Journal profile · OPTICS
Applied Optics
ISSN 1559-128X · eISSN 2155-3165 · The Optical Society · UNITED STATES · Biweekly · Founded 1962
Applied Optics: CAS Zone 4 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.66; subscription journal; median 72 days to acceptance (121 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: 91%; 1,380 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Applied Optics is published by The Optical Society and is in Zone 4 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Photonic and Optical Devices, Optical measurement and interference techniques and Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies, together about 24.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Electrical and Electronic Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
A highly regarded, premium quality must read for everyone in the optics field that offers applications-centered research in optics, photonics, imaging, and sensing. Topics germane to the journal include optical technology, lasers, photonics, environmental optics, and information processing.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): OPTICS
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering11.8%
- Optical measurement and interference techniquesComputer Science6.7%
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy5.7%
- Advanced Fiber Optic SensorsEngineering5.4%
- Optical Coatings and GratingsMaterials Science5.1%
- Semiconductor Lasers and Optical DevicesEngineering5%
- Photorefractive and Nonlinear OpticsPhysics and Astronomy4.8%
- Advanced Optical Imaging TechnologiesEngineering4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview 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
- 1.66LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.42LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.76LetPub ·
- h-index
- 175LetPub ·
- h-index
- 320OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 31,436OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.71OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 2.21%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,309LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 62,435 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,039 | 71 | 240 |
| 2025 | 1,380 | 65 | 2,035 |
| 2024 | 1,203 | 82 | 3,930 |
| 2023 | 1,271 | 124 | 6,760 |
| 2022 | 1,430 | 143 | 10,513 |
| 2021 | 1,585 | 162 | 14,697 |
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 Crossref · to
72 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 54 days – 98 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (121 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 96 days
- Sample
- 121 articles with submission and acceptance dates (2,792 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".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3.3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 91%LetPub ·
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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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
- The Optical Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Biweekly
- Founded
- 1962
- ISSN
- 1559-128X
- Electronic ISSN
- 2155-3165
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Applied Optics
What CAS zone is Applied Optics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Applied Optics is in Zone 4 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Optics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Applied Optics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.66; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 320.
How long does peer review take at Applied Optics?
Based on the dates recorded on 121 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 72 days (interquartile range 54–98 days); authors report an average review time of about 3.3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “91%”. 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 Applied Optics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Applied Optics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Applied Optics open access, and what is the APC?
Applied Optics is a subscription journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .