SEM Materials Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
Scanning Electron Microscopy for Materials: Patents Behind Landing Energy, Charging Control and Detector Selection
Filing is broad but not concentrated: the ranked leader holds 538 records and the top 5 combined account for just 7.8% of all 23,073 records in scope. Filings rose from 1,097 in 2017 to a peak of 1,300 in 2020, then eased to 975 by 2024 — a -10% change across the 2021-2024 window that is complete enough to compare. 2025 and 2026 figures (116 in 2026) are undercounts still catching up to filing dates, not evidence of a falling field.
- 1CELGENE CORP2.3%
- 2RGT UNIV OF CALIFORNIA2.0%
- 3BOARD OF RGT THE UNIV OF TEXAS SYST1.2%
- 4MASSACHUSETTS INST OF TECH1.2%
- 5SIGNAL PHARMACEUTICALS LLC1.1%
See the full scanning electron microscopy for materials analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the most SEM-related patents for materials characterisation?
No single company dominates this field. The leading assignee in this dataset holds 538 records out of 23,073 total, and the combined top 5 assignees only reach 7.8% of all records in scope. This is a fragmented landscape spread across university systems, instrument makers and pharmaceutical or materials companies using SEM as a characterisation step, so freedom-to-operate work usually needs to look well beyond the top few names.
Is patent filing for scanning electron microscopy techniques growing or slowing?
Filings peaked in 2020 at 1,300 and the most recent complete-year comparison, 2021 to 2024, shows a -10% change, which is a modest easing rather than a collapse. Because patent publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the low counts seen in 2025 and 2026 (116 filings so far in 2026) reflect incomplete data, not an actual drop in filing activity. A fairer read of current momentum will only be possible once those years finish publishing.
What does ‘landing energy’ mean in an SEM patent claim, and why does it matter?
Landing energy is the actual kinetic energy of the electron beam as it strikes the sample surface, which controls imaging depth, resolution and charging behaviour on non-conductive or beam-sensitive materials. Patents in this space, including the representative filing covered here, claim systems that switch between multiple landing energies to balance imaging quality against sample damage. It is a frequent claim element because it directly affects both image fidelity and throughput in production inspection tools.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Scanning Electron Microscopy for Materials covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.