Amorphous Metal Surface Modification Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
Patent landscape analysis of amorphous metal surface modification: filing trends, leading assignees, IPC composition and white space across 44 records from 2015 to 2026.
Filing growth = 2021 (2 records) → 2024 (1); 2024 is the last year we treat as complete. Top-5 share = the 5 largest assignees ÷ all 44 records in scope (CR5), not the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Amorphous metal surface modification sits at the intersection of alloy chemistry and coating engineering: the field covers treatments, coatings and surface-conversion processes applied to metallic glasses and rapidly quenched amorphous alloys to add corrosion resistance, wear resistance or magnetic performance without disrupting the underlying amorphous structure. The scope tracked here spans 44 published records filed against IPC classes covering coating and surface deposition (C23C), alloys (C22C), electroplating (C25D) and adjacent inorganic-compound and battery classes, reflecting how tightly surface treatment claims are bound to the base-alloy composition they are applied to. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent filing years understate actual activity.
The earliest instrument in this scope, filed in 1984, already frames the core problem the field keeps returning to: protecting a metastable amorphous surface with a thin conversion or deposition layer without triggering crystallisation. Four decades on, the same tension between coating chemistry and structural stability still defines where claims are drafted and where they collide.
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 44-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how those records distribute across IPC subclasses. Because a single record can carry several IPC codes, the class shares below add to more than 100% of the record total.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Activity peaked at 5 records in 2018. Using the last complete comparison window, filings moved from 2 in 2021 to 1 in 2024, a -50% change over that three-year span. Years from 2025 are still filling in under publication lag and should not be read as a decline.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in. Growth rates on this page therefore end at 2024; running them to the last bar would understate the field.
IPC subclass composition
C23C (coating and surface deposition) covers 65.9% of the 44 records, making it the field's dominant claim territory by a wide margin. C22C (alloys), C01G, C25D, C01B, H01F and H01M each sit in the 13-21% band, showing that surface treatment claims routinely reach into base-alloy composition, battery and magnetic-material classes rather than standing alone.
Shares are the percentage of the 44 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
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Try EurekaThe instrument that defines the field
JP1984197576A — Surface treatment of quenched metal or amorphous metal material
Filed by Nippon Steel in 1984, this record describes applying a CrO3-based treating liquid, in a ketone solvent with minimal moisture, to the surface of a quenched or amorphous metal material, then drying and baking at roughly 200-400°C to form a heat-resistant, anti-rust insulating film.The claim scope is narrow and process-specific: a chromate chemistry, a near-anhydrous ketone carrier, and a defined bake range. It does not block coating routes built on different chemistries or on non-chromate conversion layers.
View full record| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JP2010163641A | Metallic material for surface treatment, and surface treatment method for metal | 22 |
| 2 | JP2006255540A | Coating method of metal material | 22 |
| 3 | CN104162662A | 表面改性的非晶合金粉末、制备方法及利用其制备的涂层 | 19 |
| 4 | CN105177489A | 一种提高金属构件表面防腐耐磨的方法 | 15 |
| 5 | KR1020080032814A | Method for surface modification of nondispersible metalnanoparticles and modified metal nanoparticles forinkj… | 15 |
| 6 | CN102442661A | 一种液相纯化碳纳米管的方法 | 13 |
| 7 | JP2013249522A | Copper-based material and method for producing the same | 11 |
| 8 | CN104004998A | 一种钛合金表面钛基非晶涂层的制备方法 | 8 |
| 9 | JP1983107482A | Processing and cutting tool, metal mold, mechanical parts and other metal product having amorphous metal thin… | 8 |
| 10 | EP3486979A1 | Cathode active material for secondary battery, and preparation method therefor | 5 |
Citation counts reflect visibility within this searched corpus and favour older records; treat them as a signal of influence rather than current relevance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the concentration and geography say about the field
The ranking, the IPC spread and the receiving-office mix each point to a field where a small number of established materials players hold most of the claim space, and where the remaining activity is scattered across single-filing entrants.
A short leadership tier, then a long tail
The leading assignee alone accounts for 11 of the 44 records. Combined with the rest of the top 5, that group holds 59.1% of all records in scope, and the top 10 extend that to 84.1% — leaving fewer than a handful of records for the remaining 14 ranked assignees.
