Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Renews GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (TM)

SEL — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 15:00:00 +0900

ATSUGI, Japan, Sept. 25, 2025 /Kyodo JBN/ --
Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (SEL) has renewed his own GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (TM) title of "Most patents credited as inventor" with a total of 20,120 patents on semiconductor devices, displays, and analog AI as of March 31, 2025. This achievement surpasses his previous records of 3,245 patents in 2004, 6,314 in 2011, and 11,353 in 2016.

Photo: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M104105/202509195500/_prw_PI1fl_CUnR65l4.jpg

This record was verified by six IP experts on July 9, 2025. Dr. Yamazaki received a record certificate from a Guinness World Records adjudicator on September 17, 2025. It includes patents granted in countries such as Japan, the United States, South Korea, China, and Germany from 1969 to March 31, 2025. Notably, Thomas Edison (U.S., 1847-1931), known as the "king of invention," held 2,332 patents during his lifetime; Dr. Yamazaki has significantly exceeded this number.

Yamazaki’s comment: "More than 20,000 patents are the result of nearly 60 years of research. Encouraged by this record, we will continue to promote the development of technologies such as ultra-low power consumption LSIs and analog AI that can help prevent global warming."

Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki’s Profile
Doctor of Engineering, Chairman & CEO of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (SEL)
He was born in 1942. In 1970, he invented a basic device of a non-volatile memory known as "flash memory" (basic inventions of 41 patents including Japanese Patent No. 886343; Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 50-36955, and U.S. Patent No. 3,878,549). In 1980, he founded SEL and assumed the position of Representative Director. In 1997, he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Cabinet Office of the Japanese Government for the innovation of MOS LSI element technology. He presented an oxide semiconductor FET with an extremely low off-state current on the order of yA/micrometer (10 to the power of -24 A/micrometer) *1 & *2.

He is a Life Fellow of IEEE, a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), a WAC (World Academy of Ceramics) academician, and an ECS (Electrochemical Society) fellow. He received an Honorary Doctor Degree of Culture from Doshisha University. He is also a member of Doshisha Shayu, a title given to distinguished contributors to Doshisha.

About Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
SEL has been practicing a unique business model that is specialized toward research and development. SEL is focusing on the research and development of ultra-low power consumption large-scale integrated circuits (OSLSI), analog AI, and organic EL displays, using crystalline oxide semiconductors (including CAAC-OS *3), and electronic circuits and OLED elements for higher-performance OLED displays.

The website of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.:
https://www.sel.co.jp/en/

*1 yA/micrometer: The y (yocto) in yA/micrometer is one of the International System of Units (SI) prefixes, and yA/micrometer represents "yoctoampere/micrometer" or 10 to the power of -24 A/micrometer.
*2 K. Kato et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 51, 021201-01 (2012)
*3 CAAC-OS: c-axis aligned crystal oxide semiconductor
*OSLSI, CAAC-OS, and CAAC are Japanese registered trademarks of SEL. (Nos. 5698906, 5473535, and 5473530)

Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Renews...

SEL — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 14:00:24 +0900

ATSUGI, Japan, Nov. 1, 2016 /Kyodo JBN/ --
Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Renews GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (R) Title as "Most Patents Credited as Inventor" with 11,353 Patents
Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (SEL) has applied for a renewal of the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title in the category "Most patents credited as inventor" that he held, claiming that he had obtained a total of 11,353 patents on semiconductor devices and thin-film transistors as of June 30, 2016. The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title was approved on September 30, 2016.

In this challenge, all 11,353 patents were reviewed by five IP expert witnesses on September 8, 2016. The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title was approved on September 30, 2016. The countries of the patents number more than ten, including Japan, the United States, and European nations.

Thomas Edison (U.S., 1847-1931), known as the "king of inventions", is famous for his numerous patents. He was granted 2,186 patents over his lifetime. In 2004, Dr. Yamazaki set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for obtaining more patents than Edison, with 3,245 patents. Later, in 2011, he renewed his record with 6,314 patents; this time, he has renewed his second record by a wide margin.

The photo can be obtained at (Photo: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M104105/201610315807/_prw_OI1fl_nd9Bj3o0.jpg
).

Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki's Profile

The president of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (SEL)

He was born in 1942. He had created more than 130 inventions by the age of 29, including a non-volatile memory while he was a student. He was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Cabinet Office of the Japanese government at the age of 54. He received many awards: the Director Prize at the Commendation for Science and Technology from the Science and Technology Agency in 1990, and the Okochi Memorial Technology Award in 2010. He has been an IVA (Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science) Foreign Member since 2009 and an IEEE Life Fellow since 2011, received an Honorary Doctor Degree of Culture from Doshisha University in 2011, and became a Doshisha Shayu, a title given to a distinguished contributor to Doshisha, in 2015.

He devotes his energy to cultivating the development of the next-generation engineers of SEL.

The website of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (SEL):
http://www.sel.co.jp/en/index.html

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (R)*
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS is an organization that certifies world records and publishes a book introducing these world records annually. There are currently approximately 40,000 records listed in the organization's database. The book "GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS" has been an international best seller since its first edition came out in 1955.

The website of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS:
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

*GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (R) is a registered trademark of Guinness World Records Ltd.

法人別リリース

Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Renews GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (TM)

Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Renews...