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Scientific output in photonics, semiconductors and patent insights.

Publication on Patent Information

Publications and presentations in patent information, spanning individual research and collaborations with academic partners.

Current and upcoming contributions

  • 2026 Keynote presentation in Global Summit on Optics, Photonics & Laser Technologies 2026, July 20-21, Paris

    Emerging Trends in Photonics: A Patent-Landscape Cartography of Eight Fast-Growing Domains

    How is intellectual property shifting across eight of photonics' fastest-growing fields: who is filing, where, and where the whitespace remains? A patent-landscape read of the emerging trends, with two domains analysed in-house by TechnoGenesis. View full description Show less

    How is intellectual property shifting across eight of photonics' fastest-growing fields: who is filing, where, and where the whitespace remains? A patent-landscape read of the emerging trends, with two domains analysed in-house by TechnoGenesis.

    This presentation surveys eight of the fastest-emerging trends in photonics. They are silicon photonics and co-packaged optics; photonic computing for artificial intelligence; quantum photonics and quantum key distribution (QKD); metasurfaces and flat optics; automotive LiDAR and optical sensing; hollow-core fibre; augmented-reality (AR) waveguide displays; and biophotonics, particularly optical coherence tomography (OCT) and wearable optical bio-sensors. For each domain, TechnoGenesis examines the intellectual-property picture: who is filing patents, in which countries, how fast activity is growing, and where thinly-patented, high-value whitespace remains.

    The trends are illustrated with preliminary patent-family data, drawn from TechnoGenesis analysis using Minesoft Origin and from published landscape reports. The figures are indicative, intended to convey direction and relative scale, not precise numbers.

    Three cross-cutting signals emerge. First, filing volume has shifted toward China, which accounts for roughly 40–60% of published activity in several of the emerging domains. Yet the United States and Europe still hold most international, multi-jurisdiction families. Filing volume and filing quality tell different stories. Second, artificial-intelligence infrastructure is the main demand engine. It pulls co-packaged optics, photonic computing and hollow-core fibre forward together. Third, the domains are converging: metasurfaces feed both LiDAR and AR, and silicon photonics underpins both quantum and computing.

    Together, these eight trends form one clear, high-level map: where photonics is growing fastest, and where patent activity is concentrating. The aim is to help researchers, R&D teams and IP professionals see which domains are accelerating - and where room for new, protectable inventions remains.

    Keywords: patent landscape, photonics, emerging technologies, patent-family analytics, IP strategy, technology S-curves, whitespace analysis.

    Selected highlights, including TechnoGenesis's own S-curve patent analysis, are available to download below. Domain specific analysis available on request

    Download highlights

  • 2026 accepted for presentation at the 16th Constructal Law Conference (CLC-2026), October 12–15, Paris

    Patent Flows and the Evolution of Thermal Insulation: A Constructal Reading of the Building Envelope

    TechnoGenesis in collaboration with PSL University (Paris) investigates the evolution of thermal-insulation technologies in architecture through patent-family data, interpreting the building envelope as an evolving flow-regulation interface. Rather than treating insulation as a passive technical lay… View full description Show less

    TechnoGenesis in collaboration with PSL University (Paris) investigates the evolution of thermal-insulation technologies in architecture through patent-family data, interpreting the building envelope as an evolving flow-regulation interface. Rather than treating insulation as a passive technical layer, the study approaches insulating systems as architectural devices that regulate heat, air, moisture, energy, and carbon flows across the boundary between interior and exterior environments.

    The research is based on patent data retrieved and analysed through Minesoft Origin, using patent families as the unit of analysis and earliest priority year as the temporal indicator of invention. The method combines CPC/IPC classification, keyword-based patent mining, temporal mapping, and sensitivity analysis using Y02 climate-change-mitigation tags. The corpus focuses on building-envelope technologies related to thermal and hygrothermal performance, including mineral and natural materials, fibrous insulations, synthetic foams, reflective membranes, aerogels, vacuum insulation panels, phase-change materials, bio-based systems, and adaptive envelopes.

    First results reveal a multi-stage trajectory: slow growth until the 1960s, a first wave linked to the 1970s energy crises, renewed growth in the 1990s, and a steep post-2010 acceleration, followed by a possible plateau around 2020–2022. This trajectory is interpreted through the constructal law and the S-curve model of technological spreading as invasion and consolidation processes. The paper argues that the history of insulation is not merely a history of better materials, but a sequence of architectural flow-design strategies through which buildings adapt to changing energetic, environmental, industrial, and climatic constraints.

    Keywords: patent analysis, thermal insulation, building envelope, constructal law, flow regulation, technology S-curve, material innovation, architectural technology.

    Affiliation: Meletis Mexis *, TechnoGenesis, Paris & Prof. Lazaros Mavromatidis, ENSAPM–PSL University, GSA Laboratory, Paris *Corresponding author

Publications in Photonics & Semiconductors

Full publication list: Meletis / Meletios Mexis - Google Scholar

  • 21 peer-reviewed publications in quantum optoelectronics and semiconductor lasers.
  • Selected highlights include Applied Physics Letters, Physical Review Letters, and Journal of Applied Physics.

Selected publications

2014 Article

Dual-polarity GaN micropillars grown by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy: Cross-correlation between structural and optical properties

This study investigates self-assembled, catalyst-free GaN micropillars (μpillars) grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and KOH chemical etching reveal the systematic coexistence of two domains of opposite polarity (G… View full description Show less

This study investigates self-assembled, catalyst-free GaN micropillars (μpillars) grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and KOH chemical etching reveal the systematic coexistence of two domains of opposite polarity (Ga-polar and N-polar) within each single micropillar, originating at the micropillar/substrate interface during nucleation and propagating along the entire length of the pillar. Dislocations are generated at the wire/substrate interface but bend after several hundreds of nanometers, resulting in dislocation-free micropillars of several tens of micrometers in length. Spatially resolved cathodoluminescence (CL) and microphotoluminescence (μPL) reveal large optical property differences between the two polarity domains, attributed to unequal incorporation of impurities, dopants and vacancies depending on polarity.

Keywords: GaN micropillars, MOVPE, crystal polarity, Ga-polar, N-polar, TEM, cathodoluminescence, dislocation-free growth

Reference: Coulon P.M., Mexis M. et al., J. Appl. Phys. 115, 153504 (2014)

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2011 Article

High quality factor nitride-based optical cavities: microdisks with embedded GaN/Al(Ga)N quantum dots

This work reports a considerable improvement in the optical quality factor (Q) of GaN-based microdisk (μ-disk) resonators embedding GaN quantum dots (QDs) grown on AlN and AlGaN barriers. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy reveals a large number of high-Q whispering gallery modes (… View full description Show less

This work reports a considerable improvement in the optical quality factor (Q) of GaN-based microdisk (μ-disk) resonators embedding GaN quantum dots (QDs) grown on AlN and AlGaN barriers. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy reveals a large number of high-Q whispering gallery modes (WGMs) spanning a wide spectral range (2.6 to 3.4 eV), enabling identification of different radial mode families through comparison with simulations. GaN/AlN QD-based μ-disks demonstrate record-high Q values (Q > 7000 for a 5 μm diameter disk and Q ≈ 5000 for a 2 μm disk), representing the state of the art for nitride photonic structures. The superior performance is attributed to the high etching quality and to the comparatively lower sub-bandgap absorption of QDs with respect to quantum wells.

Keywords: GaN quantum dots, AlN, microdisk resonators, whispering gallery modes, quality factor, photoluminescence, nitride photonics

Reference: Mexis M., et. al., Opt. Lett. 36, 2203 (2011)

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2011 Article

Polariton lasing in a hybrid bulk ZnO microcavity

This work demonstrates polariton lasing in a bulk ZnO planar microcavity under non-resonant optical pumping at a small negative detuning (δ ≈ −1/6 of the 130 meV vacuum Rabi splitting) and at a temperature of 120 K. The strong coupling regime is maintained at lasing threshold, since the coherent non… View full description Show less

This work demonstrates polariton lasing in a bulk ZnO planar microcavity under non-resonant optical pumping at a small negative detuning (δ ≈ −1/6 of the 130 meV vacuum Rabi splitting) and at a temperature of 120 K. The strong coupling regime is maintained at lasing threshold, since the coherent nonlinear emission from the lower polariton branch (LPB) occurs at zero in-plane wavevector, well below the uncoupled cavity mode. The contribution of multiple localized polariton modes above threshold and the non-thermal polariton statistics indicate that the system operates in a far-from-equilibrium regime, likely related to the moderate photon lifetime and in-plane photonic disorder in the cavity.

Keywords: ZnO, microcavity, polariton lasing, strong coupling, Bose-Einstein condensation, vacuum Rabi splitting, photonic disorder

Reference: Guillet T., Mexis M. et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 161104 (2011)

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2009 Article

Control of polarization and dipole moment in low-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures

This work demonstrates the control of polarization and dipole moment in semiconductor nanostructures through nanoscale engineering of shape and composition. Rodlike (columnar) quantum dot (CQD) nanostructures, elongated along the growth direction, are obtained by molecular beam epitaxial growth. By … View full description Show less

This work demonstrates the control of polarization and dipole moment in semiconductor nanostructures through nanoscale engineering of shape and composition. Rodlike (columnar) quantum dot (CQD) nanostructures, elongated along the growth direction, are obtained by molecular beam epitaxial growth. By varying the aspect ratio and the compositional contrast between the rod and the surrounding matrix, the polarization of the dominant interband transition is rotated from transverse-electric (TE) to transverse-magnetic (TM), and the dipole moment is modified — producing a radical change in the voltage dependence of absorption spectra. These results open the way toward optimization of quantum dot optical amplifiers and electro-optical modulators.

