HEA Fatigue & Phase Stability Patent Landscape
The HEA fatigue and phase stability patent field is in a growth stage, with 81 patent families in scope and activity concentrated heavily among academic institutions led by Seoul National University R&DB Foundation. China is the dominant filing jurisdiction, and alloy composition (C22C) accounts for the large majority of technology records, leaving adjacent processing and application branches comparatively sparse.
Academic institutions lead a fragmented but growing field
Seoul National University R&DB Foundation holds the top position with 6 patent records, followed by the University of Science & Technology Beijing and POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation each with 5 patent records. The top five filers collectively account for 24% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers.
The competitive tier is shallow: the leading applicant’s count is only modestly ahead of several close followers, and no single player has established dominant breadth across processing routes. This fragmentation reflects the field’s academic origins and the absence of a clear industrial consolidator.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY R&DB FOUNDATION | 6 | |
| 2 | UNIV OF SCI & TECH BEIJING | 5 | |
| 3 | POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation | 5 | |
| 4 | THE IND & ACADEMIC COOP IN CHUNGNAM NAT UNIV (IAC) | 4 | |
| 5 | Elmet Technologies LLC | 4 | |
| 6 | KUNMING UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 4 | |
| 7 | H.C. Starck Inc. | 2 | |
| 8 | Soochow University | 2 | |
| 9 | Jiangsu University of Technology | 2 | |
| 10 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | National Institute of Technology Calicut | 2 | |
| 12 | RTX Corporation | 2 | |
| 13 | National Tsing Hua University | 2 | |
| 14 | UT-Battelle LLC | 2 | |
| 15 | Chinalco Luoyang Copper Processing Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 16 | Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) | 2 | |
| 17 | Dalian University of Technology | 2 | |
| 18 | COUNCIL OF SCI & IND RES | 2 | |
| 19 | Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 2 | |
| 20 | Zhejiang University of Technology | 1 |
The leaders’ positions imply that first-mover industrial applicants who can bridge alloy composition expertise with downstream processing—powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing, or surface treatment—could carve out defensible IP positions that academic filers have not yet claimed.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are likely understated due to standard patent publication lag and should not be interpreted as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Annual filings rising on a multi-year basis; alloy composition dominates the technology mix
The filing trend chart reveals irregular annual volumes with a notable peak in 2024, while the technology composition chart shows strong concentration in alloy composition classes alongside a spread of adjacent processing branches.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings show a growth trajectory with 2024 recording 19 patent records—the highest single-year volume in the dataset. The 2025 and 2026 counts are understated by publication lag and should not be read as a pullback from the 2024 peak. The multi-year direction remains upward, consistent with the field’s Growth lifecycle stage.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C22C (Alloys) dominates with 89 patent records, establishing it as the core technical anchor. B22F (Powder metallurgy) at 26 records and C23C (Coating & surface deposition) at 17 records are secondary but substantially smaller branches. Additive manufacturing (B33Y, 16 records), non-ferrous metal treatment (C22F, 13 records), and welding (B23K, 9 records) represent emerging but still sparse adjacent areas.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
High entropy alloy for bioimplant applications
A non-equiatomic high entropy alloy (HEA) includes titanium in an amount of 33 to 37 atomic percent, zirconium in an amount of 33 to 37 atomic percent, niobium in an amount of 18 to 22 atomic percent, tantalum in an amount of 3 to 7 atomic percent, and silver in an amount of 3 to 7 atomic percent, wherein atomic percent is based on the total atom count of… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 具有弥散纳米析出相强化效应的高熵合金及其制备方法 | 121 |
| 2 | Multi-Component Solid Solution Alloys having High … | 72 |
| 3 | High entropy alloy having TWIP/trip property and m… | 66 |
| 4 | 一种含难混溶元素的高熵合金制备方法 | 49 |
| 5 | 一种Ni‑Co‑Cr‑Al‑W‑Ta‑Mo系高熵高温合金及其制备方法 | 43 |
| 6 | High-entropy alloy for ultra-low temperature | 42 |
| 7 | Multi-component solid solution alloys having high … | 40 |
| 8 | Thermo-mechanical processing of high entropy alloy… | 36 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment
The combination of a growth-stage lifecycle, academic-dominant applicant base, and alloy-centric technology mix creates specific strategic implications for industrial R&D teams evaluating entry or expansion in this space.
Growth stage with annual volume still rising
The field is classified as Growth, with annual filings still rising and the 2024 filing year recording the highest volume in the dataset. The multi-year growth rate stands at 8% for the recent window. Early-stage industrial IP positioning remains feasible before the competitive landscape consolidates.
