Geometric Phase & LC Polarization Optics Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The leading assignee holds 7 of 49 records in scope, and the top 5 combined account for 49.0% of all 49 records — filing is not evenly spread.
- Filing accelerated sharply. Records rose from 3 in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a +133% increase over that span, before the still-incomplete 2025-2026 window understates recent activity.
- Optics classes dominate, adjacent fields barely appear. G02B and G02F together anchor the field, while display control, holography and laser classes each sit at 4.1% of records — thin ground for anyone targeting integration claims.
Filing growth compares 2021 (3 records) with 2024 (7) — 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 49 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks patent families built around the Pancharatnam-Berry optical element, the geometric phase lens, and the liquid crystal polarization grating — three closely related constructs that use spatially patterned liquid crystal alignment to impose a geometric (Pancharatnam-Berry) phase on incident light rather than a conventional refractive one. The search scope narrows further to filings that address diffraction efficiency, chromatic aberration, alignment layer patterning, switchable operation, or haze and scattering — the practical problems that separate a lab demonstration from a manufacturable optical element.
The dataset spans 49 published records from 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, drawn from a mix of US, Chinese, PCT, European, Austrian and German filings. It is small and technically dense enough that individual assignees, rather than broad industry blocks, define the competitive picture.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 49 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the records fall under.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Annual records rose from 2 in 2017 to a peak of 7 in 2022, with the 2021-to-2024 span showing a +133% increase (3 to 7). 2025 and 2026 figures are partial: publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent two years will fill in as more records publish.
IPC subclass composition
G02B (optical elements & systems) appears on 63.3% of the 49 records and G02F (optical control & modulation) on 51.0%, confirming these are core optics filings rather than adjacent display or communications work. H04N, G01M, G03H, G06F, G09G and H01S each cover a small slice — 8.2% or less — indicating limited patent activity where geometric phase optics intersects video pipelines, holography, testing methodology, or laser sources. Records can carry more than one class, so shares sum above 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 49 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Geometric Phase and Liquid Crystal Polarization Optics with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about geometric phase and liquid crystal polarization optics and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records in this landscape
US20180217377A1 — Geometric phase lens alignment in an augmented reality head mounted display
A head-mounted display combines a waveguide display with a focusing assembly built around a geometric phase lens and a compensation assembly whose geometric phase lens has an axis of orientation orthogonal to the focusing lens. The pairing lets the display present an augmented scene at a controlled focal distance while correcting for the orientation-dependent behaviour that geometric phase elements introduce.Filed by Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC; published 2018-08-02.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US8358400B2 | Methods of fabricating liquid crystal polarization gratings on substrates and related devices | 43 |
| 2 | WO2008130559A2 | Methods of fabricating switchable liquid crystal polarization gratings on reflective substrates and related d… | 37 |
| 3 | CN105739213A | 一种液晶光学相控阵角度放大器 | 31 |
| 4 | US20180217377A1 | Geometric phase lens alignment in an augmented reality head mounted display | 24 |
| 5 | CN110646992A | 一种双周期复合液晶偏振光栅 | 21 |
| 6 | CN108594540A | 一种混合排列型双频液晶偏振光栅 | 18 |
| 7 | US20100231847A1 | Methods of fabricating switchable liquid crystal polarization gratings on reflective substrates and related d… | 17 |
| 8 | CN110068945A | 一种反射式复合液晶偏振光栅及其制备方法 | 15 |
| 9 | US10120193B2 | Geometric phase lens alignment in an augmented reality head mounted display | 15 |
| 10 | US20230375787A1 | Bragg gratings for an augmented reality display system | 5 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial importance.
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 numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns stand out once the ranking, the trend and the class composition are read together.
A narrow leadership group, not a crowded field
The top 5 assignees combined account for 49.0% of all 49 records in scope, and the leader alone holds 7. That leaves a long tail of single- or double-filing entrants working around a small set of established claim positions.
Filing accelerated into 2022-2024, then the window closes
Records climbed from 3 in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a +133% rise, with 2022 the peak year at 7. 2025-2026 figures will understate true activity until publication catches up, so treat the apparent tail-off as an artefact of the 18-month lag, not a slowdown.
