Journal profile · OPTICS
Light-Science & Applications
ISSN 2047-7538 · Springer Nature · ENGLAND · Founded 2012
Light-Science & Applications: CAS Zone 1 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 24.01; fully open access; APC about USD 4,290; median 174 days to acceptance (86 articles, last 24 months); 395 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Light-Science & Applications is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 1 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, Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications and Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research, together about 28.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Light: Science & Applications (LSA) seeks to promote research from all aspects of optics and photonics, including basic, applied and engineering research and applications. This journal will primarily publish new research results in cutting-edge and emerging topics in optics and photonics, as well as covering traditional topics in optical engineering. The journal will publish original articles and reviews that are of high quality, high interest and far-reaching consequence. Light: Science & Applications is an open access, online-only journal. Please go to Aims and scope page for more details.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): OPTICS
Editor-in-chief Jianlin CaoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 71 in mainland China (about 32%); most named Mainland China 71, United States 24, United Kingdom 20, Germany 16, France 13 (222 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering11.2%
- Metamaterials and Metasurfaces ApplicationsMaterials Science9.2%
- Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon ResearchEngineering8.1%
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy7.1%
- Orbital Angular Momentum in OpticsPhysics and Astronomy5.7%
- Photonic Crystals and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy4.6%
- Neural Networks and Reservoir ComputingComputer Science4.6%
- Perovskite Materials and ApplicationsEngineering4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview 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 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexINSPECCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 24.01LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 24Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 24Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 31.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 4.95LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 4.76LetPub ·
- h-index
- 68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 216OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,006OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 17.93OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 326LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 150Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 8,379,483Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,876 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 385 | 385 | 1,116 |
| 2025 | 395 | 395 | 6,592 |
| 2024 | 324 | 324 | 12,087 |
| 2023 | 300 | 300 | 15,193 |
| 2022 | 351 | 351 | 23,964 |
| 2021 | 249 | 249 | 23,126 |
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
174 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 134 days – 211 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 55 days (86 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 236 days
- Sample
- 86 articles with submission and acceptance dates (847 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 | EUR 3,190 / USD 4,290 / GBP 2,890 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 4,190 / EUR 3,090 / GBP 2,790 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,790 / USD 4,190 / EUR 3,090 | Yes | — |
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
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2012
- ISSN
- 2047-7538
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Light-Science & Applications
What CAS zone is Light-Science & Applications in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Light-Science & Applications is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Optics; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Light-Science & Applications?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 24.01; CiteScore 31.6, h-index 216.
How long does peer review take at Light-Science & Applications?
Based on the dates recorded on 86 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 174 days (interquartile range 134–211 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 Light-Science & Applications based?
Of the 222 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 71 (about 32%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (71), United States (24) and United Kingdom (20). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Light-Science & Applications?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Light-Science & Applications is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, INSPEC, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Light-Science & Applications open access, and what is the APC?
Light-Science & Applications is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 4,290.
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: .