Coating claims dominate, alloy claims support
C23C is the field's centre of gravity by a wide margin, with C22C alloy claims and C25D electroplating claims forming the next tier. The overlap between these classes shows that surface treatment IP rarely stands apart from the alloy composition it is deposited on.
Japan anchors the filing map
Japan receives more than double the filings of the next office, China, with Europe, the United States, South Korea and India each holding single-digit counts. That skew reflects where the established metallurgy and coatings players are headquartered.
Activity has cooled from its 2018 peak
Filings peaked at 5 in 2018 and, on the last complete comparison window, fell from 2 in 2021 to 1 in 2024. Years from 2025 onward are still filling in under publication lag and should not be read as confirming a continued drop.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to amorphous metal surface modification patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| WANG JIAHUI | WANG JIAHAO | 4 |
| Nippon Steel Corporation | Tekigen Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| WANG JIAHUI | WANG JINGRAN | 2 |
| WANG JIAHAO | WANG JINGRAN | 2 |
| Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research Institute Shenzhen | Huazhong University of Science and Technology | 2 |
Co-assignee activity is limited to 5 pairs, the strongest linking two individual inventor-assignees on 4 shared records — a pattern more typical of academic or small-team filing than corporate joint ventures.
Where to take this landscape
The dataset points to a concentrated leadership tier, a coating-dominant claim structure, and a filing pace still working through publication lag. The next steps below narrow that into decisions specific to a given technical route.
Map a specific coating chemistry against the leaders' claims
Pull the full claim sets from the top assignees in C23C before drafting around chromate, phosphate or vapour-deposition routes, since these are the densest single class in the field.
Explore in Eureka →Check alloy-composition overlap before filing a surface treatment claim
Because C22C alloy claims and C23C coating claims frequently sit on the same records, a new surface treatment filing should be checked against base-alloy composition claims held by the same assignees.
Run a freedom-to-operate check →Watch the smaller receiving offices for early signals
South Korea and India carry only a handful of records each, which can mean either genuine white space or filings not yet published under the 18-month lag — worth monitoring rather than dismissing.
Set up monitoring in Eureka →Questions practitioners ask about this landscape
The leading assignee alone holds 11 of the 44 records in this landscape, and the top 5 assignees combined hold 59.1% of all records. The top 10 extend that concentration to 84.1%, which leaves the remaining 14 ranked assignees splitting a small residual share. This is a field where a short list of established metallurgy and coatings companies, alongside a few academic and individual filers, account for nearly all activity, so a competitive review should start with that leadership tier rather than the long tail.
On the last complete comparison window, filings fell from 2 in 2021 to 1 in 2024, a -50% change, after peaking at 5 records in 2018. However, publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so years from 2025 onward are still incomplete and should not be read as confirming a continued decline. A fairer read is that activity has been modest and roughly flat since its 2018 peak, with the true 2025-2026 picture not yet visible.
C23C, covering coating and surface deposition, is by far the dominant class, appearing in 65.9% of the 44 records in scope. C22C (alloys), C01G, C25D (electroplating), C01B, H01F (magnetic materials) and H01M (batteries) each appear in roughly 13-21% of records, showing that surface treatment claims routinely reach into alloy composition and end-application classes. Because records can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add to more than 100% and should not be summed as if they were mutually exclusive.
JP1984197576A, filed by Nippon Steel in 1984, claims a specific chromate-based treating liquid in a near-anhydrous ketone solvent, applied to a quenched or amorphous metal surface and baked at roughly 200-400°C to form a heat-resistant, anti-rust film. Its scope is tied to that chemistry and process window, not to amorphous-metal surface treatment generally. A route using a different conversion chemistry, a different solvent system, or a materially different bake range sits outside what this record's claims cover, though it remains the field's most historically referenced starting point.
The smaller IPC classes and receiving offices are the places to look first: South Korea and India each carry only a handful of records, and classes like B22F (powder metallurgy) sit well below the C23C coating majority. Co-assignee collaboration is also thin, limited to just 5 pairs across the whole dataset, suggesting few joint corporate development programmes. Combined with a concentrated top tier of assignees, this points to under-claimed combinations of surface chemistry with specific end-applications, such as magnetic or battery-grade amorphous alloys, as the more open territory.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.