K 3T self-field from specific specific BaZrO₃ BZO artificial pinning centers APC from specific specific 2-5 nm nanoparticles from specific specific 3× Jc improvement at specific specific 1-5 T applied field from specific specific long-length uniformity: specific specific ΔIc/Ic <5% reel-to-reel MOCVD from specific specific reel-to-reel 200 m/h REBCO from specific specific Striated conductor quench protection: specific specific laser scribing 1 mm filaments from specific specific AC loss reduction 10× for specific specific rotating machine application from specific specific HTS rotating machine at specific specific 277 K cryo-cooler SHT permanent-magnet generator from specific specific REBCO fusion magnet at specific specific ITER B=5T from specific specific Commonwealth Fusion SPARC 20T REBCO DT ignition demo 2025); MgB2 WIRE PATENTS: HyperTech; ASG Superconductors; Bruker; Hitachi: specific MgB2 innovations (specific specific in situ IMD internal Mg diffusion MgB2: specific specific Mg rod+B powder mixture from specific specific annealing 650°C 1h Ar from specific specific Tc 39 K from specific specific Hirr upper critical field 15-40 T at 4.2 K from specific specific Bc2(0) 40 T extrapolated from specific specific critical current density Jc 100-200 A/mm² at 4.2 K from specific specific multifilament twist pitch 25 mm Fe+Cu sheath from specific specific MRI open bore at specific specific 1.0 T 0.5 MW less He infrastructure than specific specific Nb-Ti from specific specific SiC doping 5-10 wt% MgB₂ Jc×2 improvement at specific specific 20 K 3 T from specific specific Na doping 0.2 at% Tc+2 K); BSCCO Bi-2223 TAPE PATENTS: Sumitomo; Innost; AMSC: specific BSCCO (specific specific 221-filament Ag/Ag-alloy matrix from specific specific oxide powder in tube OPIT from specific specific rolling+annealing 820-840°C Jc 15,000 A/cm² at 77K from specific specific AC loss 2 mJ/m/cycle from specific specific Ic 100 A+ at 77K self-field from specific specific SFCL projects 66 kV Yokohama).

Josephson junction fabrication and junction parameter control innovations; SQUID superconducting quantum interference device innovations for quantum sensing and magnetometry; and superconducting qubit design, coupling, and quantum error correction innovations represent three quantum superconductor patent domains: JOSEPHSON JUNCTION PATENTS: IBM; GOOGLE; MIT LINCOLN LAB; RIGETTI: specific JJ innovations (specific specific Al/AlOx/Al junction: specific specific EBL electron beam lithography from specific specific shadow evaporation Dolan bridge from specific specific junction area 0.01-0.1 μm² from specific specific Josephson energy EJ = (ΦΩ/2π)IC from specific specific charging energy EC = e²/2C from specific specific EJ/EC ratio 50-100 transmon regime from specific specific frequency tunable SQUID-based qubit: specific specific two parallel JJ flux-tunable from specific specific frequency range 4-8 GHz from specific specific dc-SQUID mutual inductance 1-10 pH from specific specific tantalum junction: specific specific Ta/TaOx/Ta from specific specific T1 >0.5 ms 2022 from specific specific reduced loss vs. specific specific Al junction at specific specific same Jc from specific specific circuit QED cQED: specific specific JJ qubit + specific specific microwave cavity from specific specific λ/4 resonator from specific specific dispersive readout 2χ/κ >> 1 from specific specific QND quantum non-demolition from specific specific readout fidelity 99.4% single-shot from specific specific Purcell filter Purcell decay suppression from specific specific 10× T1 improvement through specific specific bandpass filter on readout line); SQUID PATENTS: Tristan; Magnicon; Star Cryoelectronics; Supracon: specific SQUID innovations (specific specific dc-SQUID: specific specific two JJ in parallel from specific specific flux quantum Φ₀=2.07×10⁻¹⁵ Wb from specific specific sensitivity 1 fT/√Hz at 77K from specific specific 0.1 fT/√Hz at 4.2 K in from specific specific magnetically shielded room MSR from specific specific MEG magnetoencephalography 306-channel at specific specific 7-layer μ-metal+aluminum shield -130 dB from specific specific MCG magnetocardiography at specific specific room temperature OPM optically pumped magnetometer vs. specific specific SQUID tradeoffs; specific specific RF SQUID multiplexing: specific specific frequency division mux at specific specific 4-8 GHz from specific specific 50-100 SQUID per feedline from specific specific dark matter direct detection at specific specific ADMX axion from specific specific 10⁻²³ J sensitivity); SUPERCONDUCTING QUBIT PATENTS: IBM; GOOGLE; MIT; RIGETTI; IQM; ALICE&BOB: specific qubit innovations (specific specific cat qubit: specific specific Kerr cat qubit from specific specific Kerr nonlinearity χ/2π from specific specific two-photon pump Hamiltonian from specific specific exponentially biased noise from specific specific X error rate 10⁻⁴ from specific specific Z error 10⁻² from specific specific asymmetric error correcting code from specific specific 100× fewer logical qubits needed vs. specific specific surface code from specific specific Alice&Bob Boson 4 2024; specific specific quantum error correction: specific specific surface code distance d=7 from specific specific logical error rate 10⁻⁶ from specific specific physical qubit overhead 1,000:1 from specific specific fast decoders FPGA 1 μs decoding from specific specific MWPM minimum weight perfect matching from specific specific Google Willow below-threshold QEC demonstrated 2024 from specific specific scalable qubit interconnect: specific specific flip-chip bump bond from specific specific 3D integration TSV from specific specific modular architecture 10-50 qubit tiles).

