Journal profile · INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATIONOPTICS&-OPTICS
JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION
ISSN 1600-5775 · International Union of Crystallography · ENGLAND
JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION: CAS Zone 3 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.78; fully open access; APC about USD 2,750; median 106 days to acceptance (90 articles, last 24 months); 175 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION is published by International Union of Crystallography and is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques, X-ray Spectroscopy and Fluorescence Analysis and Crystallography and Radiation Phenomena, together about 44.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Synchrotron radiation research is rapidly expanding with many new sources of radiation being created globally. Synchrotron radiation plays a leading role in pure science and in emerging technologies. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation is a fully open access journal and provides comprehensive coverage of the entire field of synchrotron radiation and X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) research including: instrumentation and experimental development supported by validated results beamline construction and operation theory, software and data analysis machine learning and artificial intelligence scientific applications in areas such as physics, chemistry, biology and medicine, nanoscience, materials science, environmental science and cultural heritage
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATIONOPTICS&-OPTICS
Editor-in-chief Andrew J. AllenNationalPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 3%); most named Germany 5, France 4, United States 3, United Kingdom 3, Japan 3 (32 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Advanced X-ray Imaging TechniquesPhysics and Astronomy22%
- X-ray Spectroscopy and Fluorescence AnalysisPhysics and Astronomy15.4%
- Crystallography and Radiation PhenomenaPhysics and Astronomy6.8%
- Particle Accelerators and Free-Electron LasersEngineering6.7%
- Enzyme Structure and FunctionMaterials Science6.4%
- Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy TechniquesMaterials Science5.2%
- Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and ApplicationsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- X-ray Diffraction in CrystallographyMaterials Science5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Instruments & Instrumentation | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Instruments & Instrumentation | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Instruments & Instrumentation | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 3 |
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
- 2.78LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 84LetPub ·
- h-index
- 133OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,635OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.56OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.78%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 158LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,385 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 149 | 149 | 46 |
| 2025 | 175 | 175 | 384 |
| 2024 | 208 | 208 | 932 |
| 2023 | 129 | 129 | 1,194 |
| 2022 | 196 | 196 | 2,244 |
| 2021 | 227 | 222 | 3,008 |
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
106 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 77 days – 142 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 37 days (92 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 144 days
- Sample
- 90 articles with submission and acceptance dates (356 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 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous 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 3,180 / EUR 2,720 / GBP 2,330 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted15, with length limits
- beamlines articlesThese brief articles provide details of beamlines available to users at synchrotron and free-electron laser facilities around the world.Length not stated
- computer programsA brief description of the purpose, strategy, computer language, machine requirements, input requirements and the type of results obtained should be included.Length not stated
- feature articlesFeature Articles are focused surveys covering recent advances in an area of current research.Length not stated
- laboratory notesThese are very brief descriptions of special devices, equipment modifications, techniques for accomplishing certain tasks etc.Length not stated
- lead articlesLead Articles are authoritative, comprehensive and forward-looking reviews of major areas of research interest.Length not stated
- letters to the editorThese may deal with non-technical aspects of synchrotron radiation, its role, its propagation, the proper functions of its Societies etc. or may make a technica…Length not stated
- meeting reportsThese are normally invited.Length not stated
- new commercial productsAnnouncements of new commercial products are published free of charge.Length not stated
- obituariesThese will be commissioned by the Main Editors.Length not stated
- research paperwide scientific audience in mind. 2.1. Research Papers Full-length Research Papers should not normally exceed the equivalent of about 10000 words. 2.2. Short Co…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- research papersFull-length Research Papers should not normally exceed the equivalent of about 10000 words.Length not stated
- scientific commentariesScientific Commentaries discuss articles of particular importance for the readership of the journal.Length not stated
- short communicationsShort Communications provide authors with a dedicated format to report novel and significant results that require rapid communication.Length not stated
- teaching and educationArticles in this category cover all aspects of an educational nature related to the general field of synchrotron radiation.Length not stated
- topical reviewsTopical Reviews aim to capture the current trend of a field and are expected to be relatively short.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints
- AI use 3.6. AI tools
Authors may make use of AI tools in preparing their articles. However, such tools may not be listed as an author, as they cannot be held accountable for the work. All co-authors of the text should carefully check for any errors introduced through the use of an AI tool. Authors who have employed an AI tool should document this use in the methods or acknowledgements sections.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data sharing policy Model summary
In order that others can reproduce, verify and build on the work published in IUCr Journals, authors are expected to make supporting data freely available.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 3.5. Author's warranty and ethical considerations
COPE member Model summary
The submission of an article is taken as an implicit guarantee that the work is original, that it is the author(s) own work, that all authors are aware of and concur with the submission, that all workers involved in the study are listed as authors or given proper credit in the acknowledgements, that the article has not already been published (in any language or medium), and that it is not being co…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright 3.8. Copyright
Authors will not be asked to transfer copyright to the IUCr, but will instead be asked to agree during article submission to an open-access licence. This licence is identical to the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) Licence. Details of author rights can be found at https://journals.iucr.org/services/authorrights.html.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 7.5. Open access
Fully open access journal Model summary
Journal of Synchrotron Radiation is an open-access journal. The costs of peer review, of journal production, and of online hosting and archiving are met by charging an open-access fee to authors. Authors will be asked to pay an open-access fee upon acceptance of their article for publication. Authors from developing countries may apply for their open-access fees to be waived. Waiver requests shoul…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprints welcomed Model summary
The prior inclusion of material in an informal publication, e.g. a preprint server, is welcomed by IUCr Journals.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- International Union of Crystallography
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1600-5775
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION
What CAS zone is JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Instruments & Instrumentation / Optics / Physics, Applied. 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 SYNCHROTRON RADIATION?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.78; CiteScore 5.1, h-index 133.
How long does peer review take at JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION?
Based on the dates recorded on 90 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 106 days (interquartile range 77–142 days); authors report an average review time of about 20 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.
Where are the editorial board members of JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION based?
Of the 32 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (5), France (4) and United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION open access, and what is the APC?
JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .