Journal profile · Physics and Astronomy-Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
APL Photonics
ISSN 2378-0967 · AIP Publishing LLC · United States
APL Photonics: CAS Zone 2 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.67; fully open access; APC about USD 2,750; review about 19 weeks (community reports); 348 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
APL Photonics is published by AIP Publishing LLC and is in Zone 2 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Photonic and Optical Devices, Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies and Optical Network Technologies, together about 36.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics and Electrical and Electronic Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
APL Photonics is the dedicated home for open access multidisciplinary research from and for the photonics community. The journal publishes fundamental and applied results that significantly advance the knowledge in photonics across physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. It welcomes high-quality original contributions to the science of light and the technology that generates, controls, and detects photons.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Physics and Astronomy-Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Editor-in-chief Andrew ForbesPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering17.7%
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy13.8%
- Optical Network TechnologiesEngineering4.8%
- Mechanical and Optical ResonatorsPhysics and Astronomy4.7%
- Orbital Angular Momentum in OpticsPhysics and Astronomy4.4%
- Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon ResearchEngineering4.1%
- Neural Networks and Reservoir ComputingComputer Science3.9%
- Photonic Crystals and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- 5.67LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.49LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.65LetPub ·
- h-index
- 85OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 950OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 6.09OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 332LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,827 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 189 | 189 | 63 |
| 2025 | 348 | 348 | 1,621 |
| 2024 | 281 | 281 | 3,298 |
| 2023 | 189 | 189 | 3,119 |
| 2022 | 117 | 117 | 2,867 |
| 2021 | 168 | 168 | 5,157 |
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
Too few articlesOnly 5 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
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".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 19 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 19 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,750 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,750 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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
- AIP Publishing LLC
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2378-0967
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 11, Issue 8 (August 2026)
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about APL Photonics
What CAS zone is APL Photonics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, APL Photonics is in Zone 2 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Optics / Physics, Applied; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of APL Photonics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.67; CiteScore 7.6, h-index 85.
How long does peer review take at APL Photonics?
Authors report an average review time of about 19 weeks. 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 APL Photonics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, APL Photonics is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is APL Photonics open access, and what is the APC?
APL Photonics is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,750.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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: .