New preprint server provides free access to the latest discoveries in optics and photonics
WASHINGTON - Optica Publishing Group (formerly OSA) launched Optica Open today, a new preprint server dedicated to advancing optics and photonics around the globe. Preprints are publicly available, preliminary scholarly articles posted ahead of formal peer review and publication in a journal. Authors can conveniently transmit their Optica Open preprint submissions to an Optica Publishing Group journal or their journal submissions to the preprint server, a first for the optics and photonics community. The Optica Open site is now open for submissions.
Harnessing Figshare's preprint server capabilities, Optica Open helps authors achieve their open science goals and establish priority of their latest research results. All posted preprints will receive a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), are citable and will be indexed by Google Scholar and Crossref. As with other preprint servers, articles posted to Optica Open are not peer reviewed, although authors may benefit from receiving feedback from their peers. Submissions are screened by subject-matter experts to ensure general relevance to optics and photonics and compliance with the basic submission requirements, including a plagiarism check with iThenticate.
"As a way to better serve the needs of the community and to further demonstrate our commitment to open science, we are excited to provide those in optics and photonics with their own platform to freely share and read the latest results in the field. Optica Open complements our world-renowned publishing portfolio and provides another option for authors to expand the reach of their work and for readers who want a one-stop destination to stay current on the latest discoveries in optics and photonics," said Elizabeth Nolan, Optica's Chief Publishing Officer and Deputy Executive Director.
Through a collaboration with arXiv, a research-sharing platform for physics and other fields, optics-related preprints that have been posted to arXiv are also discoverable in Optica Open. Thousands of arXiv records dating back to 2021 are already accessible in Optica Open, and new records are being added twice daily.
Another distinction for Optica Open is that it will disseminate industry white papers in addition to research articles, offering a pathway for increased exposure of technical contributions from industry to the research community.
As with Optica Publishing Group's journals, the new preprint server is governed by the optics and photonics community. The Optica Open Advisory Board is composed of volunteers from each of Optica's Technical Divisions. This distinguished group of volunteers will advise Optica Publishing Group on the policies, procedures, and standards of the Optica Open preprints platform, including its scope of coverage, submission guidelines, and screening criteria.
Open Optica will be releasing updates to functionality and features throughout 2023. To learn more about Optica Open, visit https://preprints.opticaopen.org.
