- Email: [email protected]
Editorial guidelines and instructions to authors
Editorial Guidelines and Instructions to Authors (Revised 15 March 2001)
Aims and Scope of the Journal Optics Communications considers only original and timely contributions containing new results in various fields of modern optics. Manuscripts may discuss fundamental or applied issues, and should offer clear evidence of novelty and significance. Papers devoted, for the most part, to mathematical and computational issues, with limited direct connection to current trends of optics research, are generally not suitable for publication in the Journal. Similarly, small technical advances, or papers concerned only with engineering applications or issues of materials science may not be considered favorably. In deciding if Optics Communications is the appropriate venue for the presentation of their research, the authors should consider the following sections of the table of content of the Journal: 1. Propagation and scattering (interference, diffraction, near-field optics, coherence, polarization, geometrical optics, optical vortices, optical measurement techniques, turbulent media, atmospheric optics) 2. Optical information, image formation and analysis, optical computing (Fourier transform optics, modulation and optical transfer functions, optical storage and retrieval, holography, pattern recognition, image processing and restoration, optical sensing) 3. Optical communications (optical waveguides, optical fiber communication systems, optical signal processing, optical networks and switching) 4. Atomic and molecular physics (atomic and molecular spectra, interaction of atoms and molecules with electromagnetic radiation, laser cooling and trapping, Bose–Einstein condensation phenomena, collision processes) 5. Condensed matter (spectroscopy, optical properties of condensed matter, thin films, photonic band-gap materials) 6. Quantum optics (statistical properties of radiation, quantum noise, non-classical states, cavity quantum electrodynamics, atom optics and interferometry) 7. Laser physics and laser sources 8. Nonlinear optics (stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering, parametric oscillation, harmonic generation and multiwave mixing, ultrafast phenomena, the physics of solitons, phase conjugation, photorefractive effect, nonlinear optical vortices, spatio-temporal dynamics)
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Preparation of manuscripts Online submission Authors are encouraged to submit their papers through the Author Gateway online submission tool for Optics Communications. Full instructions on how to use the electronic submission tool and on how to prepare compuscript are available at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/optcom All manuscripts should be written in good scientific English, with special care being reserved for the clarity of the title and the abstract. Because these should be accessible to a wide cross-section of readers of the Journal, unusual acronyms should be avoided in the title. If acronyms are needed in the abstract, they should be defined immediately after their first use. For the same reasons of clarity, it is preferable for new terminology to be introduced, and properly defined, only in the main text. Readability of the title and abstract is an important consideration for the final acceptance process. Articles are not required to fit within a prescribed length, but it is understood that the length of a contribution should be commensurate with the information contained in the manuscript. It is then possible, in some cases, that the authors may be asked to shorten the text and/or reduce the number of figures and tables if these are not strictly required by criteria of clarity. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the submission of short serial contributions is strongly discouraged in favor of more comprehensive surveys of the research projects and their implications. With this as our guiding principle, the Journal will now make no distinction between short and full-length contributions, which will be indexed in the issues according to the subject under discussion. We encourage the authors to adopt the style of presentation which they find most appropriate for the purpose of enhancing the significance of their results. Generally, short articles need not be subdivided into a formal introduction, main text and conclusions, although this subdivision is still desirable for longer manuscripts. In any case, the authors must place their work in context with the current state of research, and should clearly emphasize the main advances, possibly both in the introductory and concluding parts. For general format and style, the authors may consult recent issues of the Journal. References should be numbered in square brackets, e.g. [7], or [11–13,17], in order of citation in the text, and should be listed individually, on separate pages, at the end of the manuscript. References to journal articles should contain the names and initials of all authors, abbreviation of the journal title, according to current practice, volume number, year of publications in parentheses, and inclusive page numbers. Articles may be cited as ‘in press’ only in a copy of the acceptance notice is available to the authors at the time of submission. References to books should include the names and initials of the author(s), title of the book, name and initials of editor(s) in parentheses, volume, edition, inclusive page numbers, name and location of the publisher, and year of publication. Citations such as ‘unpublished’ and ‘personal communication’ can also be part of the reference list. Incomplete bibliographic items should either be referred to as ‘in preparation’ (not yet submitted to a journal), ‘submitted for publication’ (including the name of the journal the article was submitted to), or ‘in press’ (see above). Examples of citations are provided below (journals [1], books [2], and electronic publications [3]): [1] J.W.R. Tabosa, A. Lezama, G.C. Cardoso, Opt. Commun. 165 (1999) 59–64. [2] V.L. Ginzburg, Radiation by uniformly moving sources, in: E. Wolf (Ed.), Progress in Optics, vol. 32, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1993. [3] F. Yu, X.-S. Wu, hep-th/9112009. Tables, numbered in order of appearance, should be appended on separate pages and identified with appropriate titles. The title of the table should appear above it. A detailed description of its contents and footnotes should be given below the body of the table.
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Figures should be original laser prints, or very sharp, high contrast prints on glossy paper, suitable for immediate reproduction. Half-tone figures should be in black-and-white, very sharp, well contrasting, and on glossy paper. Any lettering in the figures should be large enough to stand photographic reduction. Contributors should prepare their figures for either one column width (75 mm) or the entire page width (160 mm). The maximum height is 200 mm. The Publisher will determine the degree of any reduction or enlargement required and, in general, line drawings will be reduced to one column width if possible. Each figure should be identified on the back by its number and the name of the first author. Figures with multiple panels should be labeled individually, with (a), (b), etc., but a single caption should describe the entire set. Figure captions should be typed on a separate page. Color reproduction: when essential to the understanding of paper, figures may be reproduced in color. This will, however, lengthen the publication time. The price of a single color page is 545,00, exclusive of sales tax, and 272.50 for each additional color page. Color illustrations can be submitted as original color photographs, trans-parencies, or 35 mm slides. Polaroid color prints are not suitable. Please submit color photographs, transparencies, close to the size expected in final publication. Authors will receive 100 reprints with color illustrations, free of charge. More reprints can be ordered at the usual rates, and there will be no additional charge for reprints containing color illustrations. Colourful e-Products: Optics Communucations is included in a new initiative from Elsevier: ‘Colourful e-Products’. This ‘colourful e-products’ solution provides a welcome step forward now that scientists increasingly access information on line. Scientists in many disciplines need to be able to publish their work in colour, but the cost of colour printing in small, specialised journals can be prohibitive and we realise that not all scientists have appropriate funds to cover the charges. Authors wishing to make use of this facility should ensure that the artwork is in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and at the correct resolution. In addition, for colour online and black & white in print, both colour and black & white artwork (file and/or hardcopy) is provided. There is no extra charge for authors who participate in this new facility. Further information on electronic artwork can be found at http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork. To view the articles online please access the journal from the ScienceDirect website: http://www.sciencedirect.com.
Acknowledgements must be included under a separate heading and are generally reserved for the mention of financial support and of substantial collaborative efforts with colleagues. Appendices should be labeled sequentially, as A, B, etc. and preferably, also identified with a title. The equations should be numbered consecutively but separately from those in the main text of the paper [e.g. (Al), (A2), (B1),. . .etc.].
Submission of articles An original plus three copies of the manuscript may be submitted to any of the Editors whose names and address appear below: R. Da¨ndliker, Institute of Microtechnology, University of Neuchaˆtel, Rue A.-L.Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchaˆtel, Switzerland. Tel. +41 32 718 3265; Fax: +41 32 718 3201; E-mail: [email protected] S. Kawata, Department of Applied Physics, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. Tel: +81 (0)6 6879 7847; Fax: +81 (0)6 6879 7330; E-mail: [email protected] L.M. Narducci, Physics Department, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Tel: +1-215-895-2711; Fax: +1-215-895-6757; E-mail: [email protected] W.P. Schleich, Abteilung fu¨r Quantenphysik, Universita¨t Ulm, D-89069 Ulm, Germany. Tel: +49-731-502-2510; Fax: +49-731-502-2511; E-mail: [email protected] With the manuscript, the authors should also include an accompanying letter of submission, the full mailing address and communication information of the corresponding author (telephone, fax and e-mail address), and a specification of the preferred subject matter of the article. Alternatively, the authors should provide appropriate PACS (Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme) index categories and/or selected keywords of their choice. Preferably, the original copy should be printed on one side of the paper only; the additional copies may be printed on both sides, and pages should be numbered.
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The same guidelines apply to the resubmitted versions of the articles, although in this case the authors are reminded to include also an appropriate response to the criticisms and recommendations of the referees, and a summary of the modifications. In resubmitting a manuscript, the authors may only include those figures which have been modified, with clear instructions for the editorial office concerning the proper placement of the revised illustrations. It is the author’s responsibility, however, to supply complete review copies, in a form suitable for mailing to the referee(s). The authors should also upgrade information that may have changed since the initial submission. Please note that submission of a contribution implies that the paper is not under consideration by any other journal at the time of submission, and that the essential scientific results will not be submitted to any other journal while the paper is under consideration for publication in Optics Communications. Authors in Japan please note: Upon request, Elsevier Japan will provide authors with a list of people who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please contact our Tokyo office: Elsevier K.K., 4F Higashi-Azabu, 1-Chome Bldg., 1-9-15 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0044. Tel.: (03) 5561-5032; fax: (03)5561-5045.
Date of receipt The receipt date of a published article will, generally, correspond to the arrival date of the manuscript in the editorial office. Authors are encouraged to complete their revisions within a period of no more than six months. Revised manuscripts submitted after this date are usually considered to be new contributions, and will be assigned a new receipt date. Unusual delays in the completion of the revisions may require that the authors update their original reference list.
Refereeing process Manuscripts are normally sent to referees for technical assessment, and for possible consideration of special matters that may be raised by the Editor. The reports of the referees are advisory to the Editor, but they are generally shared with the authors, perhaps after minor editing. If the subject of the article is clearly unsuitable for consideration by Optics Communications, the paper may be rejected by the Editor without review. Revised articles should be resubmitted with an accompanying letter containing a response to the objections of the referee(s) and an outline of the modifications. If necessary, the Editor may choose to submit a revised manuscript, and the previous anonymous correspondence, to an independent referee. Ideally, an electronic copy of the manuscript should accompany the revised version. If no electronic file has been received at this stage, and the article is accepted, see ‘‘Electronic submission’’ below. Acceptance of a paper requires a clear and favorable endorsement by at least one referee, although the Editor at his discretion may seek additional opinions in an attempt to resolve issues that may require further investigation. Authors are encouraged to submit at least four names and addresses of possible referees, outside their home institution, who are qualified to provide a technical report on the work. This list is especially welcome when the manuscript deals with specialized subjects. Similarly, the authors may request that their contribution be held from specific referees. Such a request is usually honored, except for the case of Comments where the input of the criticized author is part of the review process (see Comments, below). The rejection of an article by one of the Editors should generally be regarded as a final decision and the conclusion of the review process. Moreover, a journal-wide policy is that previously rejected papers will not be reconsidered for publication by any of the other editors.
ix
Electronic submission Electronic manuscripts: The Publisher requires the receipt of an electronic version of the accepted manuscript. If the authors have not already provided the Editor with the final, revised version of the article (on disk), they are urged to send a file with the text of the accepted manuscript directly to the Publisher by e-mail or on disk to the address given below:
Optics Communications Elsevier B.V. Sara Burgerhartstraat 25 1055 KV Amsterdam The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] LaTeX papers should preferably use the Elsevier document class ‘elsart’, or alternatively the standard document style ‘article’ or the document style ‘revtex’. The Elsevier LaTeX package (including detailed instructions for LaTeX preparation) can be obtained from the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network (CTAN). Search for Elsevier on the CTAN Search page (http://www.ucc.ie/cgi-bin/ctan). The Publisher reserves the right to decide whether to process a manuscript from the author’s files or not. Articles coded in a simple manner with no user-defined macros are most likely to be handled this way. If sent via e-mail, files should be accompanied by a clear identification of the article (i.e. Editor’s reference number, details of first author) in the ‘subject field’ of the e-mail message. Please note that modifications from the accepted version are not allowed without the approval of the appropriate Editor. Such changes should be clearly indicated on an accompanying printout of the file.
Publication schedule If all the above instructions are adhered to, Elsevier Science expects to provide Web publication of copy-edited articles within 10 working days of receipt of the electronic file.
