NV Diamond Magnetometry Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
A data-backed view of nitrogen-vacancy diamond magnetometry patents: who leads filings, how the technology splits across IPC classes, where filing activity is growing, and where claim space remains open.
Filing growth = 2021 (21 records) → 2024 (37); 2024 is the last year we treat as complete. Top-5 share = the 5 largest assignees ÷ all 355 records in scope (CR5), not the ranked leaders only.
What the NV diamond magnetometry patent record shows
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center diamond magnetometry turns a point defect in diamond into a room-temperature magnetic field sensor, and the patent record built around it spans 355 records filed between 2015 and 2026. The field sits at the intersection of solid-state physics, microwave engineering and sensing electronics, which shows up directly in the technology mix: G01R electric and magnetic measurement covers the majority of filings, while G01N material analysis, A61B diagnosis and surgery and G01V geophysics each carry a meaningful minority share, pointing to distinct downstream markets rather than one dominant use case.
Filing activity peaked in 2017 at 45 records and has since settled into a steadier pattern, with a documented rebound of 76% between 2021 and 2024. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in any trend chart understate current activity and should not be read as a slowdown.
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Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 355-record corpus: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how those records split across the IPC subclasses that touch NV diamond magnetometry.
Filing trend, 2015-2026
Volume peaked at 45 records in 2017, dipped, then climbed again to 37 records in 2024 — a 76% rise from the 2021 figure of 21. The final two years on the chart are partial because of publication lag and should be read as floors, not final counts.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in. Growth rates on this page therefore end at 2024; running them to the last bar would understate the field.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
G01R accounts for 63.1% of the 355 records in scope, confirming that core magnetic-field-sensing claims dominate the corpus. G01N (23.4%) and A61B (13.8%) show the next-largest concentrations, reflecting material-testing and biomedical sensing applications; G01V, G11B, H10N, C01B and C30B each sit in single-digit shares, marking smaller but still active branches around geophysics, data storage, solid-state device integration and diamond crystal growth.
Shares are the percentage of the 355 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Quantum Sensing & Metrology: Nitrogen-Vacancy Diamond Magnetometry Patent Landscape with Eureka
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Planar broadband resonant microwave antenna for a nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center diamond magnetometer
A planar broadband resonant microwave antenna for NV center diamond magnetometers, built on a printed circuit board with a dielectric layer, a planar trace carrying a split-ring oscillator and an impedance-conversion taper line for 50-ohm matching, a ground plane, and a solder resist layer to suppress stray fluorescence. Tuning and matching fixtures, including an embedded conductive screw, allow post-fabrication adjustment.Filed 2025-07-11 by Vellore Institute of Technology — illustrates how the field has moved from core spin-physics claims toward supporting hardware such as antenna and readout design.
View full filing| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20110062957A1 | Optically integrated biosensor based on optically detected magnetic resonance | 235 |
| 2 | US20100308813A1 | High sensitivity solid state magnetometer | 164 |
| 3 | US8547090B2 | Electronic spin based enhancement of magnetometer sensitivity | 134 |
| 4 | US20100315079A1 | Electronic spin based enhancement of magnetometer sensitivity | 132 |
| 5 | US8947080B2 | High sensitivity solid state magnetometer | 116 |
| 6 | US9551763B1 | Diamond nitrogen vacancy sensor with common RF and magnetic fields generator | 111 |
| 7 | US8193808B2 | Optically integrated biosensor based on optically detected magnetic resonance | 100 |
| 8 | US20160146904A1 | Micro-DNV device | 96 |
| 9 | US20100271016A1 | Microfiber Magnetometer | 94 |
| 10 | US8885301B1 | Magnetic write head characterization with nano-meter resolution using nitrogen vacancy color centers | 83 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had longer to accumulate references; treat them as a measure of influence within this searched corpus, not as a ranking of current technical importance.
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 filing strategy
Concentration at the top, a growing filing rate, and a technology mix that spans several application classes together suggest where new claims are likely to face dense prior art and where they are not.
The top five filers hold a third of the field
The leading assignee alone accounts for 49 records, and the top five combined reach 118 records, or 33.2% of all 355 records in scope. That leaves the majority of filings spread across a long tail of the ranked field, including many single-filing entrants — a pattern typical of a technology still being explored by new entrants rather than locked down by a handful of incumbents.
