Journal profile · Optics
Nature Photonics
ISSN 1749-4885 · eISSN 1749-4893 · Springer Nature · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 2007
Nature Photonics: CAS Zone 1 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 37.76; hybrid open access; APC about USD 12,690; median 238 days to acceptance (74 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: very hard; 236 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Nature Photonics 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, Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies and Quantum Information and Cryptography, together about 29.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Nature Photonics is a monthly journal publishing the best research from all areas of light generation, manipulation and detection.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Optics
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 8%); most named United States 5, United Kingdom 2, Germany 2, Mainland China 1, Italy 1 (12 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering14.4%
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy8.9%
- Quantum Information and CryptographyComputer Science6.1%
- Laser-Matter Interactions and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy5.9%
- Mechanical and Optical ResonatorsPhysics and Astronomy5.1%
- Photonic Crystals and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy4.9%
- Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon ResearchEngineering4.7%
- Quantum optics and atomic interactionsPhysics and Astronomy3.8%
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 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | 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 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | 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 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
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
- 37.76LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 38.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 39.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 51.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 12.49LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 7.34LetPub ·
- h-index
- 266LetPub ·
- h-index
- 461OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,643OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 25.34OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 28.6%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 158LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 4,568,126Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,311 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 188 | 55 | 405 |
| 2025 | 236 | 92 | 4,408 |
| 2024 | 242 | 91 | 12,063 |
| 2023 | 213 | 92 | 13,411 |
| 2022 | 196 | 73 | 17,131 |
| 2021 | 195 | 99 | 21,556 |
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
238 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 182 days – 319 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 43 days (74 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 293 days
- Sample
- 74 articles with submission and acceptance dates (472 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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Very hardLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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 12,690 / EUR 10,690 / GBP 9,190 | — | — |
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.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review, Preprints
- Open access
Editorial policies Model summary
Read and understand our policies – Editorial policies
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 3 – Editorial Process, Peer Review, Appeals & Transfers
Double-anonymized peer review requirements Model summary
Once you have submitted your manuscript, it goes through our editorial process. If your manuscript is sent out for peer review, you will receive an email asking you to read and sign our Editorial Policies. To appeal against a decision, or transfer your submission to another journal – Appeals and Transfers. ____________________________________________________________________________________________…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprint policy and In Review Model summary
Our preprint policy – Preprint policy and In Review
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
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2007
- ISSN
- 1749-4885
- Electronic ISSN
- 1749-4893
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Nature Photonics
What CAS zone is Nature Photonics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Nature Photonics is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Optics / Physics, Applied; 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 Nature Photonics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 37.76; CiteScore 51.9, h-index 461.
How long does peer review take at Nature Photonics?
Based on the dates recorded on 74 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 238 days (interquartile range 182–319 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Very hard”. 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 Nature Photonics based?
Of the 12 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (5), United Kingdom (2) and Germany (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Nature Photonics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Nature Photonics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Nature Photonics open access, and what is the APC?
Nature Photonics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 12,690.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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: .