Copyright transfer and reprint order forms Upon acceptance of an article, the author(s) will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the Publisher. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A reprint order form will also be provided for ordering any reprints in addition to the 25 which are supplied free of charge.
Proofs One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. Authors should respond within 24 hours after receipt of their proofs. Extensive modifications of the contents of a manuscript at proof stage may require the approval of the accepting editor and, perhaps, an additional round of review.
x
Publication charges There are no page charges for Optics Communications.
Comments Comments are short communications dealing with specific technical matters that have appeared in Optics Communications. They must be reserved for the collegial discussion of substantial points of disagreement between the author(s) of the comment and previous contributors to this journal, and cannot be used as a forum to extend or clarify published results, or to correct perceived errors in the citation record of earlier contributions. Comments will be reviewed by two referees. The first will be one of the authors whose work is being criticized (involved referee). As usual, this reviewer will be asked to provide an opinion on the technical merits of the submission and its relation to the previous work. The report of the involved referee, edited if necessary, will either be returned to the author for rebuttal, or will be submitted to an uninvolved referee along with previous correspondence. As with all other submissions to the Journal, additional uninvolved referees may be used at the discretion of the Editors. If a Comment is accepted for publication, the criticized author will be invited to prepare a formal reply to the comment which should be available within about four weeks after solicitation. If a reply is prepared, it will be reviewed, normally, by the same uninvolved referee(s) who refereed the comment.
Further inquiries and additional information Author enquiries Before acceptance authors may forward additional inquiries to any of the Editors as listed above. The preferred (and usually fastest) mode of communication is by electronic mail, but telephone calls and faxes to the editorial offices are also welcome. For enquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission), the status of accepted articles through our Online Article Status Information System (OASIS), author Frequently Asked Questions and any other enquiries relating to Elsevier Science, please consult http://www.elsevier.com/locate/authors/ For specific enquiries on the preparation of electronic artwork, consult http://www.elsevier.com/locate/authorartwork/ Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication. All correspondence with the Editors or the Publisher should contain the manuscript code number, the full title and at least the name of the first author.
The Instructions to Authors and additional pertinent editorial policies and procedures are also posted on the Web site of Optics Communications at www.elsevier.com/locate/optcom.
Aims and Scope of the Journal Optics Communications considers only original and timely contributions containing new results in various fields of modern optics. Manuscripts may discuss fundamental or applied issues, and should offer clear evidence of novelty and significance. Papers devoted, for the most part, to mathematical and computational issues, with limited direct connection to current trends of optics research, are generally not suitable for publication in the Journal. Similarly, small technical advances, or papers concerned only with engineering applications or issues of materials science may not be considered favorably. In deciding if Optics Communications is the appropriate venue for the presentation of their research, the authors should consider the following sections of the table of content of the Journal: 1. Propagation and scattering (interference, diffraction, near-field optics, coherence, polarization, geometrical optics, optical vortices, optical measurement techniques, turbulent media, atmospheric optics) 2. Optical information, image formation and analysis, optical computing (Fourier transform optics, modulation and optical transfer functions, optical storage and retrieval, holography, pattern recognition, image processing and restoration, optical sensing) 3. Optical communications (optical waveguides, optical fiber communication systems, optical signal processing, optical networks and switching) 4. Atomic and molecular physics (atomic and molecular spectra, interaction of atoms and molecules with electromagnetic radiation, laser cooling and trapping, Bose–Einstein condensation phenomena, collision processes) 5. Condensed matter (spectroscopy, optical properties of condensed matter, thin films, photonic band-gap materials) 6. Quantum optics (statistical properties of radiation, quantum noise, non-classical states, cavity quantum electrodynamics, atom optics and interferometry) 7. Laser physics and laser sources 8. Nonlinear optics (stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering, parametric oscillation, harmonic generation and multiwave mixing, ultrafast phenomena, the physics of solitons, phase conjugation, photorefractive effect, nonlinear optical vortices, spatio-temporal dynamics)
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Preparation of manuscripts Online submission Authors are encouraged to submit their papers through the Author Gateway online submission tool for Optics Communications. Full instructions on how to use the electronic submission tool and on how to prepare compuscript are available at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/optcom All manuscripts should be written in good scientific English, with special care being reserved for the clarity of the title and the abstract. Because these should be accessible to a wide cross-section of readers of the Journal, unusual acronyms should be avoided in the title. If acronyms are needed in the abstract, they should be defined immediately after their first use. For the same reasons of clarity, it is preferable for new terminology to be introduced, and properly defined, only in the main text. Readability of the title and abstract is an important consideration for the final acceptance process. Articles are not required to fit within a prescribed length, but it is understood that the length of a contribution should be commensurate with the information contained in the manuscript. It is then possible, in some cases, that the authors may be asked to shorten the text and/or reduce the number of figures and tables if these are not strictly required by criteria of clarity. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the submission of short serial contributions is strongly discouraged in favor of more comprehensive surveys of the research projects and their implications. With this as our guiding principle, the Journal will now make no distinction between short and full-length contributions, which will be indexed in the issues according to the subject under discussion. We encourage the authors to adopt the style of presentation which they find most appropriate for the purpose of enhancing the significance of their results. Generally, short articles need not be subdivided into a formal introduction, main text and conclusions, although this subdivision is still desirable for longer manuscripts. In any case, the authors must place their work in context with the current state of research, and should clearly emphasize the main advances, possibly both in the introductory and concluding parts. For general format and style, the authors may consult recent issues of the Journal. References should be numbered in square brackets, e.g. [7], or [11–13,17], in order of citation in the text, and should be listed individually, on separate pages, at the end of the manuscript. References to journal articles should contain the names and initials of all authors, abbreviation of the journal title, according to current practice, volume number, year of publications in parentheses, and inclusive page numbers. Articles may be cited as ‘in press’ only in a copy of the acceptance notice is available to the authors at the time of submission. References to books should include the names and initials of the author(s), title of the book, name and initials of editor(s) in parentheses, volume, edition, inclusive page numbers, name and location of the publisher, and year of publication. Citations such as ‘unpublished’ and ‘personal communication’ can also be part of the reference list. Incomplete bibliographic items should either be referred to as ‘in preparation’ (not yet submitted to a journal), ‘submitted for publication’ (including the name of the journal the article was submitted to), or ‘in press’ (see above). Examples of citations are provided below (journals [1], books [2], and electronic publications [3]): [1] J.W.R. Tabosa, A. Lezama, G.C. Cardoso, Opt. Commun. 165 (1999) 59–64. [2] V.L. Ginzburg, Radiation by uniformly moving sources, in: E. Wolf (Ed.), Progress in Optics, vol. 32, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1993. [3] F. Yu, X.-S. Wu, hep-th/9112009. Tables, numbered in order of appearance, should be appended on separate pages and identified with appropriate titles. The title of the table should appear above it. A detailed description of its contents and footnotes should be given below the body of the table.
vii
Figures should be original laser prints, or very sharp, high contrast prints on glossy paper, suitable for immediate reproduction. Half-tone figures should be in black-and-white, very sharp, well contrasting, and on glossy paper. Any lettering in the figures should be large enough to stand photographic reduction. Contributors should prepare their figures for either one column width (75 mm) or the entire page width (160 mm). The maximum height is 200 mm. The Publisher will determine the degree of any reduction or enlargement required and, in general, line drawings will be reduced to one column width if possible. Each figure should be identified on the back by its number and the name of the first author. Figures with multiple panels should be labeled individually, with (a), (b), etc., but a single caption should describe the entire set. Figure captions should be typed on a separate page. Color reproduction: when essential to the understanding of paper, figures may be reproduced in color. This will, however, lengthen the publication time. The price of a single color page is 545,00, exclusive of sales tax, and 272.50 for each additional color page. Color illustrations can be submitted as original color photographs, trans-parencies, or 35 mm slides. Polaroid color prints are not suitable. Please submit color photographs, transparencies, close to the size expected in final publication. Authors will receive 100 reprints with color illustrations, free of charge. More reprints can be ordered at the usual rates, and there will be no additional charge for reprints containing color illustrations. Colourful e-Products: Optics Communucations is included in a new initiative from Elsevier: ‘Colourful e-Products’. This ‘colourful e-products’ solution provides a welcome step forward now that scientists increasingly access information on line. Scientists in many disciplines need to be able to publish their work in colour, but the cost of colour printing in small, specialised journals can be prohibitive and we realise that not all scientists have appropriate funds to cover the charges. Authors wishing to make use of this facility should ensure that the artwork is in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and at the correct resolution. In addition, for colour online and black & white in print, both colour and black & white artwork (file and/or hardcopy) is provided. There is no extra charge for authors who participate in this new facility. Further information on electronic artwork can be found at http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork. To view the articles online please access the journal from the ScienceDirect website: http://www.sciencedirect.com.
