Journal profile · OPTICS
Optica
ISSN 2334-2536 · OSA Publishing · UNITED STATES
Optica: CAS Zone 1 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 8.81; fully open access; APC about USD 3,450; median 103 days to acceptance (96 articles, last 24 months); 250 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Optica is published by OSA Publishing 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 Mechanical and Optical Resonators, together about 31.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
A new open-access journal that focuses on the rapid dissemination of high-impact results in all areas of optics and photonics. Optica is a dedicated venue for authors to publish high-profile research in both fundamental and applied optics and photonics.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): OPTICS
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering13.7%
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy12.3%
- Mechanical and Optical ResonatorsPhysics and Astronomy5.2%
- Laser-Matter Interactions and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy5.1%
- Quantum Information and CryptographyComputer Science4.9%
- Orbital Angular Momentum in OpticsPhysics and Astronomy4.8%
- Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy TechniquesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.1%
- Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon ResearchEngineering4%
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
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
- 8.81LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 16.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.76LetPub ·
- h-index
- 56LetPub ·
- h-index
- 191OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,174OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 8.57OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 234LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,870 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 209 | 209 | 185 |
| 2025 | 250 | 250 | 1,909 |
| 2024 | 214 | 214 | 3,676 |
| 2023 | 218 | 218 | 5,840 |
| 2022 | 202 | 202 | 7,838 |
| 2021 | 234 | 234 | 13,117 |
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
103 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 76 days – 142 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 33 days (96 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 136 days
- Sample
- 96 articles with submission and acceptance dates (530 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 15 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 15 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 3,450 | Yes | CC BY, Publisher's own license | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,208 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,295 | 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
- OSA Publishing
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2334-2536
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Optica
What CAS zone is Optica in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Optica 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 Optica?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 8.81; CiteScore 16.3, h-index 191.
How long does peer review take at Optica?
Based on the dates recorded on 96 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 103 days (interquartile range 76–142 days); authors report an average review time of about 15 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.
Which databases index Optica?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Optica is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Optica open access, and what is the APC?
Optica is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,450.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .