Metallic Glass Reliability Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- Filing has cooled since its 2024 peak of 12. with the 2022 midpoint at just 2 families, the growth curve is flat-to-declining rather than accelerating.
- Alloys and data storage dominate the claim space. C22C alloy compositions (80 records) and G11B storage media (72) together outweigh battery, semiconductor and filtration applications combined.
- Japan and the US receive the bulk of filings. 81 Japanese and 73 US filings versus 33 at the EPO and 18 via PCT, showing activity concentrated in two national systems rather than spread globally.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks 256 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine metallic glass, amorphous alloy or bulk metallic glass terminology with claims to fatigue durability, embrittlement resistance or long-term stability. It captures reliability engineering around amorphous metals rather than the base alloy chemistry alone, so it skews toward applications where a component has to survive repeated stress, thermal cycling or years of service.
The technology composition points to two established use cases carrying most of the filing weight: alloy compositions themselves (C22C) and magnetic/optical storage media (G11B), with magnetics, batteries, semiconductors and filtration trailing behind. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the 2025-2026 counts in any trend chart understate real activity.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 256-family dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
A peak in 2024, not a ramp
Filings rose from 8 in 2017 to a peak of 12 in 2024, but the 2022 midpoint sat at only 2 — the path there was uneven, not a steady climb, and the most recent partial year should be read with the 18-month publication lag in mind rather than as a real drop-off.
Alloys and storage lead, batteries and semiconductors trail
C22C alloy claims (80) and G11B storage media (72) are the two largest subclasses by a wide margin over H01F magnetics (46), H01M batteries (31), B01D separation (21), H01L semiconductors (17), C21D heat treatment (15) and C01B inorganic compounds (14) — a spread that shows reliability claims following the alloy itself and its use in data storage more than newer application areas.
Shares are the percentage of the 256 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Metallic Glass Reliability and Durability with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about metallic glass reliability and durability and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative filing and the most-cited prior art
US20040140016A1 — Iron-base amorphous alloy thin strip and iron core
Assigned to Nippon Steel Corporation, this filing claims an iron-base amorphous alloy thin strip produced by rapidly cooling molten metal onto a moving substrate through a slot-shaped nozzle, with an ultra-thin oxide layer of 5-20 nm on one or both surfaces of an amorphous phase containing 0.2-12 atomic % phosphorus, aimed at improved soft magnetic properties for iron cores.Filed 2004-07-22 — illustrates how early rapid-solidification and surface-oxide control claims in this space were staked out.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20040129135A1 | Dense, layered membranes for hydrogen separation | 139 |
| 2 | US4951674A | Biomagnetic analytical system using fiber-optic magnetic sensors | 134 |
| 3 | US20180151884A1 | High-capacity battery electrodes with improved binders, construction, and performance | 83 |
| 4 | US7001446B2 | Dense, layered membranes for hydrogen separation | 76 |
| 5 | US6416879B1 | Fe-based amorphous alloy thin strip and core produced using the same | 75 |
| 6 | US7486498B2 | Strong substrate alloy and compressively stressed dielectric film for capacitor with high energy density | 59 |
| 7 | US4318738A | Amorphous carbon alloys and articles manufactured from said alloys | 55 |
| 8 | US20170183257A1 | Method for production of a coated, chemically prestressed glass substrate having Anti-fingerprint properties … | 53 |
| 9 | US20040140016A1 | Iron-base amorphous alloy thin strip excellent in soft magnetic properties, iron core manufactured by using s… | 48 |
| 10 | JP1976004017A | Kokyodo taihiro taizenmenfushoku taikoshoku taisukimafushoku taioryokufushokuware taisuisozeiseiyo amorufuasu… | 43 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply by virtue of time in the corpus; treat them as a measure of historical influence, not of which claims matter most today.
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 read-throughs from the trend, the technology split and the citation table.
Activity has plateaued, not accelerated
The climb from 8 filings in 2017 to a peak of 12 in 2024 passed through a flat midpoint of only 2 in 2022. That unevenness, combined with a partial and understated latest year, argues against reading this as a technology in an upswing.
Two subclasses carry most of the density
Alloy composition (C22C) and magnetic/optical storage media (G11B) together account for well over half the tracked records. Newer application areas — batteries, semiconductors, filtration — sit well behind, which is where claim space is comparatively less occupied.
The most-cited prior art is not the newest
The highest citation counts belong to older filings on membranes and magnetic sensing rather than to recent durability-specific claims. That is a corpus-age effect as much as a relevance signal, and should not be read as showing where current activity is concentrated.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to metallic glass reliability and durability, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the field is open
Assignee activity in this corpus is led by Japanese research and industrial organisations, with a small number of recurring co-filing pairs and little momentum from any single named assignee in the most recent year.
Collaboration is narrow and academic-industrial
Only 6 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset. The strongest links an industrial steel manufacturer to a national technical university, suggesting durability claims here often originate from applied research partnerships rather than pure corporate R&D.
No assignee is currently pulling ahead
Every named assignee tracked for recent-year momentum shows zero filings in the latest year. Combined with the flat overall trend, this points to a field where prior claims are largely settled rather than one being actively contested.
Two national systems dominate over PCT
Japan and the United States receive far more filings than the EPO, WIPO/PCT, Canada or India combined. A strategy built only around PCT or EPO coverage would miss most of where this art is actually being protected.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University | 0 | — |
| Japan Steel Works, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Nippon Steel Corporation | 0 | — |
| Kitami Institute of Technology | 0 | — |
| Toshiba Corporation | 0 | — |
| Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Bomaili Cheng Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a mature, geographically concentrated field with specific thinner branches worth a closer look.
Map the under-claimed branches in detail
Battery, semiconductor and filtration applications of amorphous alloy durability carry a fraction of the filings that alloy composition and storage media do. A branch-level search would show whether that gap is genuine white space or simply unindexed under different terminology.
Explore this in EurekaWatch for the 18-month publication lag
The apparent drop to 1 filing in the latest year is very likely a reporting artefact rather than a real stop in activity. Re-running the trend in 12-18 months will give a truer picture of where filing stands today.
Track this topic in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
In this dataset it means a filing that combines amorphous-metal terminology (metallic glass, amorphous alloy or bulk metallic glass) with a claim tied to fatigue durability, embrittlement resistance or long-term stability. That excludes general alloy composition patents that do not address service-life or degradation behaviour, and it excludes durability patents on crystalline metals. The intersection is what makes this corpus meaningfully smaller than the full metallic glass patent literature.
The trend shows 8 filings in 2017 rising unevenly to a peak of 12 in 2024, with a flat midpoint of only 2 in 2022. That pattern suggests periodic bursts of filing activity tied to specific research programmes rather than sustained, compounding growth. The apparent decline in the most recent year should also be read cautiously, since publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months.
Alloy composition itself (IPC class C22C, 80 records) and magnetic or optical storage media (G11B, 72 records) carry by far the most filings. Magnetics components, batteries, semiconductors, filtration membranes and heat treatment processes all trail well behind. That split reflects where amorphous metals have historically been commercialised — soft magnetic cores and storage substrates — more than where the technology could theoretically apply.
The core alloy-composition and storage-media claims look well occupied given their filing density and the long-standing presence of assignees like Nippon Steel. Thinner branches — battery electrode binder durability, semiconductor thin-film embrittlement resistance, and filtration membrane long-term stability — carry noticeably fewer filings and are worth a closer, branch-specific search before assuming freedom to operate. High density in the core does not mean the technology itself is exhausted, only that its claim space there is occupied.
Assignee activity is led by a mix of Japanese industrial and academic organisations, including steel manufacturers and national universities, often filing jointly. Notably, every assignee tracked for recent-year momentum in this dataset shows zero filings in the most recent year, which combined with the flat overall trend suggests the field's core claims were largely staked out earlier rather than being contested today. A prospective filer should treat this as a mature but not necessarily closed landscape.
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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.