Optical Thin-Film Coatings (AR/Dielectric) Patent Landscape
The optical thin-film AR/dielectric space is moderately concentrated, with Saint-Gobain Vitrage holding the dominant position and a small tier of glass and optics specialists controlling the bulk of filings among the top hundred filers. Annual filing volume peaked in 2018 and has eased since, signaling a field moving through its maturity curve rather than one in active expansion.
Saint-Gobain leads a moderately concentrated field of glass and optics specialists
Saint-Gobain Vitrage SA holds the top-ranked position with 211 patent records, followed by Corning Inc at 148 and Essilor International at 84, establishing a clear first tier separated from all other filers.
The top five filers — Saint-Gobain Vitrage, Corning, Essilor International, AGC Glass. Europe, and Viratec Thin Films — together account for 40% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate concentration with meaningful room for challengers.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Gobain Vitrage SA | 211 | |
| 2 | Corning Incorporated | 148 | |
| 3 | Essilor International (Compagnie Generale d’Optique) | 84 | |
| 4 | AGC Glass Europe SA | 83 | |
| 5 | Viratec Thin Films Inc | 44 | |
| 6 | Canon Inc | 40 | |
| 7 | Schott AG | 38 | |
| 8 | Guardian Glass LLC | 37 | |
| 9 | Guardian Industries Corp | 31 | |
| 10 | Optical Coating Laboratory Inc | 29 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Optima | 26 | |
| 12 | Nikon Corporation | 26 | |
| 13 | Raytheon Company | 25 | |
| 14 | Denglas Technologies | 22 | |
| 15 | Ricoh Imaging Company Ltd | 22 | |
| 16 | Yazaki Corporation | 20 | |
| 17 | Von Ardenne Anlagentechnik GmbH | 18 | |
| 18 | 3M Company | 17 | |
| 19 | BOC Group Inc | 16 | |
| 20 | Olympus Corporation | 16 |
The leaders’ positions reflect long-standing vertically integrated strengths: Saint-Gobain and AGC in architectural and automotive coated glass, Corning in specialty glass substrates, and Essilor in ophthalmic lens coatings. This structural split means no single player dominates every application segment.
Filing counts for 2024–2026 are likely under-represented due to standard patent publication lag and should not be interpreted as the full measure of recent activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing volume has eased from its 2018 peak; optical elements dominate but process branches are thinly covered
The annual trend and IPC composition charts together show a field past its growth peak and heavily weighted toward end-product optical patents, with deposition-process and layered-structure branches receiving comparatively less coverage.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings reached a peak of 63 records in 2018 before easing; the multi-year window shows a net decline of 29% in the recent period. Figures for 2024 onward should be treated as provisional given publication lag.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G02B (Optical elements and systems) and C03C (Glass and enamel compositions) dominate, reflecting the field’s core glass-substrate and lens-coating focus. C23C (Coating and surface deposition) and B32B (Layered products and laminates) are present but at markedly lower shares, pointing to under-served process and structural design branches.
↗ 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.
Article with substrate and multilayer thin-film co…
An article including a substrate with a primary surface and a multilayer thin-film coating disposed over the primary surface. The multilayer thin-film coating includes at least one bilayer. Each bilayer includes a high-index layer of a high-index material and a low-index layer of a low-index material on the high-index layer. The low-index material exhibits… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coated synthetic resin lens | 665 |
| 2 | Article and method for forming thin film flakes an… | 505 |
| 3 | Glass substrates coated with a stack of thin layer… | 438 |
| 4 | Process for producing plastic lens | 269 |
| 5 | Anti-static anti-reflection coating | 236 |
| 6 | Antireflection coating for a temperature sensitive… | 236 |
| 7 | Coated glass microbubbles and article incorporatin… | 236 |
| 8 | Transparent substrate with an antireflection, low-… | 233 |
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 structure means for R&D investment
The combination of a post-peak lifecycle, a moderate concentration among incumbents, and active co-development partnerships shapes where new entrants and challengers can realistically compete.
Field is in decline phase from a 2018 peak
Annual filing volume peaked in 2018 at 63 records and has eased since, consistent with a decline lifecycle stage. This suggests core AR and dielectric stack architectures are well-patented, and incremental improvements face crowded prior art. R&D investment is best directed at differentiated process routes or application-specific formulations rather than broad thin-film stack claims.
Lifecycle: DeclineModerate top-tier concentration with a competitive second tier
The top five filers hold 40% of the top-hundred filers’ combined patent records, led by Saint-Gobain Vitrage at 211 records — well ahead of Corning’s 148. Below these two, the field opens up: Essilor, AGC Glass Europe, Viratec, Canon, Schott, and Guardian all hold meaningful positions without a commanding lead, creating space for targeted portfolio building in specific application niches.
Concentration: ModerateCo-filing activity clusters within corporate families and select joint ventures
The most active co-filing pair is Corning Inc and Samsung Corning Precision Materials, with 8 joint filings, reflecting their historical joint-venture structure. AGC Glass Europe co-filed with AGC Inc (4 filings) and AGC Glass North America (4 filings), indicating intra-group portfolio coordination. Guardian Industries and Intermolecular also collaborated with 3 joint filings, suggesting a process-optimization partnership. Cross-group collaboration outside corporate families is limited, pointing to an ecosystem that favors internal development.
