Journal profile · Optics
JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS
ISSN 0740-3224 · eISSN 1520-8540 · The Optical Society · UNITED STATES · Monthly
JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS: CAS Zone 4 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.85; subscription journal; median 68 days to acceptance (104 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: 60%; 364 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS is published by The Optical Society 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 Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies, Photonic and Optical Devices and Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications, together about 31.9% 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)
The Journal of the Optical Society of America B (JOSA B) is a general optics research journal that complements JOSA A. It emphasizes scientific research on the fundamentals of the interaction of light with matter such as quantum optics, nonlinear optics, and laser physics. Topics include: Advanced Instrumentation and Measurements Fiber Optics and Fiber Lasers Lasers and Other Light Sources from THz to XUV Light-Induced Phenomena Nonlinear and High Field Optics Optical Materials Optics Modes and Structured Light Optomechanics Metamaterials Nanomaterials Photonics and Semiconductor Optics Physical Optics Plasmonics Quantum Optics and Entanglement Quantum Key Distribution Spectroscopy and Atomic or Molecular Optics Superresolution and Advanced Imaging Surface Optics Ultrafast Optical Phenomena Wave Guiding and Optical Confinement JOSA B considers original research articles, feature issue contributions, invited reviews and tutorials, and comments on published articles.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Optics
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy14%
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering10.8%
- Laser-Matter Interactions and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy7.2%
- Photorefractive and Nonlinear OpticsPhysics and Astronomy6.1%
- Quantum optics and atomic interactionsPhysics and Astronomy5.7%
- Photonic Crystals and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy5.1%
- Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon ResearchEngineering4.4%
- Solid State Laser TechnologiesEngineering4.1%
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 4 |
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
- 1.85LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.45LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.66LetPub ·
- h-index
- 134LetPub ·
- h-index
- 211OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 8,545OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.95OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 1.75%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 363LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 16,273 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 359 | 45 | 189 |
| 2025 | 364 | 33 | 618 |
| 2024 | 412 | 56 | 1,410 |
| 2023 | 442 | 70 | 2,685 |
| 2022 | 401 | 75 | 3,076 |
| 2021 | 563 | 139 | 5,447 |
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
68 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 54 days – 99 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 22 days (104 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 92 days
- Sample
- 104 articles with submission and acceptance dates (855 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 2.9 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 60%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
- Monthly
- ISSN
- 0740-3224
- Electronic ISSN
- 1520-8540
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS
What CAS zone is JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS 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 THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.85; CiteScore 3.9, h-index 211.
How long does peer review take at JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS?
Based on the dates recorded on 104 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 68 days (interquartile range 54–99 days); authors report an average review time of about 2.9 months; the community-reported acceptance is “60%”. 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 THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS open access, and what is the APC?
JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .