Technological Innovation Trend of Low Thermal Expansion Ceramics and Glass Materials: A Study Based on Patent Information Analysis

To assist relevant researchers, enterprises and related government functional departments in timely grasping the global development trend, important applicants, research hotspots and frontiers of low thermal expansion ceramics from a macro perspective, the current study engaged in providing important reference for scientifically formulating product research and development directions, industrial scale and related incentive policies for promoting the long-term development of China's low thermal expansion ceramic and glass materials industry.

Based on the IncoPat Patent Information Retrieval and Analysis System, as well as Excel, 5588 patent applications on low thermal expansion ceramics and glass materials were analyzed to comprehensively reveal the global technology development trend, regional distribution, top applicants, technology layout and research focuses.

The global research on low thermal expansion ceramics and glass materials keeps a steadily growth trend, where Japan, the United States, China and Germany are the main technological innovation countries, Japan, China, the United States Germany are the important target market countries, CORNING INC, NGK INSULATORS, Ltd., SCHOTT AG, NIPPON ELECTRIC GLASS Co., Ltd. are the important applicants. The Top 10 applicants are all foreign enterprises. The main force of domestic innovation is extremely dispersed, while the research and development strength and scale are clearly insufficient, lacking the core competitiveness of scale. From the distribution of technology in China, Japan, the United States and Germany, it can be seen that the four countries attach great importance to fundamental research. In terms of applied research, Japan is leading mainly in semiconductor devices and electrical components, with obvious advantages. The United States is strong mainly in semiconductor devices and optical components, occupying a considerable proportion. Germany mainly deals with optical components and semiconductor devices. Although China is involved in the semiconductor field, its advantages are not obvious and it is still relatively weak, as compared with Japan and the United States. However, in the field of optics with cutting-edge application scenarios, China is not included in the top ten, while there is still a significant gap as compared with the United States, Japan and Germany. The preparation of low thermal expansion ceramics and glass materials, as well as their applications in the field of optics, is the research hotspot. This paper is aimed to provide the prospects, such as further optimizing top-level design from the perspectives of patent strategy, industrial planning and innovation incentives, to continuously improve the quality of patent applications in China. Fully tap into a large number of high-value expired patents worldwide, stimulate their potential, and achieve secondary innovation should be taken into account. By relying on advanced digital technologies, such as 3D printing and CNC machining, it is attempted to develop end products with lower production costs, simpler processing, superior performance and optimized specifications (large-sized). It is necessary to build a digital reality integration ecosystem, increase the construction of advantageous enterprises, strengthen technological iteration, create industrial clusters, accelerate the process of large-scale industrialization and promote the enhancement of the core competitiveness of China's low thermal expansion ceramics and glass materials industry.