USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Veeco Instruments Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 92 granted patents across 31 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: C23C (COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAP).

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

14.1

Avg claims per patent

-63%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Veeco holds 92 US patents across 31 technology areas, rank #3,948 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#3,948
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 22%
by Innovation Score (45.8/100): 14.1
avg claims per patent: -63%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Veeco Instruments Inc. has been granted 92 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Veeco Instruments Inc. at rank #3,948 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 31 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 14.1 claims per patent with primary concentration in C23C (COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAP). As a US Corporation, Veeco Instruments Inc. is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Veeco sits between Shanghai Yanfeng Jinqiao Automotive Trim Systems Co. Ltd. (92 patents, rank #3,944) and Abiomed Europe Gmbh (91 patents, rank #3,952) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 45.8/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Between 2020 and 2025 the company received 25 grants, compared with 67 in the 2015–2019 window, a -63% shift in five-year velocity. A cooling filing rate may reflect portfolio consolidation, shifting priorities, or reduced R&D throughput. The US Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. Veeco Instruments Inc.'s 14.1 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 31 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Veeco Instruments Inc. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Shanghai Yanfeng…

92
Shin-etsu Polymer

92
Tsann Kuen (Zhang…

92
UPL

92
Videojet

92
Watts Regulator

92
Willis Electric

92
Veeco Instruments ◀

92
Abiomed Europe

91

What this shows Veeco holds 92 patents at rank #3,948, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Veeco

By rank, the assignees closest to #3,948 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in C23C (Coating Metallic Material)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in Veeco's primary technology class.

Veeco's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

46 Top 22% higher than 78% of 50,000 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2025

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

Veeco Instruments Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	10	10.9%
2016	13	14.1%
2017	14	15.2%
2018	13	14.1%
2019	17	18.5%
2020	9	9.8%
2021	5	5.4%
2022	7	7.6%
2023	1	1.1%
2024	1	1.1%
2025	2	2.2%

Which technologies does Veeco Instruments Inc. patent most?

C23C - COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL 47

H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10 42

C30B - SINGLE-CRYSTAL GROWTH ; UNIDIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION OF EUTECTIC MATERIAL OR UNIDIRECTIONAL DEMIXING OF EUTECTOID MATERIAL; REFINING BY ZONE-MELTING OF MATERIAL ; PRODUCTION OF A HOMOGENEOUS POLYCRYSTALLINE MATERIAL WITH DEFINED STRUCTURE ; SINGLE CRYSTALS OR HOMOGENEOUS POLYCRYSTALLINE MATERIAL WI 14

H01J - ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS 8

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 8

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 6

B08B - CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL 6

G01J - MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY 5

H10H - INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS 4

H10D - INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES 3

H05B - ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL 2

G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS 2

G01B - MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS 2

B01D - SEPARATION 2

B82Y - SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES 1

Top 15 of 31 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Light

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#3,948

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

45.8 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does Veeco Instruments Inc. hold?

Veeco Instruments Inc. holds 92 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 31 technology areas.

What is Veeco Instruments Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Veeco Instruments Inc. has an Innovation Score of 45.8 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Veeco Instruments Inc. focus on?

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s top technology area is C23C (COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL) with 47 patents. The company has filed patents in 31 CPC subclasses total.

Is Veeco Instruments Inc.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s recent filing velocity is -63% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Veeco Instruments Inc.'s patents?

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s patents average 14.1 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the Veeco Instruments Inc. patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

How to use this portfolio

Veeco's 92 grants land it in the top 22% by Innovation Score, but volume alone doesn't tell you where the strength sits.

Read that count against the largest US assignees before treating it as dominance - Veeco ranks #3,948 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in C23C - see who else leads that technology area. C23C leaders
Check what the four-part Innovation Score actually rewards before comparing it to another company. How the score works

Patent counts and the Innovation Score measure patenting activity, not commercial success or the legal strength of any patent. Many patents are filed defensively. Verify the status of an individual patent against official USPTO records.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.