Laser Beam-Shaping Metasurface Patent Snapshot
The laser beam-shaping metasurface patent space is small but concentrated, with SOS LAB Co., Ltd. holding the largest position and the top five filers collectively dominating the hundred-largest filers’ combined share. Activity has plateaued near its filing peak, suggesting the field is transitioning from early growth toward consolidation, with LiDAR sensing as the primary application driver.
SOS LAB leads a concentrated, still-maturing field
SOS LAB Co., Ltd. holds the top position with 6 patent families, followed by Meta Platforms Technologies LLC and Beijing University of Technology, each with 3 patent families. The field’s overall corpus stands at 32 patent families.
The top five filers account for 47% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total — a high concentration ratio for a corpus of this size, signalling that a small group of organizations has staked out most of the structured claiming activity so far.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SOS LAB Co., Ltd. | 6 | |
| 2 | Meta Platforms Technologies LLC | 3 | |
| 3 | Beijing University of Technology | 3 | |
| 4 | Zhejiang Eagle Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 5 | Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal SA | 2 | |
| 6 | AMS OSRAM International GmbH | 2 | |
| 7 | University of Minho | 2 | |
| 8 | Zhejiang Berxel Photonics Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 9 | Apple Inc. | 1 | |
| 10 | Materion Corporation | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Semicon Devices (an Elbit Systems–Rafael Partnership) | 1 | |
| 12 | University of Massachusetts | 1 | |
| 13 | Hangzhou Najing Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 14 | Chen Wei-Ting | 1 | |
| 15 | Lumentum Operations LLC | 1 | |
| 16 | CTRL-Labs Corporation | 1 | |
| 17 | Neurophos LLC | 1 | |
| 18 | Tianfu Xinglonghu Laboratory | 1 | |
| 19 | Nichia Corporation | 1 | |
| 20 | Shenzhen Berxel Photonics Co., Ltd. | 1 |
SOS LAB’s emphasis on LiDAR positioning (G01S) alongside optical-element design (G02B) suggests that sensing-system integration, rather than pure photonics research, is the visible commercial motive among leaders. Meta Platforms Technologies and Beijing University of Technology anchor a second tier with laser and optical-system coverage.
Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 should be treated as provisional; patent applications typically take 18–24 months from filing to public disclosure, so recent totals will rise as publications catch up. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing activity plateaued after a 2019 surge; LiDAR and optics dominate the technology mix
Two charts frame the field’s trajectory: annual filing volume since 2017 and the distribution of IPC technology classes across the corpus.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity jumped sharply in 2019 (8 families), then eased to low single digits through 2022, before recovering to 5–7 families per year in 2023–2025. The lifecycle evidence indicates annual volume has plateaued near its peak rather than continuing to climb. Data for 2024–2025 remain subject to publication lag and will likely revise upward.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01S (Lasers and stimulated emission) and G02B (Optical elements and systems) are the two visible IPC classes, reflecting the field’s foundation in laser-source engineering and beam-manipulating optic design. G01S (Radar, sonar, and positioning — principally LiDAR) ranks third, confirming that autonomous-sensing applications are the primary end-use context. F21K (LED and non-electric light sources), G06F (digital data processing), and several metrology and navigation classes appear at lower counts, pointing to adjacent but underserved application 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.
Laser diode beam correction, combining, and coupli…
The present disclosure provides systems and methods for coupling light in imaging systems. One such system comprises a metalens doublet structure having a first substrate; a first metalens structure provided at a surface of the first substrate and comprising a plurality of first scatterers; and a second metalens structure provided at a second substrate or… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lidar device | 26 |
| 2 | Lidar device | 13 |
| 3 | LiDAR device | 9 |
| 4 | Lidar device | 8 |
| 5 | 底部发射垂直腔面发射激光器 | 8 |
| 6 | 一种集成BIC超构表面激光器的折射率传感芯片 | 2 |
| 7 | Laser diode beam correction, combining, and coupli… | 2 |
| 8 | Programmable Structured Light Generator, Photoelec… | 1 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
SOS LAB Co., Ltd.
SOS LAB Co., Ltd. holds 6 patent families — the largest position in the corpus — with technology emphasis concentrated in G01S (LiDAR radar and positioning, subclasses 17 and 7) and G02B (optical elements). The applicant momentum data flags SOS LAB as a new entrant in the recent filing window, indicating its portfolio was built rapidly rather than accumulated over many years. This suggests an IP-first commercialization strategy timed to the LiDAR market’s growth.
families: 6Meta Platforms Technologies LLC
Meta Platforms Technologies LLC holds 3 patent families, with focus spread across F21K (LED light sources), G02B (optical elements, subclass 27), and H01S (lasers). This mix points to AR/VR headset illumination and structured-light applications rather than automotive sensing. No momentum trend entry appears for Meta in the recent-window data, suggesting its filing activity predates the most recent period tracked.
families: 3Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 32 patent families globally. This is a small but technically focused corpus, reflecting the field’s early-to-maturing stage and its specialized intersection of nanostructured optics with laser engineering.
SOS LAB Co., Ltd. leads with 6 patent families. Meta Platforms Technologies LLC and Beijing University of Technology each hold 3 patent families. The top five applicants together account for 47% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total.
The United States leads with 13 patent records, followed by China with 10, WIPO (PCT) with 5, and Europe (EPO) with 4. The US-first pattern is consistent with the heavy presence of North American technology companies and the autonomous-vehicle LiDAR market.
LiDAR sensing is the visible application, as indicated by G01S (Radar, sonar, and positioning) being the third-largest IPC class and by the most-cited patents all relating to LiDAR devices. AR/VR illumination (F21K, G02B27) and laser-source integration (H01S5) form secondary application clusters.
One co-applicant pair is documented: the University of Minho and Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal SA jointly filed 2 patent families. This is the only collaboration pair identified in the evidence; all other applicants appear to file independently.
The white-space analysis identifies F21K (LED light sources, 6 records), G06F (digital data processing, 3 records), F21Y (light-source form index, 2 records), G01B (measuring length and dimensions, 2 records), and G01C (distance and navigation, 2 records) as the branches with the lowest filing density relative to the visible H01S and G02B classes.
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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.
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