Nanoparticle-Modified LPBF Powder Patent Snapshot
The nanoparticle-modified LPBF powder space remains very small — 9 patent families in scope — with activity concentrated among Chinese academic institutions and one U.S. government laboratory, all filing primarily through Chinese and U.S. patent offices. The field reached a local peak in 2023 and has since plateaued, signaling an early-maturity stage with meaningful white space still available in adjacent branches.
A handful of filers dominate a nascent but plateauing field
The corpus contains 9 patent families, spread across eight distinct applicants. The U. S. Naval Research Laboratory and Kunming University of Science and Technology each hold 2 patent families, jointly topping the ranking. The top five filers account for 70% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating pronounced concentration for such a small corpus.
The tier gap is narrow in absolute terms — the co-leaders hold 2 families each, with all remaining applicants at 1 family — yet the top-five share of 70% confirms that a small cluster already sets the agenda in this niche.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U.S. Naval Research Laboratory | 2 | |
| 2 | KUNMING UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 2 | |
| 3 | National Institute Corporation of Additive Manufacturing Xi’an | 1 | |
| 4 | Nanjing Siruidi Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 5 | South China University of Technology | 1 | |
| 6 | NANJING UNIV OF AERONAUTICS & ASTRONAUTICS | 1 | |
| 7 | MTC Additive Materials (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 8 | Central South University | 1 |
The leading positions of a U. S. government lab and multiple Chinese universities suggest that foundational research, rather than commercial product development, is currently driving IP creation in this space.
Filings from roughly the last 18–24 months are likely under-counted due to publication lag; the apparent zero values for 2024–2026 should not be interpreted as a cessation of activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2023 activity peak, with powder metallurgy and alloy branches dominating the mix
The filing trend reveals a field that grew modestly from 2018 to 2020, went quiet in 2021–2022, surged to 4 families in 2023, and then shows zeros into 2024–2026 — a pattern consistent with publication lag rather than true cessation. The technology composition is anchored by three co-visible branches covering powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing, and alloy design.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings peaked at 4 families in 2023 after an earlier cluster of activity in 2019–2020; zeros in 2024–2026 reflect publication lag and should not be read as a real decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B22F (powder metallurgy), B33Y (additive manufacturing), and C22C (alloys) each carry the bulk of IPC classifications, underscoring that the core inventive focus is on feedstock preparation and alloy composition rather than process machinery or end-use application.
↗ 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.
3-d printed hydrophobic metallic nanocomposites an…
This disclosure, and the exemplary embodiments provided herein, disclose carbon nanotubes (CNT) integrated into 316L stainless steel (SS) powder feedstocks and 3D-printed using selective laser melting (SLM). Ball milling is used to disperse CNT clusters homogeneously onto the surface of 316L SS powders with minimal damage to the CNTs. Hardness increased by… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种基于SLM成形的铝基纳米复合材料及其制备方法 | 27 |
| 2 | 一种石墨烯合金纳米复合材料制备方法和SLM成形工艺 | 22 |
| 3 | 一种铝合金复合粉末及其制备方法与应用 | 12 |
| 4 | 基于选区激光熔化的增强钛基复合材料的制备方法及设备 | 9 |
| 5 | 一种3D打印的纳米颗粒增强铝基复合粉末及其制备方法 | 6 |
| 6 | 一种预氧化增强的医用锌/碳化硅纳米复合物及其制备方法 | 6 |
| 7 | 3-d printed hydrophobic metallic nanocomposites an… | 2 |
| 8 | 一种3D打印用的铝基纳米复合材料粉末及其制备方法 | 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.
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
The laboratory holds 2 patent families and entered as a new entrant in the most recent filing period. Its technical focus spans B22F 10 and B22F 9 (powder metallurgy process and feedstock) alongside B23K 26 (laser welding and processing), indicating an interest in the full LPBF process chain from powder preparation through laser interaction — a broader scope than purely feedstock-oriented filers.
families: 2Kunming University of Science and Technology
Kunming University also holds 2 patent families and likewise entered as a new entrant in the most recent period. Its IPC emphasis on B22F 10, C22C 14, and C22C 32 points to a focus on alloy composition — specifically titanium-base and composite alloys — rather than the laser-process side, making it complementary to rather than directly overlapping with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s portfolio.
families: 2Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 9 patent families in scope, spread across eight distinct applicants. This is a very small corpus, reflecting the niche and emergent nature of the technology.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and Kunming University of Science and Technology each hold 2 patent families, jointly leading the ranking. All other applicants — including the National Institute Corporation of Additive Manufacturing Xi’an, South China University of Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Central South University, and two Chinese companies — each hold 1 family.
The lifecycle evidence characterizes the field as Maturity, with annual filings having plateaued near their 2023 peak. On a multi-year basis the corpus has grown from near zero, but annual volume has eased from the 2023 high. New entrants should treat foundational feedstock and alloy-composition claims as increasingly staked.
China accounts for 8 patent records and the United States for 2. The dominance of Chinese filings means that freedom-to-operate in Western markets (Europe, Japan, South Korea) is largely unencumbered by existing IP in this specific niche, though practitioners should verify with a formal FTO search.
The most-cited document in the corpus is a Chinese patent on SLM-formed aluminum-based nanocomposites with 27 citations, followed by a graphene alloy nanocomposite preparation and SLM process patent with 22 citations, and an aluminum alloy composite powder preparation patent with 12 citations. These three documents collectively define the most referenced prior art in the space.
The sparsest adjacent branches are B82Y (nanotechnology applications, 2 records), A61L (biomedical sterilizing and implant applications, 1 record), B02C (crushing and pulverising for powder production, 1 record), and B32B (layered products, 1 record). B82Y is particularly notable because it is the most directly relevant nanotechnology classification yet carries almost no filings, suggesting that nanoparticle characterization and surface-engineering claims remain largely unclaimed.
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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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