PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C30

C30B - Single-crystal Growth

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. 5,993 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

5,993
US patents granted
C30
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+1%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Single-crystal Growth ranks #235 of 670 CPC technology areas - 5,993 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 1% over five years.

#235
of 670 CPC technology areas
5,993
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Sumitomo Electric Ind…
leading assignee (191)
+1%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (191 patents)

CPC subclass 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 - covers 5,993 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C30 (CRYSTAL GROWTH). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C30B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. leads with 191 patents, followed by Sumco Corporation at 179 grants and Applied Materials, Inc. at 140.

Filing activity in C30B is up 1% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is C30B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C30B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 1% versus 2015–2019.

350400450500550600 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 385

Who leads C30B?

The 12 most active assignees in 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 - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Sumitomo Electric Ind… is the most active filer in C30B, holding 191 of the 5,993 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass C30B
Rank Company Patents in C30B
#1 Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. 191
#2 Sumco Corporation 179
#3 Applied Materials, Inc. 140
#4 Globalwafers Co., Ltd. 135
#5 NGK Insulators, Ltd. 88
#6 Showa Denko K.k. 86
#7 Shin-etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. 82
#8 Siltronic Ag 67
#9 Element Six Technologies Limited 52
#10 Crystal IS, Inc. 40
#11 Nuflare Technology, Inc. 39
#12 ASM IP Holding B.v. 38
#13 Soitec 35
#14 Tamura Corporation 34
#15 Tokuyama Corporation 33
#16 Disco Corporation 31
#17 National Institute Of Advanced Industrial Science And Technology 31
#18 SK Siltron Co., Ltd. 31
#19 Sixpoint Materials, Inc. 31
#20 Meishan BOYA Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. 31

About This Class

CPC subclass C30B belongs to class C30.

5,993 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C30B assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 C30B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C30B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C30B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C30B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 050100150200 Patents in C30B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Sumitomo Electric Ind…SumcoApplied MaterialsGlobalwafersNgk InsulatorsShowa Denko K KShin-etsu HandotaiSiltronicElement SixCrystal IsNuflare TechnologyAsm Ip Holding B VSoitecTamura
Top 14 C30B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C30B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C30B?
CPC subclass C30B covers 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. It belongs to CPC class C30 (CRYSTAL GROWTH), with 5,993 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C30B?
5,993 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C30B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C30B?
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. leads C30B with 191 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C30B collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., C30) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C30B provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

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

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

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.