APL Photonics promotes fundamental, applied, and multidisciplinary research anchored in photonics. Through our robust editorial process, we aim to publish high quality research findings that represent significant breakthroughs, novel understandings, or perspectives with long lasting impact. Our mission is to provide openly accessible resources for the international photonics and broader communities.

In response to the diverse community and its communication needs, the Journal features Articles, Letters, and Special content – specifically Invited Articles, Perspectives, Tutorials, and Special Topic sections – see the Editorial Policies guide for details on the different article types.

Covered topics include:

Light sources
Nonlinear optics
Optoelectronics
Nanophotonics
Plasmonics
Biophotonics and Biomedical optics
Ultrafast photonics
Optical communications
Quantum photonics
Optical imaging
Photovoltaics
Guided wave optics
Sensors
Terahertz

Manuscripts that focus on mathematical and computational problems only marginally related to photonics are not suitable for publication in APL Photonics. Similarly, papers focused on incremental advances in engineering applications or materials science are outside the journal’s scope.