Metallization Process for Composite Foil Patents: Leaders & Gaps 2026
- 8.0% concentration at the top. The five leading assignees together hold just 8.0% of the 103,676 records in scope, leaving most of the field to a long tail of smaller filers.
- Filings down 23% since 2021. Filing volume fell from 443 in 2021 to 340 in 2024, though 2025-2026 figures are still incomplete due to publication lag.
- Web-handling claims are thin. B65H (web/sheet handling) covers only 1.2% of records versus C23C's 4.8%, marking the process-control side of metallization as comparatively open ground.
Filing growth compares 2021 (443 records) with 2024 (340) — 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 103,676 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape draws on 103,676 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine metallization or plating terminology with process-control concerns such as adhesion, thickness uniformity, web handling, pinhole defects and line throughput. The scope spans deposition chemistry, roll-to-roll handling and the semiconductor and battery contexts where composite-foil metallization is most often claimed.
Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend understate real filing activity; 2024 is the last year in this dataset that can be treated as reasonably complete.
Filing trends and technology composition
The dataset spans records published between 2015 and mid-2026, giving a view of both where filing volume has concentrated and which technical branches carry the heaviest claim density.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings rose from 650 in 2017 to a peak of 689 in 2018, then eased to 443 by 2021 and 340 by 2024 — a -23% change over that three-year span. The 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in as publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent years understate actual filing activity rather than confirming a genuine slowdown.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
Coating and surface deposition (C23C) and semiconductor devices (H01L) each cover close to 5% of the 103,676 records in scope, with electroplating (C25D) close behind at 3.1%. Web/sheet handling (B65H) and plastics shaping (B29C) sit under 1.5% each, marking the thinner-claimed branches of the same field. Because records can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the record total.
Shares are the percentage of the 103,676 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Metallization Process for Composite Foil with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about metallization process for composite foil and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative filing and the most-cited prior art
EP2955140B1 — sheet transfer between roll-handling cylinders
Folding machines are described that use a direct transfer of sheets from a knife roll to a folding roll, with sheet-handling rolls incorporating movable vacuum ports to assist transfer of a sheet from one roll to another.Filed by C.G. Bretting Manufacturing Co., Inc.; granted 2017-10-04.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6838493B2 | Medical devices and applications of polyhydroxyalkanoate polymers | 1,832 |
| 2 | US5969422A | Plated copper interconnect structure | 836 |
| 3 | US5250843A | Multichip integrated circuit modules | 816 |
| 4 | US20040211357A1 | Method of manufacturing a gap-filled structure of a semiconductor device | 745 |
| 5 | US20030082307A1 | Integration of ALD tantalum nitride and alpha-phase tantalum for copper metallization application | 666 |
| 6 | US6017818A | Process for fabricating conformal Ti-Si-N and Ti-B-N based barrier films with low defect density | 649 |
| 7 | US6391785B1 | Method for bottomless deposition of barrier layers in integrated circuit metallization schemes | 597 |
| 8 | US20030198587A1 | Method for low-temperature organic chemical vapor deposition of tungsten nitride, tungsten nitride films and … | 595 |
| 9 | US20060240187A1 | Deposition of an intermediate catalytic layer on a barrier layer for copper metallization | 584 |
| 10 | US7144942B2 | Composition and process for the sealing of microcups in roll-to-roll display manufacturing | 580 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus skew toward older records; treat them as a signal of influence on later filings rather than a measure of current commercial importance.
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Taken together, the concentration figures, the technology-class split and the citation table point to a field where deposition chemistry is heavily claimed but process-control and web-handling steps remain comparatively open.
No single company controls the field
The leading assignee holds 3,529 records, well ahead of the fifth-placed filer at 994, but the top 5 combined still account for only 8.0% of all records in scope. That leaves the bulk of filing activity spread across a long tail of smaller entrants.
Activity has cooled from its 2018 peak
Filings peaked at 689 in 2018 and eased to 340 by 2024, a -23% change over the 2021-2024 span. The 2025-2026 figures are not yet complete because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, so this should not be read as a live signal of interest dropping off.
