PlainPatent

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 grant trajectory.

12,879
US patents granted
#9/14
in H01
3.2%
H01 class share
-7%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Devices Using The Process Of Light Amplification By Stimu… ranks #145 of 670 CPC technology areas - 12,879 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 7% over five years.

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

How H01S's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, H01S recorded 5,473 grants versus 5,868 in 2015–2019 (-7% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 1,308 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 998 (+31% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Nichia Corporation holds 2.3% of the class ; the top three share 5.5%.

Leaderboard read

H01S concentration, lead at 2.3%

Nichia Corporation leads this historical grant record at 2.3% of H01S - foreign corporation assignees hold 53% of class grants (3,952 of 7,466). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
2.3%

293 of 12,879 grants

Top three share
5.5%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
69

more grants than Gigaphoton Inc.

Where H01S sits inside H01

Among 14 subclasses in H01 (Electric Elements), H01S ranks #9 and holds 3.2% of the parent class's 406,481 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

H01L 165,178 H01M 63,620 H01R 35,523 H01Q 29,793 H01J 24,482 H01F 21,711 H01H 14,753 H01B 14,745

Rising assignees active in H01S

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. #1 SiLC Technologies, Inc. 50x 1 → 50 company-wide · 12 in H01S
  2. #2 OpenLight Photonics, Inc. 39x 0 → 39 company-wide · 12 in H01S
  3. #3 Imam Mohammad IBN Saud Islamic University 27x 0 → 27 company-wide · 9 in H01S
  4. #4 Attochron, LLC 26x 1 → 26 company-wide · 5 in H01S
  5. #5 Aurora Operations, Inc. 20x 7 → 142 company-wide · 7 in H01S

H01S grants by year, peak 2019 (1,308)

US utility-patent grants per year in H01S, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 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

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). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 50100150200250300350 Patents in H01S Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NichiaGigaphotonSumitomo Electric…Lumentum OperationsOsram Opto Semiconduct…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).

Classes near H01S's 12,879-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for H01S (#145 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.3%) - not the H01 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

G01L 12,902 A23L 12,738 Y04S 12,488 A01H 12,482

Nearest by lead-assignee share

C08G 2.3% A23V 2.3% G16B 2.3% B22D 2.3%

Questions about H01S

Which company holds the most patents in H01S?
Nichia Corporation leads H01S with 293 patents (2.3% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 53% of class grants.
Which H01S assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in H01S, SiLC Technologies, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (50x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 50 in 2022–2024) while holding 12 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does H01S compare inside parent class H01?
Inside H01 (Electric Elements), H01S ranks #9 of 14 subclasses by grant volume and holds 3.2% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is H01L (165,178 grants).

What to do with this data

H01S in context - here's where to go next.

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - H01S figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (12,879 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.