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 grant trajectory.
- 5,993
- US patents granted
- #1/1
- in C30
- 100.0%
- C30 class share
- -13%
- 5-yr velocity
The verdict
According to USPTO PatentsView, Single-crystal Growth ranks #235 of 670 CPC technology areas - 5,993 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 13% over five years.
- #235
- of 670 CPC technology areas
- 5,993
- US patents granted, 2015–2025
- Sumitomo Electric Industries
- leading assignee (191)
- -13%
- grant velocity, last 5 yrs
How C30B's grant cadence moved
Between 2020–2024, C30B recorded 2,315 grants versus 2,670 in 2015–2019 (-13% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 559 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 436 (+28% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. holds 3.2% of the class ; the top three share 8.5%.
Leaderboard read
C30B concentration, lead at 3.2%
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 3.2% of C30B - foreign corporation assignees hold 76% of class grants (2,301 of 3,034). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.
- Leader's share
- 3.2%
- Top three share
- 8.5%
- Lead over #2
- 12
191 of 5,993 grants
of the class's recorded grants
more grants than Sumco Corporation
Rising assignees active in C30B
Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.
- #1 Resonac Corporation 192x 0 → 192 company-wide · 27 in C30B
- #2 Wolfspeed, Inc. 80x 2 → 159 company-wide · 10 in C30B
- #3 JX Metals Corporation 41x 0 → 41 company-wide · 9 in C30B
- #4 Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. 30x 2 → 60 company-wide · 7 in C30B
- #5 Senic Inc. 22x 0 → 22 company-wide · 25 in C30B
C30B grants by year, peak 2019 (559)
US utility-patent grants per year in C30B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 13% versus 2015–2019.
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
- Sumitomo Electric…
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
191 patents
- Sumco
Sumco Corporation
179 patents
- Applied Materials
Applied Materials, Inc.
140 patents
- Globalwafers
Globalwafers Co., Ltd.
135 patents
- Ngk Insulators
NGK Insulators, Ltd.
88 patents
- Showa Denko K K
Showa Denko K.K.
86 patents
- Shin-etsu Handotai
Shin-etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
82 patents
- Siltronic 67
Siltronic AG
67 patents
- Element Six 52
Element Six Technologies Limited
52 patents
- Crystal Is 40
Crystal IS, Inc.
40 patents
- Nuflare Technology 39
NuFlare Technology, Inc.
39 patents
- Asm Ip Holding B V 38
ASM IP Holding B.V.
38 patents
What this shows Sumitomo Electric… 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.
View data table
| 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 |
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.
Classes near C30B's 5,993-grant footprint
Nationwide nearest neighbors for C30B (#235 of 670 by volume ; lead share 3.2%) - not the C30 parent-class siblings above.
Nearest by grant volume
Questions about C30B
Which company holds the most patents in C30B?
Which C30B assignees grew fastest recently?
What to do with this data
C30B in context - here's where to go next.
- Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. leads C30B with 191 grants in this class. See full portfolio
- C30B ranks #235 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.
Methodology - C30B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (5,993 grants in the tracked window).
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.