Attention Optics Express Authors

Optics Express has made significant changes to its production process by creating archivalquality XML along with the PDF output. XML is the industry standard for producing and archiving scientific journal articles and is used in producing all other OSA journals. Having full-text XML will allow Optics Express to be indexed more accurately and completely in MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other databases; it will also allow the journal to meet its archival obligations and to prepare for new services such as full-text semantic search and repurposing of content. In order to prevent delays in production, we ask that authors carefully adhere to the following new guidelines:

Word and LaTeX. OSA accepts Word and LaTeX submissions; however, we encourage authors to submit papers in MS Word. OSA will not publish the same Word file that authors submit for their final revisions, so it is imperative that authors carefully check the final version of their paper before paying the publication fee. OSA uses a Word plug-in called eXtyles to normalize, format, tag, and parse the file into full-text XML. eXtyles automatically reformats, checks, and updates the references against the CrossRef and PubMed databases. In addition to running other auto-redact editing rules, eXtyles checks all reference, figure, table and equation callouts in the text to ensure all items are cited. At this time full-text XML will be generated from LaTeX papers after publication. Author listing. All authors must be grouped together using superscripts to callout each affiliation. Hard returns (Enter key) must be used to separate each individual affiliation. Soft-returns (Shift + Enter key) should be use for line breaks within a single paragraph.

Main text. Authors must identify equations and figures in the text by inserting Fig. or Eq. before the number. All references, figures, and tables must be called out in the text in the order they appear. Figures. Authors must use one image file per figure. Figures need to be inserted as objects that are fixed and move with the text, not as floating objects. Figures should never be placed in a table environment.

Tables. Authors must use Words Table editor to insert tables. Authors must not import tables from Excel. All content for each table should be in a single Word table (do not split content for a single table across multiple Word tables).

Equations. The Express journals not accept equations built using the Word 2007 Equation Builder. All equations should be created in MathType (or the Microsoft Equation editor from Design Science). We strongly encourage authors to use MathType 6.7.

Note that LaTeX users can type LaTeX code directly into MathType for rendering in Word. Adherence to the above guidelines will significantly expedite the production of your paper.

Instructions for the preparation of a manuscript for Optics Express

Joseph Richardson,1,* Chris Videll,2 and Jennifer Martin2,3
Department of Peer Review, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA 2 Department of Editorial Services, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA 3 Currently with the Department of Electronic Journals, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA * xyx@osa.org
1

Abstract: Explicit and detailed rules are given for preparing a manuscript for Optics Express. After a general introduction and a summary of the basic requirements, specific guidelines are given for all major manuscript elements (such as abstract, headings, figures, tables, and references) to achieve optimal typographic quality. The use of complete and properly formatted references is particularly important.
2010 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (000.0000) General; (000.2700) General science.

References and links

1. P. J. Harshman, T. K. Gustafson, P. Kelley, Title of paper, J. Chem. Phys. 3, (to be published). 2. C. van Trigt, Visual system-response functions and estimating reflectance, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 14, 741-755 (1997). 3. K. Gallo and G. Assanto, All-optical diode based on second-harmonic generation in an asymmetric waveguide, J. Opt. Soc. B 16, 267-269 (1999). 4. B. R. Masters, "Three-dimensional microscopic tomographic imagings of the cataract in a human lens in vivo," Opt. Express 3, 332 (1998), http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-3-9-332. 5. B. R. Masters, Three-dimensional confocal microscopy of the human optic nerve in vivo, Opt. Express 3, 356 (1998), http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-3-10-356.

1. Introduction Adherence to the specifications listed in this style guide is essential for efficient review and publication of submissions. Since Optics Express paper are not routinely copyedited and typeset, use of the Optics Express macros and style guide is critical to providing a consistent appearance. Except for numbering and titling of sections, which may not be desirable for short articles, the Optics Express style and layout rules have been followed in this guide. Also note that there is a checklist available in Section 6 that summarizes the style specifications.

2. Page layout and length Paper size should be U.S. Letter, 21.505 cm x 27.83 cm (8.5 in. x 11 in.). The printing area should be set to 13.28 cm x 21.54 cm (5.25 in. x 8.5 in.); margins should be set for a 2.54-cm (1 in.) top and 4.11-cm (1.625 in.) left, right, and bottom. To maintain a rapid publication cycle, the recommended page length for an Optics Express article is 6 pages. Higher publication fees apply to articles 7-15 pages in length. There is an additional fee for manuscripts longer than 15 pages. 3. Software Optics Express accepts Word and TeX files. 4. Typographical style All fonts for text should be some version of Times New Roman. Text should be 10-pt., the title should be 18-pt., and the affiliation and references should be 8-pt. Do not add hyphenation at the end of a line. 4.1 Title Center the title. The title should be in 18-pt. bold font. Use initial cap for first word in title or for proper nouns. Use lowercase following colon. Title should not begin with an article or contain the words "first," "new" or "novel." 4.2 Author name Center author names in 10-pt. bold font. Author names should appear as used for conventional publication, with first and middle names or initials followed by surname. Every effort should be made to keep author names consistent from one paper to the next as they appear within OSA publications. 4.3 Author affiliation All authors and affiliations should be styled in the following below. If all authors share one affiliation, superscript numbers are not needed. The corresponding author will have an asterisk indicating footnote. All authors must be grouped together using superscripts to callout each affiliation. Hard returns (Enter key) must be used to separate each individual affiliation. Soft-returns (Shift + Enter key) should be use for line breaks within a single paragraph. Abbreviations should not be used. Center the e-mail address of author(s) directly below the affiliation. Please include the country at the end of the affiliation. Joseph Richardson,1,* Antoinette Wrighton,2 and Jennifer Martin2,3
Department of Peer Review, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA 2 Department of Editorial Services, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA 3 Currently with the Department of Electronic Journals, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA * xyx@osa.org Affiliation line with two e-mail addresses (only one for the corresponding author)
1

Joseph Richardson,1,* Antoinette Wrighton,2,4 and Jennifer Martin2,3

1

Department of Peer Review, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA

Department of Editorial Services, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA 3 Currently with the Department of Electronic Journals, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA 4 osa@osa.org * xyx@osa.org

4.4 Abstract Begin the section with the word Abstract: in bold print followed by a colon. Indent left and right margins 1.27 cm (0.5 in.). Font size should be 10-pt. and alignment double (left and right) justified. The abstract should be limited to approximately 100 words. It should be an explicit summary of the paper that states the problem, the methods used, and the major results and conclusions. It also should contain the relevant key words that would allow it to be found in a cursory computerized search. If the work of another author is cited in the abstract, a separate citation should be included in the body of the text. Do not include numbers, bullets, or lists inside the abstract. 4.5. Copyright The line immediately following the abstract should be 2007 Optical Society of America in 9-pt. type. Indentation should match the abstract, i.e., 1.27 cm (0.5 in.). Insert a 4-pt. space above and below the copyright line. See the first page of these instructions. 4.6 OCIS subject classification Optics Classification and Indexing Scheme (OCIS) subject classifications should be included at the end of the abstract. List the OCIS code in parenthesis, followed by the term spelled out; separate OCIS terms with semicolons. Each paper must contain two to six OCIS codes. Use 8pt. type for this line. For a complete list of OCIS codes, visit this site: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/submit/ocis/
OCIS codes: (260.1440) Birefringence; (050.1950) Diffraction gratings

4.7 Main text The first line of the first paragraph of a section or subsection should start flush left. The first line of subsequent paragraphs within the section or subsection should be indented 0.62 cm (0.2 in.). All main text should be alignment double (left and right) justified. Section headings may be numbered consecutively and consistently throughout the paper in Arabic numbers and typed in bold. Use an initial capital letter followed by lowercase, except for proper names, abbreviations, etc. Always start headings flush left. Do not include references to the literature, illustrations, or tables in headings. Insert a 6-pt. space above and below each section heading as shown in this paper. Subsection headings may be numbered consecutively in Arabic numbers to the right of the decimal point, with the section number to the left of the decimal point as shown in this paper. Subsection headings should be in italics, with an initial capital letter followed by lowercase, except for proper names, abbreviations, etc. Start subsection headings flush left. Do not include references to the literature, illustrations, or tables in headings. Create a 6-pt. space above and below each subsection heading as shown in this paper. Numbering of section headings and subsection headings is optional but must be used consistently throughout papers in which it is applied. 4.8 Equations The Express journals do not accept equations built using the Word 2007 Equation Builder. All equations should be created in MathType (or the Microsoft Equation editor from Design

Science). We strongly encourage authors to use MathType 6.7. Note that LaTeX users can type LaTeX code directly into MathType for rendering in Word. Equations should be centered, unless they are so long that less than 1 cm will be left between the end of the equation and the equation number, in which case they may run on to the next line. Equations should have a 6-pt. space above and below the text. Equation numbers should appear at the right-hand margin, in parenthesis. For long equations, the equation number may appear on the next line. For very long equations, the right side of the equation should be broken into approximately equal parts and aligned to the right of the equal sign. The equation number should appear only at the right hand margin of the last line of the equation:
b b 2 4ac . 2a

(1)

All equations should be numbered in the order in which they appear and should be referenced from within the main text as Eq. (1). In-line math of simple fractions should use parentheses when necessary to avoid ambiguity; for example, to distinguish between 1/(n 1) and 1/n 1. Exceptions to this are the proper fractions such as 1 , which are better left in this form. Summations and integrals that 2 n= 2 1 appear within text such as 1 n=1 (n 2 n) should have limits placed to the right of the 2 symbol to reduce white space. Use MS Word Equation Editor or MathType for in-text and display notation wherever possible. 4.9 References and links References should appear at the top of the article, below the abstract, in the order in which they are referenced in the body of the paper (see below). The font should be 8-pt. aligned left. Lines should be single-spaced. The words References and links should head the section (no number) in bold print followed by one blank line, directly above the first reference. Insert a 6pt. space above the References and links line. All references should be indented 0.5 cm (0.2 in), with succeeding lines indented sufficiently to preserve alignment. The references section should be delimited by horizontal rules above and below the section, separated by at least 6-pts. of white space from the text. Optics Express uses numerical notation in brackets for bibliographic citations. At the point of citation within the main text, designate the reference by typing the number in after the last corresponding word [1]. Reference numbers should proceed a comma or period [2]. Two references [3,4], should be included together, separated by a comma, while three or more consecutive references should be indicated by the bounding numbers and a dash [1-4]. Optics Express follows the following citation style: Journal paper For journal articles, authors are listed first, followed by the articles full title in quotes, the journals title abbreviation, the volume number in bold, inclusive page numbers, and the year in parentheses. Journal titles are required.
6. C. van Trigt, Visual system-response functions and estimating reflectance, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 14, 741-755 (1997).

Book For monographs in books, authors are listed first, followed by articles full title in quotes, the word in, followed by the book title in italics, the editors of the book in parenthesis, the publisher, city, year.
7. David F. Edwards, Silicon (Si), in Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids, E.D. Palik, ed. (Academic, Orlando, Fla., 1985).

Chapter in a book For citation of a book as a whole or book chapter, authors or editors are listed first, followed by title in italics, and publisher, city, and year in parenthesis. Chapter number may be added if applicable.
8. F. Ladouceur and J. D. Love, Silica-Based Buried Channel Waveguides and Devices (Chapman & Hall, 1995), Chap. 8.

Electronic citations Internet links may be included as references. Internet links should list the author, title (substitute file name, if needed), and the full URL (universal resource locator). Include the date of access, if relevant:
9. C. Gerry, Remarks on the use of group theory in quantum optics, Opt. Express 8, 76-85 (2001). http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-8-2-76. 10. Extreme Networks white paper, Virtual metropolitan area networks (Extreme Networks, 2001). http://www.extremenetworks.com/technology/whitepapers/vMAN.asp.

Paper in a published conference proceedings

11. R. E. Kalman, Algebraic aspects of the generalized inverse of a rectangular matrix, in Proceedings of Advanced Seminar on Genralized Inverse and Applications, M. Z. Nashed, ed. (Academic, San Diego, Calif., 1976), pp. 111-124.

Paper in unpublished conference proceedings

12. D. Steup and J. Weinzierl, Resonant THz-meshes, presented at the Fourth International Workshop on THz Electronics, Erlangen-Tennenlohe, Germany, 5-6 Sept. 1996.

For citation of proceedings, follow the individual format for SPIE, IEEE and OSA Proceedings: SPIE proceedings
13. G. D. Love, C. N. Dunlop, S. Patrick, C.D. Saunter, Horizontal turbulence measurements using SLODAR, Proc. SPIE 5891, 2732 (2005).

IEEE proceedings
14. T. Darrel and K. Wohn, "Pyramid based depth from focus," in Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, 1988), pp. 504-509.

OSA proceedings
15. G. Kalogerakis, M. E. Marhic, L. G. Kazovsky, and K. K. -Y. Wong, "Transmission of Optical Communication Signals by Distributed Parametric Amplification," in Conference on Lasers and ElectroOptics/Quantum Electronics and Laser Science and Photonic Applications Systems Technologies, Technical Digest (CD) (Optical Society of America, 2005), paper CTuT2. http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=CLEO-2005-CTuT2

Paper accepted for publication

16. D. Piao, "Cancelation of coherent artifacts in optical coherence tomography imaging," Appl. Opt. (to be published).

Manuscript in preparation
17. J. Q. Smith, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, N.Y. 14623, and K. Marshall are preparing a manuscript to be called "Optical effects in liquid crystals."

Personal communication
18. Barbara Williams, Editorial Department, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20036 (personal communication, 2001).

4.10 Acknowledgments Acknowledgments should be included at the end of the document. The section title should read Acknowledgments in 10-pt. bold font. The section title should not follow the numbering scheme of the body of the paper. The body of the section should follow the font and layout of the body of the paper (see Subsection 4.7 above). Please identify all appropriate funding sources by name and contract number in the Acknowledgment section. 5. Figures, multimedia and tables 5.1 Figures Figures should be included directly in the document. All photographs must be in digital form and placed appropriately in the electronic document. All illustrations must be numbered consecutively (i.e., not by section) with Arabic numbers. The size of a figure should be commensurate with the amount and value of the information conveyed by the figure. Authors must use one image file per figure. Figures must be inserted as objects that are fixed and move with the text, not as floating objects. Figures should never be placed in a table environment. All the figures should be centered, except for small figures no wider than 2.6 in. (6.6 cm), which may be placed side by side. Place figures as closely as possible to where they are mentioned in the text. No part of a figure should go beyond the typing area. The figure should not be embedded inside the text. All figure captions should be centered beneath the figure. Longer figure captions should be centered beneath the figure and alignment double (left and right) justified, but are not to exceed the left and right edge of the figure by more than 0.5 in. The abbreviation Fig. for figure should appear first followed by the figure number and a period. Captions should be in 8- pt. font. At least one line of space should be left before the figure and after the caption.

Fig. 1. Sample figure.

5.2 Multimedia OSA accepts multimedia filesvideo, tabular data, static illustrations, and other typesas a part of the manuscript to be peer-reviewed and published. Multimedia files should be submitted only if they provide a more efficient or effective presentation of the information and should not be included as merely "supplemental" data. To ensure consistent presentation, broad accessibility, and long-term archiving, please follow these guidelines on presentation.

Fig. 2. Single-frame excerpts from video recordings of metallic objects concealed by opaque plastic tape. (a) Utility blade (Media 1). (b) Dentist's pick (Media 2). (c) Paper clip (Media 3). (d) Plastic/wire tie twisted into the shape of a loop (Media 4). [Sample figure adapted from Opt. Lett. 33, 440 (2008).]

