Journal profile · OPTICS
Journal of Optics
ISSN 2040-8978 · eISSN 2040-8986 · IOP Publishing Ltd · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 2010
Journal of Optics: CAS Zone 4 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.23; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,325; median 96 days to acceptance (100 articles, last 24 months); 267 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Optics is published by IOP Publishing Ltd and is in Zone 4 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics, Photonic and Optical Devices and Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research, together about 28.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Optics publishes new experimental and theoretical research across all areas of pure and applied optics, both modern and classical. Research areas are categorised as: Nanophotonics and plasmonics Metamaterials and structured photonic materials Quantum photonics Biophotonics Light-matter interactions Nonlinear and ultrafast optics Propagation, diffraction and scattering Optical communication Integrated optics Photovoltaics and energy harvesting We discourage incremental advances, purely numerical simulations without any validation, or research without a strong optics advance, e.g. computer algorithms applied to optical and imaging processes, equipment designs or material fabrication.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): OPTICS
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Orbital Angular Momentum in OpticsPhysics and Astronomy10.5%
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering10.2%
- Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon ResearchEngineering8.2%
- Metamaterials and Metasurfaces ApplicationsMaterials Science7.2%
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy7.1%
- Photonic Crystals and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy6.2%
- Optical Coatings and GratingsMaterials Science3.8%
- Digital Holography and MicroscopyPhysics and Astronomy3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | 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
- 2.23LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.58LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- h-index
- 80LetPub ·
- h-index
- 106OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,304OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.31OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 44.05%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 278LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,104 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 241 | 193 | 62 |
| 2025 | 267 | 83 | 549 |
| 2024 | 291 | 163 | 1,234 |
| 2023 | 125 | 110 | 1,060 |
| 2022 | 241 | 114 | 2,395 |
| 2021 | 288 | 164 | 3,166 |
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
96 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 72 days – 124 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 12 days (100 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 111 days
- Sample
- 100 articles with submission and acceptance dates (595 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 monthsLetPub ·
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,325 / EUR 2,765 / GBP 2,410 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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
- IOP Publishing Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2010
- ISSN
- 2040-8978
- Electronic ISSN
- 2040-8986
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Optics
What CAS zone is Journal of Optics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Optics is in Zone 4 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Optics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Optics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.23; CiteScore 4.4, h-index 106.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Optics?
Based on the dates recorded on 100 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 96 days (interquartile range 72–124 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months. 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 Journal of Optics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Optics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Optics open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Optics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,325.
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: .