Acknowledgements must be included under a separate heading and are generally reserved for the mention of financial support and of substantial collaborative efforts with colleagues. Appendices should be labeled sequentially, as A, B, etc. and preferably, also identified with a title. The equations should be numbered consecutively but separately from those in the main text of the paper [e.g. (Al), (A2), (B1),. . .etc.].
Submission of articles An original plus three copies of the manuscript may be submitted to any of the Editors whose names and address appear below: R. Da¨ndliker, Institute of Microtechnology, University of Neuchaˆtel, Rue A.-L.Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchaˆtel, Switzerland. Tel. +41 32 718 3265; Fax: +41 32 718 3201; E-mail: [email protected] S. Kawata, Department of Applied Physics, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. Tel: +81 (0)6 6879 7847; Fax: +81 (0)6 6879 7330; E-mail: [email protected] L.M. Narducci, Physics Department, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Tel: +1-215-895-2711; Fax: +1-215-895-6757; E-mail: [email protected] W.P. Schleich, Abteilung fu¨r Quantenphysik, Universita¨t Ulm, D-89069 Ulm, Germany. Tel: +49-731-502-2510; Fax: +49-731-502-2511; E-mail: [email protected] With the manuscript, the authors should also include an accompanying letter of submission, the full mailing address and communication information of the corresponding author (telephone, fax and e-mail address), and a specification of the preferred subject matter of the article. Alternatively, the authors should provide appropriate PACS (Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme) index categories and/or selected keywords of their choice. Preferably, the original copy should be printed on one side of the paper only; the additional copies may be printed on both sides, and pages should be numbered.
viii
The same guidelines apply to the resubmitted versions of the articles, although in this case the authors are reminded to include also an appropriate response to the criticisms and recommendations of the referees, and a summary of the modifications. In resubmitting a manuscript, the authors may only include those figures which have been modified, with clear instructions for the editorial office concerning the proper placement of the revised illustrations. It is the author’s responsibility, however, to supply complete review copies, in a form suitable for mailing to the referee(s). The authors should also upgrade information that may have changed since the initial submission. Please note that submission of a contribution implies that the paper is not under consideration by any other journal at the time of submission, and that the essential scientific results will not be submitted to any other journal while the paper is under consideration for publication in Optics Communications. Authors in Japan please note: Upon request, Elsevier Japan will provide authors with a list of people who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please contact our Tokyo office: Elsevier K.K., 4F Higashi-Azabu, 1-Chome Bldg., 1-9-15 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0044. Tel.: (03) 5561-5032; fax: (03)5561-5045.
Date of receipt The receipt date of a published article will, generally, correspond to the arrival date of the manuscript in the editorial office. Authors are encouraged to complete their revisions within a period of no more than six months. Revised manuscripts submitted after this date are usually considered to be new contributions, and will be assigned a new receipt date. Unusual delays in the completion of the revisions may require that the authors update their original reference list.
Refereeing process Manuscripts are normally sent to referees for technical assessment, and for possible consideration of special matters that may be raised by the Editor. The reports of the referees are advisory to the Editor, but they are generally shared with the authors, perhaps after minor editing. If the subject of the article is clearly unsuitable for consideration by Optics Communications, the paper may be rejected by the Editor without review. Revised articles should be resubmitted with an accompanying letter containing a response to the objections of the referee(s) and an outline of the modifications. If necessary, the Editor may choose to submit a revised manuscript, and the previous anonymous correspondence, to an independent referee. Ideally, an electronic copy of the manuscript should accompany the revised version. If no electronic file has been received at this stage, and the article is accepted, see ‘‘Electronic submission’’ below. Acceptance of a paper requires a clear and favorable endorsement by at least one referee, although the Editor at his discretion may seek additional opinions in an attempt to resolve issues that may require further investigation. Authors are encouraged to submit at least four names and addresses of possible referees, outside their home institution, who are qualified to provide a technical report on the work. This list is especially welcome when the manuscript deals with specialized subjects. Similarly, the authors may request that their contribution be held from specific referees. Such a request is usually honored, except for the case of Comments where the input of the criticized author is part of the review process (see Comments, below). The rejection of an article by one of the Editors should generally be regarded as a final decision and the conclusion of the review process. Moreover, a journal-wide policy is that previously rejected papers will not be reconsidered for publication by any of the other editors.
