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CPC technology class · H01

H01S - Devices Using THE Process OF Light Amplification BY Stimu…

Devices using the process of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation [laser] to amplify or generate light; devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in wave ranges other than optical. 12,879 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

12,879
US patents granted
H01
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+7%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Devices Using THE Process OF Light Amplification BY Stimu… ranks #145 of 670 CPC technology areas - 12,879 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 7% over five years.

#145
of 670 CPC technology areas
12,879
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nichia
leading assignee (293)
+7%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Nichia Corporation (293 patents)

CPC subclass H01S - DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL - covers 12,879 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class H01 (ELECTRIC ELEMENTS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in H01S is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Nichia Corporation leads with 293 patents, followed by Gigaphoton Inc. at 224 grants and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. at 185.

Filing activity in H01S is up 7% 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 H01S innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in H01S, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 7% versus 2015–2019.

6008001,0001,2001,400 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 777

Who leads H01S?

The 12 most active assignees in DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nichia is the most active filer in H01S, holding 293 of the 12,879 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 H01S
Rank Company Patents in H01S
#1 Nichia Corporation 293
#2 Gigaphoton Inc. 224
#3 Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. 185
#4 Lumentum Operations Llc 167
#5 Osram Opto Semiconductors Gmbh 153
#6 Soraa Laser Diode, Inc. 143
#7 Nlight, Inc. 132
#8 Hamamatsu Photonics K.k. 115
#9 Fujikura Ltd. 111
#10 Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. 111
#11 Osram OLED Gmbh 111
#12 Raytheon Company 100
#13 II-VI Delaware, Inc. 100
#14 Fanuc Corporation 93
#15 ASML Netherlands B.v. 82
#16 Kyocera SLD Laser, Inc. 82
#17 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development Lp 75
#18 Cymer, Llc 72
#19 Teradiode, Inc. 71
#20 IPG Photonics Corporation 68

About This Class

CPC subclass H01S belongs to class H01.

12,879 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 H01S 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 H01S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H01S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 H01S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H01S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 50100150200250300350 Patents in H01S Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NichiaGigaphotonSumitomo Electric Ind…Lumentum OperationsOsram Opto Semiconduc…Soraa Laser DiodenlightHamamatsu Photonics K…FujikuraFurukawa ElectricOsram OledRaytheonIi-vi DelawareFanuc
Top 14 H01S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H01S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class H01S?
CPC subclass H01S covers DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL. It belongs to CPC class H01 (ELECTRIC ELEMENTS), with 12,879 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in H01S?
12,879 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass H01S between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in H01S?
Nichia Corporation leads H01S with 293 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for H01S 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., H01) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like H01S 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.