Journal profile · NANOSCIENCE & NANOTECHNOLOGY-MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
ACS Photonics
ISSN 2330-4022 · American Chemical Society · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 2014
ACS Photonics: CAS Zone 1 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.97; transformative journal; APC about USD 4,500; median 92 days to acceptance (102 articles, last 24 months); 761 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
ACS Photonics is published by American Chemical Society and is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research, Photonic and Optical Devices and Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications, together about 35.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
ACS Photonics is an interdisciplinary forum to communicate on the latest advances in the field of photonics, all the way from basic research to applied research and technology. Embracing the transversality of photonics, it connects scientists and technologists from a broad scientific spectrum, at the interface between physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. It also aims at bridging the gap between the academic and industrial worlds. The first goal of ACS Photonics is to publish, through both Letters and full Articles, original and timely research which addresses important questions in the field of photonics. Novelty, high technical quality, significance, potential impact, and readability are among the main criteria considered for acceptance. ACS Photonics also offers the community inspiring views from leading experts on cutting-edge research in two additional publication types: comprehensive Reviews that give an objective overview of the topic to date and Perspectives that are shorter, more opiniated and forward looking.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): NANOSCIENCE & NANOTECHNOLOGY-MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Editor-in-chief Romain QuidantPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon ResearchEngineering15%
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering11.3%
- Metamaterials and Metasurfaces ApplicationsMaterials Science9.1%
- Photonic Crystals and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy6.5%
- Gold and Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis and ApplicationsMaterials Science5.6%
- Perovskite Materials and ApplicationsEngineering4.9%
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy4.4%
- Orbital Angular Momentum in OpticsPhysics and Astronomy4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Nanoscience & Nanotechnology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Condensed Matter | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Nanoscience & Nanotechnology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Condensed Matter | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Nanoscience & Nanotechnology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Condensed Matter | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 5.97LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 10.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.82LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.53LetPub ·
- h-index
- 51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 168OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,922OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.8OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 24.89%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 724LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,297 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 611 | 197 | 318 |
| 2025 | 761 | 254 | 3,723 |
| 2024 | 662 | 237 | 7,747 |
| 2023 | 492 | 220 | 8,923 |
| 2022 | 505 | 213 | 15,271 |
| 2021 | 437 | 202 | 13,986 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
92 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 72 days – 130 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 11 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 103 days
- Sample
- 102 articles with submission and acceptance dates (208 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Transformative journalLetPub
A subscription journal moving to full open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,500 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2014
- ISSN
- 2330-4022
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 13, Issue 18 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about ACS Photonics
What CAS zone is ACS Photonics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, ACS Photonics is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Materials Science, Multidisciplinary / Nanoscience & Nanotechnology / Optics / Physics, Applied / Physics, Condensed Matter; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of ACS Photonics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.97; CiteScore 10.4, h-index 168.
How long does peer review take at ACS Photonics?
Based on the dates recorded on 102 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 92 days (interquartile range 72–130 days). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index ACS Photonics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, ACS Photonics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is ACS Photonics open access, and what is the APC?
ACS Photonics is a transformative journal. APC about USD 4,500.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .