EBC for CMC Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filings peaked in 2022 at 26 and have since declined, suggesting the core claim space around silicate-based EBC compositions is filling in rather than expanding.
- The five most-cited records are all silica-diffusion-barrier or braze-based systems filed by a handful of aerospace and industrial-turbine assignees, meaning new entrants are designing around a narrow set of foundational patents rather than open ground.
- C04B ceramics and F01D turbine-component claims dominate the IPC mix (254 and 193 records respectively), while coating-process classes like B05D and C09D remain comparatively thin, pointing to where process claims are less contested.
Filing growth compares 2021 (22 records) with 2024 (6) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 302 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) protect silicon-containing ceramic matrix composites from steam oxidation and molten-deposit (CMAS) attack in gas-turbine hot sections. This landscape draws on 302 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026, filtered to records that combine EBC or CMC-related claim language with technical limitations on recession rate, CMAS resistance, coating adhesion, thermal expansion match, or deposition process, and classified under C23C4, C04B41 or F01D5.
Because publication typically lags filing by around eighteen months, the 2025-2026 filing counts in this dataset are understated and should be read as a floor, not a ceiling, on current activity.
Filing trend and technology composition
Annual filings and the IPC subclass mix together show where EBC innovation is concentrated and whether that concentration is still growing.
A peak-and-plateau filing curve
Filings rose from 5 in 2017 to a peak of 26 in 2022, then declined toward the end of the window. The midpoint year (2022) sits at the peak itself, indicating the growth phase for this specific claim combination has already passed rather than continuing to accelerate.
Ceramics and turbine hardware dominate the classification mix
C04B (ceramics, cement and refractories) and F01D (turbines) account for the largest share of records at 254 and 193 respectively, with C23C (coating deposition) close behind at 121. Downstream coating-process classes such as B05D, F23R and C09D each sit in the low double digits, marking them as comparatively under-filed relative to the composition and hardware classes above them.
Shares are the percentage of the 302 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Environmental Barrier Coatings for CMC with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about environmental barrier coatings for cmc and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe foundational and representative filings
US20170022113A1 — Rare earth silicate environmental barrier coatings having improved CMAS resistance
An environmental barrier coating having improved CMAS resistance for a ceramic matrix composite, an article comprising an environmental barrier coating having improved CMAS resistance, and a method of forming an environmental barrier coating having improved CMAS resistance are disclosed. The environmental barrier coating may include a rare earth silicate and a rare earth titanate. The ceramic matrix composite may be a silicon carbide-based composite.Filed by the University of Virginia Patent Foundation, this filing targets the rare earth silicate plus rare earth titanate combination specifically for CMAS resistance on silicon carbide-based composites.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6607852B2 | Environmental/thermal barrier coating system with silica diffusion barrier layer | 93 |
| 2 | US20030003328A1 | Environmental/thermal barrier coating system with silica diffusion barrier layer | 78 |
| 3 | US6699607B1 | Thermal/environmental barrier coating for silicon-containing substrates | 74 |
| 4 | US6844075B1 | Environmental barrier coating | 57 |
| 5 | US20050079343A1 | Braze-based protective coating for silicon nitride | 50 |
| 6 | US20130136915A1 | Durable environmental barrier coatings for ceramic substrates | 44 |
| 7 | US20190284673A1 | Coating system including nucleating agent | 39 |
| 8 | US20050042461A1 | Diffusion barrier coating for si-based components | 38 |
| 9 | US20160312628A1 | Method of depositing abradable coatings under polymer gels | 37 |
| 10 | US20050249977A1 | Environmental barrier coating material and coating structure and ceramic structure using the same | 35 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings and should be read as a measure of influence on later filers, not as a ranking of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns matter most for anyone deciding where to file or where to design around existing claims.
The growth phase has already peaked
Filings climbed steadily from 5 in 2017 to a peak of 26 in 2022 before declining. Combined with the publication lag, this points to a maturing claim space around EBC compositions rather than one still opening up.
A small set of silica-diffusion-barrier patents anchors the field
The five most-cited records are all silica-diffusion-barrier or braze-based coating systems, several sharing near-identical titles across related filings. New work in this space is almost always positioned against this small cluster.