Lifecycle: GrowthFragmented field with no dominant industrial owner
The top five filers hold 24% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, and the gap between first and fifth place is narrow. Academic institutions—rather than large industrial manufacturers—occupy every top-5 slot. This fragmentation signals that IP position in downstream application areas remains largely unclaimed by industry.
Top-5 share: 24%Limited co-filing activity; one active university pairing identified
The only co-filing relationship in evidence is between POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation and the Chungnam National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, with 2 jointly filed records. Ecosystem collaboration remains sparse, which may reflect the early-stage, curiosity-driven nature of the research or the absence of industry consortia to fund joint programs.
Co-filer pairs: 1China leads filings; US and India are secondary markets
China accounts for 39 patent records—the single largest jurisdiction—followed by the United States at 26 records and India at 11 records. Europe (EPO) has only 5 records and South Korea 4, suggesting that patent protection in those commercially significant markets is still thin relative to China and the US. Industrial entrants should evaluate whether EPO and Korean filings represent an accessible whitespace.
Lead office: ChinaGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation | Chungnam National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Seoul National University leads; POSTECH and UST Beijing challenge across alloy composition routes
The top applicants are uniformly academic, with alloy composition (C22C) as the shared technical anchor. Differentiation among leaders appears at the level of secondary processing routes—powder metallurgy, metal treatment, or additive manufacturing.
Seoul National University R&DB Foundation
The top-ranked filer with 6 patent records, concentrated exclusively across alloy composition subclasses (C22C30, C22C1, C22C19). Its portfolio reflects depth in multi-principal-element alloy design without meaningful diversification into downstream processing branches. Momentum data does not flag a recent acceleration, suggesting a steady rather than surging output rate.
patent records: 6POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation
Tied for second at 5 patent records and differentiated by a broader alloy-class spread (C22C30, C22C38, C22C1), indicating coverage across multiple alloy sub-families including steel-adjacent compositions. POSTECH is also the sole co-filer on record, having jointly filed with Chungnam National University’s cooperation foundation. Its momentum trend is flagged as a new entrant in the most recent period, reflecting 1 recent record from a small prior base.
patent records: 5| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| University of Science & Technology Beijing | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served processing and application branches adjacent to the alloy-composition core
Five IPC branches sit at notably lower coverage relative to the dominant C22C alloy class. Two stand out for their combination of sparse coverage, plausible technical relevance to HEA fatigue and phase stability, and realistic entry paths for industrial applicants.
B33Y · Additive manufacturing (3D printing)
With 16 patent records and a 7% share of the IPC distribution, additive manufacturing is the most technically adjacent under-served branch. HEA fatigue performance is sensitive to solidification microstructure, and additive routes directly control that variable. The small number of records suggests that the intersection of AM process parameters and HEA phase stability has not been systematically covered. Industrial entrants with AM process IP could file in this space with relatively low prior-art density. Entry path: process parameter–microstructure–fatigue life linkage claims for specific alloy families.
Search this in Eureka →C23C · Coating & surface deposition
Surface and coating applications account for 17 patent records and an 8% share. HEA coatings for wear, oxidation, and fatigue crack initiation resistance are an active research area, yet the patent record remains thin. Jiangsu University of Technology’s portfolio already straddles C22C30 and C23C14, indicating this intersection is technically viable. The sparse coverage relative to the compositional core suggests room for coating-specific claims around fatigue-resistant HEA surfaces for turbine, bearing, or biomedical implant applications.
Search this in Eureka →Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 81 patent families in scope globally across the available filing years.
Seoul National University R&DB Foundation is the top-ranked filer with 6 patent records, ahead of the University of Science & Technology Beijing and POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation, each with 5 patent records.
The field is classified as Growth, with annual filings still rising and 2024 recording the highest single-year volume in the dataset. Recent-period counts for 2025 and 2026 are understated by standard publication lag.
China leads with 39 patent records, followed by the United States at 26 records and India at 11 records. Europe (EPO) has 5 records and South Korea has 4, indicating relatively thin protection in those markets.
Additive manufacturing (B33Y, 16 records) and coating & surface deposition (C23C, 17 records) are the most prominent under-served adjacent branches relative to the dominant alloy composition class (C22C, 89 records). Welding (B23K, 9 records) and metal extrusion (B21C, 7 records) are even sparser.
Collaboration is minimal based on available evidence. Only one co-filing relationship has been identified: POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation and the Chungnam National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, with 2 jointly filed records.
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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.
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