Collaboration: Intra-groupUS and EPO filings dominate; Asia-Pacific presence is secondary
The United States leads with 511 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 310 and WIPO (PCT) at 168. Japan and China each contribute around 90 records, with South Korea at 38 and Taiwan at 21. India appears at 75 records, an unusually high count suggesting active national-phase entries by incumbents. This Western-heavy geography means Asian markets may be comparatively less defended in certain sub-segments.
Geography: US/EPO ledGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Corning Incorporated | Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co Ltd | 8 |
| AGC Glass Europe SA | AGC Inc | 4 |
| AGC Glass Europe SA | AGC Flat Glass North America Inc | 4 |
| AGC Glass Europe SA | AGC Vidros do Brasil Ltda | 3 |
| Guardian Industries Corp | Intermolecular Inc | 3 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Saint-Gobain and Corning lead distinct application routes; AGC Glass Europe is a new-entrant challenger
The two largest filers occupy different technical emphases despite overlapping glass-substrate work, and their recent momentum diverges — Saint-Gobain is growing while Corning is contracting.
Saint-Gobain Vitrage SA
Ranked first with 211 patent records, Saint-Gobain’s portfolio concentrates on glass and enamel compositions (C03C 17), optical elements (G02B 1), and layered laminates (B32B 17), anchoring it firmly in architectural and automotive coated glass. Recent filing momentum is positive at +53% versus the prior three-year window, making it the only top-tier player actively expanding its position.
patent records: 211Corning Inc
Ranked second with 148 patent records, Corning’s emphasis spans optical elements (G02B 1), glass compositions (C03C 17), and physical vapor deposition processes (C23C 14), reflecting its specialty glass and display substrate orientation. Recent trend is down 32% versus the prior three-year window, suggesting a consolidation or refocus rather than active portfolio expansion in this domain.
patent records: 148| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Saint-Gobain Glass France | 23 | ▲ +53% |
| Corning Incorporated | 23 | ▼ -32% |
| Essilor International | 7 | ▼ -36% |
| AGC Glass Europe SA | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served process and semiconductor-integration branches adjacent to the core
Several IPC classes adjacent to the dominant optical-elements core carry meaningful record counts but low relative shares, suggesting they are technically proximate yet under-patented compared to the field’s center of gravity.
C23C · Coating and surface deposition processes
With 314 patent records and an 8% share, C23C covers physical and chemical vapor deposition — the actual manufacturing step for most AR and dielectric stacks. Given that G02B (end-product optics) holds far more records, there is a relative gap in process-level IP for novel deposition sequences, in-situ monitoring, and scalable roll-to-roll methods. Engineers targeting manufacturing efficiency or novel precursor chemistries could find this branch less crowded than the product-claim space. Entry path: focus on atomic-layer deposition (ALD) or high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) process claims not yet anchored by the dominant glass players.
Search this in Eureka →H01L · Semiconductor device integration
H01L accounts for 122 patent records at a 3% share, indicating that the intersection of dielectric thin-film coatings with semiconductor device passivation, photodetector windows, and photovoltaic cell optics is sparsely covered relative to the broader glass and lens work. As AR coatings move into LIDAR receiver windows, image sensors, and photovoltaic front-surface passivation, this branch may have practical value for teams working at the optics-semiconductor interface. Entry path: claims targeting device-integrated dielectric stack designs for CMOS image sensors or III-V photovoltaic front surfaces would be adjacent to H01L 31 and currently thinly contested.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | G02B 1 · Optical elements & systems | C03C 17 · Glass & enamel compositions | G02B 5 · Optical elements & systems | C23C 14 · Coating & surface deposition | B32B 7 · Layered products & laminates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Gobain Glass France | Moderate · 75 | Strong · 207 | Emerging · 23 | Emerging · 24 | Emerging · 41 |
| Corning Incorporated | Strong · 109 | Strong · 101 | Moderate · 22 | Moderate · 31 | Absent |
| Viratec Thin Films Inc | Strong · 49 | Strong · 49 | Strong · 47 | Moderate · 12 | Strong · 35 |
| Essilor International | Strong · 83 | Absent | Emerging · 15 | Emerging · 10 | Absent |
| AGC Glass Europe SA | Absent | Strong · 81 | Moderate · 27 | Absent | Absent |
| Optima | Strong · 31 | Strong · 31 | Absent | Strong · 31 | Absent |
| Guardian Industries Corp | Strong · 31 | Strong · 40 | Absent | Absent | Emerging · 6 |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus analyzed contains 390 patent families in scope for optical thin-film AR and dielectric coating technology.
Saint-Gobain Vitrage SA holds the top-ranked position with 211 patent records, well ahead of second-ranked Corning Inc at 148 patent records.
No. Annual filing volume peaked in 2018 at 63 records and has eased since. The field is in a decline lifecycle stage, with the recent multi-year window showing a net decline of 29%. The most recent years (2024 onward) are likely under-counted due to publication lag.
The United States leads with 511 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 310 and WIPO (PCT) at 168. Japan and China each contribute approximately 90 records, with India at 75 and South Korea at 38.
The most active co-filing pair identified is Corning Inc and Samsung Corning Precision Materials with 8 joint filings. AGC Glass Europe co-filed with AGC Inc and AGC Glass North America (4 filings each). Guardian Industries and Intermolecular collaborated on 3 joint filings. Cross-group collaboration outside corporate families is limited.
Coating and surface deposition processes (C23C) and semiconductor device integration (H01L) each carry meaningful record counts but low relative shares — 8% and 3% respectively — compared to the dominant optical-elements (G02B) and glass-compositions (C03C) branches. This indicates process-level and semiconductor-integration claims are less densely covered.
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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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