Deposition chemistry is the densest ground
Coating and surface deposition (C23C) and semiconductor devices (H01L) each sit near 5% of the 103,676 records in scope, while web handling (B65H) and plastics shaping (B29C) sit under 1.5%. That split marks the deposition step as the most contested claim territory.
Older foundational patents still anchor the field
The most-cited record in this dataset, on polymer-based medical devices, carries 1,832 citations, with several other heavily cited records tracing back to copper interconnect and semiconductor gap-fill work from the early 2000s. High citation counts here reflect long exposure in the corpus rather than current filing relevance.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to metallization process for composite foil, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where activity has stalled
The ranking covers 100 assignees by record count. A single leader sits well ahead of the field, but low combined concentration at the top means most of the corpus belongs to smaller, more scattered filers — and recent-year momentum has cooled across nearly all of the most active names.
A clear leader by volume, not by control
The top assignee's 3,529 records put it well ahead of the fifth-placed filer at 994, but that lead does not translate into field-wide control: the top 5 combined hold only 8.0% of the 103,676 records in scope.
A shallow drop-off through the ranked names
Tenth place holds 781 records against fifth place's 994, a relatively gentle decline compared with the drop from first to fifth. The top 10 combined account for 12.1% of all records in scope.
Recent-year activity has slowed across most tracked filers
Several of the most active historical assignees show sharp year-on-year declines or zero filings in the latest tracked year. Given the 18-month publication lag, this reflects incomplete recent data as much as any real pullback, but it means recent competitive signal from these names is thin.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) | 1 | -92% |
| International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) | 0 | — |
| Nippon Steel Corporation | 0 | -100% |
| 3M Innovative Properties Company | 0 | — |
| Atotech Deutschland GmbH | 0 | -100% |
| Intel Corporation | 0 | -100% |
| Applied Materials, Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| 3M Company | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The figures here establish scale and concentration. Turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means drilling into specific claims and specific competitors.
Check freedom to operate against the leader's portfolio
With one assignee holding 3,529 records against a fifth-place filer at 994, understanding exactly what that leader claims in C23C and C25D is the first filter before committing engineering resources.
Run a claim comparison in EurekaMap the thin classes before drafting new claims
B65H and B29C sit under 1.5% of records each, well below the deposition classes. That gap is worth probing with a structured search before assuming it is open.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions on metallization patents for composite foil
The assignee ranking in this dataset covers 100 companies, and it is led by a single filer with 3,529 records, well ahead of the fifth-placed firm at 994. That gap indicates a genuine leader in filing volume rather than a tight cluster at the top. Even so, the top 5 assignees combined hold only 8.0% of the 103,676 records in scope, and the top 10 hold 12.1% — so no single company controls the field outright, and a long tail of smaller filers accounts for the majority of activity.
Filings peaked in 2018 at 689 and have declined since, falling from 443 in 2021 to 340 in 2024, a -23% change over that span. That trend line is real for the years it covers, but 2025 and 2026 figures should not be read as continuing the decline: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent one to two years are still incomplete in any patent dataset. Treat the 2024 figure as the last reliably complete data point.
Coating and surface deposition, classified under C23C, is the largest single technology class at 4.8% of the 103,676 records in scope, closely followed by semiconductor devices (H01L) at 4.5% and electroplating/electroforming (C25D) at 3.1%. These three classes together indicate that most claim activity centres on the deposition chemistry and its semiconductor-adjacent applications rather than on mechanical web handling or substrate shaping, which sit well under 1.5% each.
The web, sheet and filament handling class (B65H) and the plastics-shaping class (B29C) are the thinnest in the dataset, at 1.2% and 1.0% of records respectively, against C23C and H01L each near 5%. That gap suggests process-control and substrate-transport claims tied to metallization — rather than the deposition step itself — are comparatively open ground. A new claim anchored to a measurable outcome like defect density or thickness uniformity during web transport is more likely to clear prior art in these thinner classes than one filed in C23C or C25D.
The United States leads with 10,670 filings, followed by the European Patent Office at 4,534 and the WIPO PCT route at 1,816. The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia follow at 1,008, 968 and 557 respectively. This distribution indicates the US is the primary venue for both defensive and offensive filing strategy in this field, with the EPO as the leading secondary venue for multinational filers.
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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.