Keywords: InAs/GaAs columnar quantum dots, polarization control, TE/TM, dipole moment, molecular beam epitaxy, electro-optical modulator

Reference: Li L.H., Mexis M. et. al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 221116 (2009)

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2007 Article

Polarization response of quantum-confined structures using edge-photovoltage spectroscopy

This study proposes a method to obtain the ratio of the fundamental TE/TM optical response of a quantum-confined system from the measurement of the polarization dependence of the edge photovoltage spectrum, by correcting for polarization-dependent features of the experimental system. When applied to… View full description Show less

This study proposes a method to obtain the ratio of the fundamental TE/TM optical response of a quantum-confined system from the measurement of the polarization dependence of the edge photovoltage spectrum, by correcting for polarization-dependent features of the experimental system. When applied to compressive- and tensile-strained InGaP quantum well structures, the results are in excellent agreement with known ratios of the band-edge matrix elements. This method is of particular value in the study of quantum dot systems where the polarization behaviour is difficult to predict.

Keywords: InGaP, quantum wells, edge-photovoltage spectroscopy, polarization, TE/TM, quantum dots

Reference: Mexis M., et.al., Semicond. Sci. Technol. 22, 1298 (2007)

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Further Insights

Additional perspectives, updates, talks, and applied research notes connected to deep-tech patent intelligence.

2026 Insight note

Patent information: an integral component of the deeptech ecosystem

Reflections on Paris-Saclay SPRING 2026 and the place of patent information within the deeptech ecosystem — alongside funding, industrialisation and support. View full descriptionShow less

Reflections on Paris-Saclay SPRING 2026 and the place of patent information within the deeptech ecosystem — alongside funding, industrialisation and support.

On 2 June, the Renault Group Technocentre in Guyancourt hosted Paris-Saclay SPRING — the annual gathering of the deeptech ecosystem of the Paris-Saclay cluster. Organised by the Paris-Saclay public development authority (Établissement Public d'Aménagement Paris-Saclay), the event brings together each year startups, laboratories, major industrial groups, funders and support organisations in a dense format: startup pitches, conferences, B2B meetings and networking. With more than 1,300 participants, it is one of the major meeting points of deeptech, at both the French and European scale. The 2026 edition showcased the "SPRING 120" — one hundred and twenty key players selected across four sectors: Greentech & Food, Health-Biotech, Industry & Services and Digital Technologies — against a backdrop of a theme very much of its time: innovation, competitiveness and technological sovereignty.

Beyond the technology projects themselves, what strikes you as you go through the event catalogue is the presence — discreet but real — of the intellectual-property and patent-information professions. It is a point worth highlighting to our community: patent information is not a peripheral service to innovation, but genuinely a component of its ecosystem, on the same footing as funding, industrialisation or support. A diversity of profiles in the service of innovation.

The catalogue lists several families of actors. First, the industrial-property consultancies — Santarelli, Lavoix, IPSILON, YESMYPATENT, Groupe Vidon, IP Trust, or the Cabinet Anthony Berton — which combine legal expertise, protection strategy and support for applicants. Next, the institutional actors: the INPI, present as the reference interlocutor on industrial property; SATT Paris-Saclay and CNRS Innovation, whose mission of valorisation and technology transfer naturally places patent data at the heart of their activity. Finally, providers specialising in patent information and analysis, whose work — technology watch, state of the art, patent landscaping, freedom-to-operate analysis — often forms a bridge between research, applicants and decision-makers.

This plurality is in itself a signal. It shows that the needs for patent information take different forms and entry points within a single ecosystem, and that the profiles which address them are complementary rather than competing.

Among these profiles, that of the independent provider specialising in patent information is taking shape around actors positioned in specific technical fields. TechnoGenesis, for example, works in deeptech — photonics, quantum physics, advanced materials — with an approach to patent analysis underpinned by scientific expertise. StartingBloch, for its part, supports innovation players in the life-sciences field. Two organisations, two fields, but a shared conviction: patent information is best conceived as close as possible to the technical specificities of each sector. In optoelectronics and photonics — well represented at Saclay — this is particularly clear. Several leading actors were present: HORIBA, a specialist in scientific instrumentation and spectroscopy; the III-V Lab, a joint research laboratory dedicated to III-V semiconductor components; the Île-de-France Photovoltaic Institute (IPVF), which develops next-generation photovoltaic technologies; and 3D PLUS, a designer of miniaturised electronic components for space applications. In fields as patent-dense as these, where the boundary between the academic state of the art and industrial innovation shifts constantly, technology watch and patent analysis are not a luxury: they shape R&D choices, investment decisions and protection strategies. It is precisely at this intersection that the work of the patent-information expert lies — and the same reasoning holds for the life sciences or any other patent-intensive sector. In the end, Paris-Saclay SPRING is a reminder of something sometimes underestimated: patent information is an integral part of the deeptech innovation chain. Wherever researchers, industrialists and investors meet, patent data circulates, informs decisions and creates connections.

Meletis Mexis, TechnoGenesis English version: AI-assisted translation of the French original, reviewed by the author.