Superconductor startup IP strategy must navigate AMSC&apos;s and Sumitomo&apos;s dominant HTS wire portfolios; IBM&apos;s and Google&apos;s very broad quantum computing IP covering transmon qubits, cQED, and quantum error correction; the LK-99 room-temperature superconductor controversy and its IP implications; and Commonwealth Fusion&apos;s emerging REBCO high-field magnet IP for fusion: SUPERCONDUCTOR STARTUP IP STRATEGY: UNDERSTAND THE SUPERCONDUCTOR PATENT LANDSCAPE: IBM AND GOOGLE HOLD DOMINANT QUANTUM COMPUTING IP — HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE IS CROWDED: IBM (3,000+) and Google (2,000+) together hold extremely broad superconducting qubit IP covering transmon architecture EJ/EC ratio, circuit QED cQED dispersive readout, tunable couplers, heavy-hex lattice topology, surface code QEC implementation, and 3D flip-chip integration — general-purpose superconducting quantum computing hardware architecture is highly encumbered; the strongest whitespace is application-specific quantum computing (quantum chemistry, optimization, ML), novel qubit modalities (cat qubit, fluxonium), novel error correction codes beyond surface code, and quantum sensing applications; LK-99 ROOM-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR: DO NOT ANCHOR IP ON DISPUTED CLAIMS: The 2023 LK-99 claim (modified lead apatite room-temperature superconductor) was not replicated by independent labs; filing IP based on disputed or irreproducible superconductivity claims creates significant patent validity risk — any superconductor IP filing must be anchored to peer-reviewed reproducible experimental measurements at a specific temperature, field, and composition; HTS WIRE AND MAGNET IP IS DOMINATED BY AMSC AND JAPANESE/KOREAN MANUFACTURERS: AMSC (500+), SuperPower (500+), Fujikura, Sumitomo, and SuNAM dominate REBCO coated conductor IP — a startup entering the HTS wire space needs a highly differentiated manufacturing process, novel buffer architecture, or novel APC pinning center chemistry with measured Jc(B,θ) vs. best-published REBCO baseline; WHEN TO PATENT IN SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY: NOVEL HTS CONDUCTOR WITH MEASURED JC(B,Θ) ADVANTAGE: specific novel HTS conductor (specific specific composition + specific specific fabrication process + specific specific APC pinning center strategy) with specific measured performance (specific specific Jc A/cm² at specific specific T and B in Tesla and angle θ vs. specific specific H vs. specific specific B⊥ vs. specific specific B∥ from specific specific 77 K and 4.2 K from specific specific flux pinning force Fp = Jc × B at specific specific maximum Fp peak field Bp from specific specific uniformity ΔIc/Ic % over 100 m length) vs. specific specific best REBCO IBAD+BZO APC published (SuperPower 1,200 A/cm-w 65K 3T) — Jc(B,θ) data at the relevant application operating point (MRI 4.2K, FCL 77K, motor 20K) is the single most critical HTS conductor IP differentiator; NOVEL QUBIT MODALITY WITH MEASURED T1 AND GATE FIDELITY: specific novel qubit design (specific specific junction type + specific specific qubit architecture + specific specific operating regime) with specific measured quantum performance (specific specific T1 relaxation time ms at specific specific operating temperature mK, specific specific T2* dephasing time ms, specific specific single-qubit gate fidelity % at specific specific gate error rate vs. specific specific IBM transmon 99.9% or specific specific Google Xmon 99.6% 2Q gate fidelity baseline, specific specific qubit frequency GHz and anharmonicity MHz, specific specific qubit-qubit coupling MHz bandwidth) vs. specific specific best-published transmon or fluxonium at same operating temperature — T1 and gate fidelity vs. IBM/Google published baseline is the key qubit IP metric; KEY FTO CHECKLIST: AMSC REBCO IBAD MgO 500 A/cm-w 77K SFCL FCL 138 kV 600 MVA PLD MOCVD; SuperPower IBAD-MgO REBCO 1,200 A/cm-w 65K 3T BZO APC 3× Jc; Commonwealth Fusion SPARC 20T REBCO DT ignition; IBM transmon Al JJ EJ/EC >50 T1 1-5 ms T2 100 μs Eagle 127 Heron 133 QV 4,096 Condor 1,121; Google Sycamore 53 qubit RCS 2019 Willow 105 below-threshold QEC surface code d=7 1.1% logical error 2024; MIT Lincoln Lab flip-chip bump-bond 3D integration TSV; Alice&Bob Boson 4 cat qubit Kerr two-photon pump asymmetric noise 2024; SQUID dc-SQUID 1 fT/√Hz MEG 306-channel MSR ADMX axion 10⁻²³ J; MgB₂ HyperTech IMD Tc 39K SiC doping 2× Jc 20K; BSCCO Bi-2223 Sumitomo 221-filament OPIT Jc 15,000 A/cm² 77K.