Two classes carry the field
G02B and G02F between them describe the great majority of records, while H04N, G01M, G03H, G06F, G09G and H01S each sit at 8.2% or below. Integration claims that bridge geometric phase optics into video processing, holography or laser sourcing remain comparatively rare.
Filing splits between US and China, with PCT a secondary route
The United States (19) and China (16) are the two largest receiving offices, followed by WIPO PCT filings (5) and Europe (4). Austria and Germany each contribute a single record, marking the edge of where this technology has been formally pursued.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to geometric phase and liquid crystal polarization optics, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the core positions
The ranked leaders span display-device makers, an optics-focused research institute, and university groups working directly on liquid crystal grating fabrication — a mix that reflects how this technology moved from academic labs into head-mounted display supply chains.
Recent-year activity is thin across the board
Momentum figures for the tracked assignees show declines or flat activity in the latest year — one university group posted 1 filing (down 50% YoY) while several others recorded zero. Given the 18-month publication lag, this reads as an incomplete recent window rather than a genuine pullback.
Co-filing is rare and university-anchored
Only two co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, each linking a university group to a named individual or a partner research institute. That scarcity suggests most work here is filed by a single organisation rather than through formal joint development.
Foundational fabrication patents still anchor the field
The most-cited record in this landscape covers fabricating liquid crystal polarization gratings on substrates, cited 43 times, with a related switchable-grating filing close behind at 37. Newer entrants are building on top of this fabrication baseline rather than replacing it.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Beihang University | 1 | -50% |
| North Carolina State University | 0 | — |
| Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 0 | -100% |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute | 0 | — |
| Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Magic Leap, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio strategy, or spotting an open filing position.
Check freedom-to-operate against the top-cited fabrication patents
The two highest-cited records both cover core liquid crystal polarization grating fabrication methods. Any new switchable or reflective-substrate design should be checked against these before development proceeds.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaMap the under-claimed integration classes
H04N, G03H, G06F, G09G and H01S each cover a small share of records, meaning geometric phase optics combined with video pipelines, holography or laser sourcing has comparatively little prior art on file.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack the leading assignees' recent filings directly
With momentum figures for the latest year incomplete due to publication lag, a live monitor on the ranked leaders will surface new filings as they publish rather than waiting for the dataset to catch up.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
A geometric phase lens uses spatially varying liquid crystal alignment to impose a Pancharatnam-Berry phase on light, rather than shaping a refractive surface. The phase shift depends on the local orientation of the liquid crystal director and the circular polarization handedness of the incoming light, which lets the lens focus, defocus, or steer light depending on which circular polarization state is used. This makes them thin, flat and switchable in ways conventional refractive lenses are not, which is why they show up heavily in augmented and virtual reality display patents in this dataset.
The ranking covers 24 companies, and it is concentrated rather than flat: the leading assignee holds 7 of the 49 records in scope, and the top 5 combined account for 49.0% of all records. The mix includes device makers building augmented and virtual reality hardware alongside university groups and a dedicated optics research institute, reflecting the technology's roots in academic liquid crystal photonics research before industrial adoption. The remaining ranked companies each hold smaller counts, forming a long tail around the leaders.
Filing grew markedly in the recent complete-year window, rising from 3 records in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a +133% increase, with 2022 as the peak year at 7. The 2025 and 2026 figures look lower, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than an actual drop in activity. Any conclusion about a slowdown should wait until those years have had time to fill in.
US20180217377A1, assigned to Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC, claims a head-mounted display architecture combining a waveguide display with a focusing geometric phase lens and a compensation geometric phase lens oriented orthogonally to it, used to present an augmented scene at a controlled focal distance. It is specific to this dual-lens compensation architecture for focus control in AR headsets, not to geometric phase lenses generally. Designs using a single geometric phase lens, a different compensation mechanism, or applications outside head-mounted focus adjustment would need a separate claim-by-claim comparison rather than assuming blanket coverage.
The class composition points to several thin areas: H04N (pictorial communication), G03H (holography), G06F (data processing), G09G (display control) and H01S (lasers) each cover only 4.1% to 8.2% of the 49 records, well below the 63.3% and 51.0% held by the core optics classes G02B and G02F. That gap suggests integration work — combining geometric phase optics with video processing pipelines, holographic systems, or laser sources — has comparatively little prior art on file. Co-filing is also rare, with only two co-assignee pairs identified, suggesting joint development structures around this technology remain uncommon.
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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.