QuickTime Non-Streaming (.mov), AVI (.avi), and MPEG (.mpg) movies are accepted. There are a variety of software applications to aid in creating this file format. OSA accepts the following QuickTime compressor types: Video, Graphics, Animation, Motion JPEG, Cinepak, and Uncompressed/None. OSA does not accept the Indeo 5 compressor. The following multimedia guidelines will help with the submission process: 4 MB is the recommended maximum multimedia file size. Use one of the accepted compression codecs to minimize file sizes. 720 x 480 pixels (width by height) is the recommended screen size. Insert a representative frame from each movie in the manuscript as a figure. Videos must be playable using the free version of QuickTime on the Mac and PC. Animations must be formatted into a standard video file. Authors are advised that, in general, multimedia files should be kept to a size of 4 MB or smaller. If it is essential to the scientific quality of the paper to have files that are larger than this, two different versions of such multimedia files (usually video files) must be made. One version, less than 4 MB in size, will serve as a low-resolution or truncated version for readers who have slower network connections and cannot download the larger file. The other version can be up to 15 MB in size. Multimedia files larger than 15 MB can be linked from the References section, but they will not be a reviewed part of the paper, they will not be kept at OSA, and they will not be part of the archival paper. Please refer to the online style guide for more detailed instructions on acceptable multimedia formats for audio and tabular data. 5.3 Tables Tables should be centered and numbered consecutively. Authors must use Words Table editor to insert tables. Authors must not import tables from Excel. All content for each table should be in a single Word table (do not split content for a single table across multiple Word tables). Tables should use horizontal lines to delimit the top and bottom of the table and column headings. Detailed explanations or table footnotes should be typed directly beneath the table. Position tables as closely as possible to where they are mentioned in the main text.

Table 1. Optical Constants of Thin Films of Materialsa

83.4 nm Material Ir MgF2 Al Mo C

a

121.6 nm n 1.450 1.682 0.0424 0.78 1.85 k 1.040 0.0627 1.137 1.03 1.10

n 1.182 1.584 0.09874 0.98 1.16

K 0.865 0.487 0.1915 1.08 1.29

From Appl. Opt. 40, 1128 (2001).

6. Article Thumbnail Upload Authors have the option to upload a thumbnail image that will appear next to the published article on the Forthcoming, Current Issue, and Abstract pages. Authors must submit a .JPG file. The image will be resized automatically to 100 x 100 pixels. For best results, authors should upload an image this size or an image with square dimensions. The 100 x 100 pixel image will be displayed on the article abstract page and a 50 x 50 pixel image will be displayed on the Table of Contents page.

Fig. 3. Preview of thumbnail image display on the author submission page.

7. Summary Conforming to the specifications listed above is of critical importance to the speedy publication of a manuscript. Authors should use the following style guide checklist before submitting an article.
Table 2. Optics Express style guide checklist

Standard Page Text Area: 5.25 x 8.5 in.; Margins: 1 in. top, 1.625 in. left, right & bottom Type of Text Title Author Name Author Affiliation & Email address Abstract Copyright OCIS Codes Font Size (Points) 18 10 8 10 9 8 0.5 in. left/right 0.5 in. 0.5 in. Bold OCIS codes: Indent Alignment Center Center Center Justified Italic Bold Abstract: Notes Bold

Main Text First paragraph Subsequent paragraphs Section & Subsection Headings

10 None 0.2 in. 10 None

Justified

The first paragraph of a section or subsection is not indented. The first line of subsequent paragraphs is indented 0.2 in. Insert 6-pt. space above and below each heading. Section headers: Bold Subsection headers: Italic Eq. Number: right tab to end of last line of Eq., in parentheses. Bold References and links. Delimit with horizontal rules. Bold Acknowledgments

Left

Equations

10

None

Center

References and Links

0.2 in.

Left

Acknowledgments Figures Figure Captions Tables Table Heads

10

None

Justified Center

8 8 8

0.5 in left/right None None

Justified Center Center

Bold font. Long captions: indent 0.5 in. left/right.

Long heads follow table margins.

7. Conclusion After proofreading, the final step in submitting a manuscript to Optics Express is to go online at http://www.opticsexpress.org/submission, type in the requested information into the Optics Express online submission system, and then upload the Word file. For further instructions, please see the Optics Express Author Information pages.