ix
Electronic submission Electronic manuscripts: The Publisher requires the receipt of an electronic version of the accepted manuscript. If the authors have not already provided the Editor with the final, revised version of the article (on disk), they are urged to send a file with the text of the accepted manuscript directly to the Publisher by e-mail or on disk to the address given below:
Optics Communications Elsevier B.V. Sara Burgerhartstraat 25 1055 KV Amsterdam The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] LaTeX papers should preferably use the Elsevier document class ‘elsart’, or alternatively the standard document style ‘article’ or the document style ‘revtex’. The Elsevier LaTeX package (including detailed instructions for LaTeX preparation) can be obtained from the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network (CTAN). Search for Elsevier on the CTAN Search page (http://www.ucc.ie/cgi-bin/ctan). The Publisher reserves the right to decide whether to process a manuscript from the author’s files or not. Articles coded in a simple manner with no user-defined macros are most likely to be handled this way. If sent via e-mail, files should be accompanied by a clear identification of the article (i.e. Editor’s reference number, details of first author) in the ‘subject field’ of the e-mail message. Please note that modifications from the accepted version are not allowed without the approval of the appropriate Editor. Such changes should be clearly indicated on an accompanying printout of the file.
Publication schedule If all the above instructions are adhered to, Elsevier Science expects to provide Web publication of copy-edited articles within 10 working days of receipt of the electronic file.
Copyright transfer and reprint order forms Upon acceptance of an article, the author(s) will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the Publisher. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A reprint order form will also be provided for ordering any reprints in addition to the 25 which are supplied free of charge.
Proofs One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. Authors should respond within 24 hours after receipt of their proofs. Extensive modifications of the contents of a manuscript at proof stage may require the approval of the accepting editor and, perhaps, an additional round of review.
x
Publication charges There are no page charges for Optics Communications.
Comments Comments are short communications dealing with specific technical matters that have appeared in Optics Communications. They must be reserved for the collegial discussion of substantial points of disagreement between the author(s) of the comment and previous contributors to this journal, and cannot be used as a forum to extend or clarify published results, or to correct perceived errors in the citation record of earlier contributions. Comments will be reviewed by two referees. The first will be one of the authors whose work is being criticized (involved referee). As usual, this reviewer will be asked to provide an opinion on the technical merits of the submission and its relation to the previous work. The report of the involved referee, edited if necessary, will either be returned to the author for rebuttal, or will be submitted to an uninvolved referee along with previous correspondence. As with all other submissions to the Journal, additional uninvolved referees may be used at the discretion of the Editors. If a Comment is accepted for publication, the criticized author will be invited to prepare a formal reply to the comment which should be available within about four weeks after solicitation. If a reply is prepared, it will be reviewed, normally, by the same uninvolved referee(s) who refereed the comment.
Further inquiries and additional information Author enquiries Before acceptance authors may forward additional inquiries to any of the Editors as listed above. The preferred (and usually fastest) mode of communication is by electronic mail, but telephone calls and faxes to the editorial offices are also welcome. For enquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission), the status of accepted articles through our Online Article Status Information System (OASIS), author Frequently Asked Questions and any other enquiries relating to Elsevier Science, please consult http://www.elsevier.com/locate/authors/ For specific enquiries on the preparation of electronic artwork, consult http://www.elsevier.com/locate/authorartwork/ Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication. All correspondence with the Editors or the Publisher should contain the manuscript code number, the full title and at least the name of the first author.
The Instructions to Authors and additional pertinent editorial policies and procedures are also posted on the Web site of Optics Communications at www.elsevier.com/locate/optcom.