Hardware and composition claims crowd out process claims
C04B ceramics and F01D turbine classes carry the bulk of filings, while combustion-chamber (F23R) and paint/coating (C09D) classes sit at 15 and 12 records respectively. That gap suggests deposition-process and end-application integration claims remain comparatively open.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to environmental barrier coatings for cmc, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| KIRBY GLEN HAROLD | BOUTWELL BRETT ALLEN | 9 |
| Rolls-Royce plc | Rolls-Royce Limited | 8 |
| Rolls-Royce plc | Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, Inc. | 8 |
| Rolls-Royce plc | University of Virginia Patent Foundation | 3 |
| Rolls-Royce plc | University of Virginia | 3 |
| Honeywell International Inc. | STRANGMAN THOMAS E | 3 |
| Honeywell International Inc. | SCHENK BJOERN | 3 |
| Honeywell International Inc. | RAYBOULD DEREK | 3 |
Co-assignee pairs in this dataset are dominated by internal inventor pairings and related corporate entities of the same turbine manufacturers, rather than cross-company joint filings — a sign that EBC development here is largely proprietary rather than collaborative.
Who is filing, and where the momentum has stalled
Recent-year momentum figures show that even the historically active assignees in this space recorded flat or declining filings in the latest year, consistent with the overall peak-and-decline trend.
Turbine OEMs hold the historical core
The assignees with the deepest filing history in this dataset are aerospace and industrial gas-turbine manufacturers, whose earlier filings anchor the most-cited patent cluster. Their recent-year activity has flattened rather than grown.
University and foundation filings target specific resistance mechanisms
The representative filing in this dataset, from the University of Virginia Patent Foundation, targets rare earth silicate and titanate combinations specifically for CMAS resistance — a narrower, mechanism-specific claim style distinct from the broader system patents held by turbine OEMs.
Coating specialists show no fresh filings in the latest year
Assignees with a history of thermal spray and surface-treatment filings show zero activity in the most recent year across this dataset, though the publication lag means some of this may simply not have surfaced yet.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Raytheon Technologies | 1 | 0% |
| General Electric Company | 0 | -100% |
| Rolls-Royce plc | 0 | — |
| Honeywell International Inc. | 0 | — |
| United Technologies Corporation | 0 | — |
| Sulzer Metco (US) Inc. | 0 | — |
| KIRBY GLEN HAROLD | 0 | — |
| BOUTWELL BRETT ALLEN | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a claim space that has passed its growth peak but still has thinner process-side coverage worth checking before committing a filing strategy.
Map your composition against the cited cluster
Before drafting new composition claims, check them against the silica-diffusion-barrier and braze-coating patents that anchor this field's citation network.
Explore prior art in EurekaTest process-side claim angles
Deposition-process and combustion-chamber integration classes carry noticeably fewer filings than the composition and hardware classes, worth verifying with a fresh search before assuming the space is open.
Run a white space search in EurekaCommon questions about EBC patents for CMC
An environmental barrier coating is a multi-layer ceramic coating applied to silicon-based ceramic matrix composites to protect them from steam oxidation and molten deposit (CMAS) attack inside gas-turbine hot sections. Because the coating composition, layer architecture and deposition method each affect performance and durability, manufacturers file separate patents on the material chemistry, the layer structure and the process used to apply it. This dataset shows 302 families combining these elements, filed mainly under ceramics (C04B), turbine (F01D) and coating-deposition (C23C) classifications.
The most-cited records in this corpus are silica-diffusion-barrier and braze-based coating system patents, led by a filing cited 93 times and several related filings in the 50-80 citation range. These patents are held by established aerospace and industrial turbine manufacturers rather than newer entrants, reflecting their early filing dates. High citation counts here indicate influence on later filers, not necessarily continued commercial dominance today.
Filing activity rose from 5 records in 2017 to a peak of 26 in 2022, then declined through to the most recent year in the dataset. Because publication lags filing by roughly eighteen months, the final one to two years are understated, but the overall shape is a peak followed by decline rather than sustained growth. That pattern suggests the core composition claim space is filling in, with process and integration claims representing the more open ground.
The IPC composition shows composition and hardware classes (C04B, F01D) carrying far more filings than downstream process classes such as B05D coating processes, F23R combustion chambers and C09D coatings and paints, each in the low double digits. This gap suggests deposition-process control, graded thermal-expansion interlayers, and CMAS-resistant top-coat microstructure are comparatively under-claimed relative to bulk coating composition. A first claim in these areas would likely need to specify a process parameter or layer geometry rather than a new base chemistry to clear the existing art.
CMAS resistance claims typically specify material chemistries, such as rare earth silicate and titanate combinations, engineered to resist infiltration by molten calcium-magnesium-aluminosilicate deposits, as seen in the University of Virginia Patent Foundation's representative filing in this dataset. Steam oxidation resistance claims, by contrast, more often focus on diffusion-barrier layers and recession-rate limitations under high-temperature water vapour exposure. Because the search terms in this landscape capture both mechanisms, a given patent may address one, the other, or both, and reviewing the specific test methods claimed is necessary to tell them apart.
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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.