Filing activity is rebuilding, not cooling
After peaking at 45 records in 2017, filings dipped before climbing again to 37 records in 2024, a 76% increase from the 2021 count of 21. Because publication lag pushes real filing dates roughly 18 months ahead of what appears in the data, the true 2025-2026 volume is almost certainly higher than the chart currently shows.
Core sensing claims dominate, but not exclusively
G01R electric and magnetic measurement touches nearly two-thirds of the 355 records, confirming that fundamental magnetometer design is still the busiest claim territory. A61B diagnosis and surgery reaching 13.8% signals that biomedical sensing applications are being claimed at meaningful volume alongside the core physics.
Filing geography is US-anchored with strong PCT and EPO use
The United States receives the largest share of filings at 158, followed by Europe (EPO) at 53 and WIPO/PCT routes at 46, with the UK, Germany and India each in the high teens to low twenties. That pattern points to applicants protecting core positions domestically while using PCT filings to keep international options open.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to quantum sensing & metrology: nitrogen-vacancy diamond magnetometry patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Element Six Technologies Limited | Element Six Technologies US Corporation | 4 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | WALSWORTH RONALD L | 3 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | LUKIN MIKHAIL | 3 |
| Element Six Technologies Limited | LEW WILBUR | 2 |
| Element Six Technologies Limited | BRUCE GREGORY SCOTT | 2 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | YACOBY AMIR | 2 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | TAYLOR JAKE | 2 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | JIANG LIANG | 2 |
Ten co-assignee pairs appear in the corpus; the strongest links pair a diamond materials specialist with its US subsidiary, and a university's research office with named academic inventors, suggesting collaboration patterns run along corporate-subsidiary and university-lab lines rather than broad industry consortia.
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether you are scoping freedom-to-operate, tracking a competitor, or looking for an open filing angle.
Map claims against the leading filer's portfolio
With one assignee holding 49 of 355 records, understanding exactly which claim elements that portfolio covers is the first step before drafting anything adjacent in core magnetometer design.
Explore in EurekaWatch the A61B and G01V branches
Biomedical sensing (13.8% of records) and geophysics (7.6%) are smaller than the core G01R share but growing application areas worth tracking for early competitive signals.
Set up monitoring in EurekaTest claim language against dense prior art
The most-cited records in this corpus cluster around solid-state magnetometer sensitivity and biosensor integration — draft claims should be checked against these before filing.
Run a claim check in EurekaCommon questions on NV diamond magnetometry patents
The assignee ranking covers 100 companies across the 355 records in scope, and it is led by a single filer with 49 records — well ahead of the rest of the field. The top five combined hold 118 records, 33.2% of all records in scope, and the top ten reach 174 records, or 49.0%. Beyond that concentration, however, the ranking includes a long tail of entrants with only one or a few filings each, so the field is not locked down by a small number of incumbents.
Filing activity peaked at 45 records in 2017, dipped in the years after, then rebounded sharply: filings rose from 21 records in 2021 to 37 in 2024, a 76% increase over that three-year span. Because patent publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the lower counts shown for 2025 and 2026 in any chart reflect incomplete data rather than an actual slowdown. Treat 2024 as the most recent year with a reasonably complete count.
Core magnetic-field-sensing claims under G01R cover 63.1% of the 355 records, making it the largest single category by a wide margin. Material analysis and testing (G01N) appears in 23.4% of records, and diagnosis and surgery applications (A61B) in 13.8%, showing that biomedical use is a substantial and distinct branch rather than a niche add-on. Geophysics, magnetic/optical data storage, solid-state device integration, and diamond crystal growth each account for smaller single-digit shares, marking narrower but active sub-fields.
The United States receives the largest number of filings at 158, reflecting its role as the primary market for this technology. Europe via the EPO follows at 53, and the WIPO/PCT route accounts for 46 filings, indicating many applicants preserve international filing options rather than committing early to multiple national offices. The UK, Germany and India each receive filings in the high teens to low twenties, rounding out a filing footprint concentrated in a handful of major jurisdictions.
A 2025 filing from Vellore Institute of Technology describes a planar broadband resonant microwave antenna built into an NV center diamond magnetometer, covering a printed circuit board layout with a split-ring oscillator, impedance-matching taper line, ground plane, fluorescence-suppressing solder resist layer, and post-fabrication tuning fixtures. It illustrates a broader shift in the corpus toward supporting hardware — antenna design, readout electronics, packaging — rather than purely core spin-physics claims, which is where much of the earliest, most-cited patent activity concentrated.
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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.