Journal profile · Optics
Optical Engineering
ISSN 0091-3286 · eISSN 1560-2303 · SPIE · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1972
Optical Engineering: CAS Zone 4 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.14; hybrid open access; review about 2.6 months (community reports); community-reported acceptance: 68%; 344 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Optical Engineering is published by SPIE and is in Zone 4 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Photonic and Optical Devices, Optical measurement and interference techniques and Semiconductor Lasers and Optical Devices, together about 25.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Electrical and Electronic Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Optical Engineering publishes peer-reviewed papers reporting on research and development in optical science and engineering and the practical applications of known optical science, engineering, and technology.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Optics
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Photonic and Optical DevicesEngineering11.3%
- Optical measurement and interference techniquesComputer Science8.6%
- Semiconductor Lasers and Optical DevicesEngineering5.9%
- Advanced Fiber Optic SensorsEngineering5.9%
- Optical Network TechnologiesEngineering5.5%
- Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy5.1%
- Advanced Measurement and Metrology TechniquesEngineering5%
- Advanced Optical Imaging TechnologiesEngineering3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Optics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | 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
- 1.14LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.58LetPub ·
- h-index
- 93LetPub ·
- h-index
- 158OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6,884OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.06OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10.22%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 331LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 21,339 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 274 | 48 | 37 |
| 2025 | 344 | 49 | 258 |
| 2024 | 408 | 74 | 790 |
| 2023 | 351 | 68 | 1,270 |
| 2022 | 494 | 110 | 2,531 |
| 2021 | 507 | 108 | 2,885 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 2.6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 68%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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SPIE
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1972
- ISSN
- 0091-3286
- Electronic ISSN
- 1560-2303
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Optical Engineering
What CAS zone is Optical Engineering in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Optical Engineering is in Zone 4 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Optics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Optical Engineering?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.14; CiteScore 2.6, h-index 158.
How long does peer review take at Optical Engineering?
Authors report an average review time of about 2.6 months; the community-reported acceptance is “68%”. 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 Optical Engineering?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Optical Engineering is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Optical Engineering open access, and what is the APC?
Optical Engineering is a hybrid 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .