SPIE Journals Open Access

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Increased visibility

Open access papers are downloaded six times more on average than non-OA papers. More visibility gives greater possibility for increased citations.

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Dissemination of knowledge

Open Access enables free and rapid information exchange to help authors quickly reach a broad global audience.

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Satisfies funder requirements

SPIE complies fully with the open access requirements of UKRI, Wellcome, and NIHR, allowing authors the right to distribute their manuscript.


SPIE Journals Open Access Options

Gold Open Access

Gold open access means publication under an international Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, where the authors retain ownership of the copyright. Publishing a paper in one of SPIE's Gold Open Access journals will give you and your paper maximum visibility.

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

Not all research communities value open access publication in the same way, and for many journals, hybrid open access is the best of both worlds. By allowing you to choose open access only when you want it, you control how your research budget is spent. Choose immediate Green Open Access at no charge, or pay a reasonable article processing charge for Gold Open Access.

Diamond Open Access

Free to publish and free to read. Articles are published under a CC BY 4.0 license.

SPIE complies fully with the open access requirements of UKRI, Wellcome, and NIHR. Where required by their funder, authors retain the right to distribute their author-accepted manuscript (AAM), such as via an institutional and/or subject repository (e.g. EuropePMC), under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license for release no later than the date of first online publication.


Article Processing Charges (APCs)

Open Access Article Option Fee
Gold Open Access From $1675
Gold Open Access – Society Discount
  • Corresponding author is a Member of SPIE
  • Corresponding author is affiliated with an institution that subscribes to the SPIE Digital Library
  • Corresponding author is an SPIE journal board member or guest editor
25% Discount
Gold Open Access – Special Economic Consideration
$425
Green Open Access Free
Diamond Open Access Free

Note that only one discount can be applied per paper.

Waivers for special paper types: SPIE waives the open access fee on specific paper types, such as Reviews and Tutorials. See the table below for information about paper-type fee waivers specific to each journal.

Read and publish subscription option: Gives eligible authors at the institution unlimited open access publishing in all SPIE journals. Learn more and see if you qualify.


2024 Open access publishing options by journal

Advanced Photonics

Gold Open Access

APCs: $2100 / $1575 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Perspective Papers

License: CC BY 4.0

Advanced Photonics Nexus

Gold Open Access

APCs: Waived through July 2024

License: CC BY 4.0

Biophotonics Discovery (BIOS)

Gold Open Access

APCs: Waived through 2024

License: CC BY 4.0

Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (JARS)

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers

License: CC BY 4.0, SPIE Copyright

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems (JATIS)

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers

License: CC BY 4.0, SPIE Copyright

Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO)

Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers, Perspective Papers

License: CC BY 4.0

Journal of Electronic Imaging (JEI)

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers, Perspective Papers

License: CC BY 4.0, SPIE Copyright

Journal of Medical Imaging (JMI)

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers

License: CC BY 4.0, SPIE Copyright

Journal of Micro/Nanopatterning, Materials, and Metrology (JM3)

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers

License: CC BY 4.0, SPIE Copyright

Journal of Nanophotonics (JNP)

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers

License: CC BY 4.0, SPIE Copyright

Journal of Optical Microsystems (JOM)

Gold Open Access

APCs:  $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers

License: CC BY 4.0

Journal of Photonics for Energy (JPE)

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers

License: CC BY 4.0, SPIE Copyright

Neurophotonics journal cover

Neurophotonics

Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers, Perspective Papers, Primer Papers, Protocol Papers

License: CC BY 4.0

Optical Engineering (OE)

Hybrid – Green or Gold Open Access

APCs: $1675 / $1255 / $425

Fee Waivers: Review Papers, Tutorial Papers

License: CC BY 4.0, SPIE Copyright

Photonics Insights

Diamond Open Access

APCs: Free to publish

License: CC BY 4.0


Read and Publish option

SPIE Digital Library subscribing institutions have the option of converting their subscription to a Read and Publish agreement. Adding open access publishing gives eligible authors at the institution unlimited open access publishing in all SPIE journals.

Benefits for Authors:

  • Free unlimited open access publishing in all SPIE journals
  • Greater visibility for authors and their research
  • Satisfies funder mandates
  • Articles published under CC BY 4.0 license - authors retain ownership of copyright

Benefits for Institutions:

  • Straightforward pricing based on past publishing output
  • Greater visibility for the institution
  • One annual fee
  • Only the corresponding author must be affiliated with the institution

Institutions with Read and Publish agreements with SPIE (by country):

University of New South Wales (UNSW)

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.

Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg
DESY-Zentralbibliothek
Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt, Bibliothek
Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
DKFZ – Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum
Fachhochschulbibliothek Muenster
Fraunhofer Institutes
Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg (FAU)
Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen
Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften München
Hochschule Heilbronn - Bibliothek
Hochschule Muenchen
IHP GmbH - Leibniz-Institut für Innovative Mikroelektronik
INM - Leibniz-Institut fuer Neue Materialien (INM)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT
Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)
Max Planck Institute
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bibliothek (PTB)
Saxon State and University Library / Technische Universität Dresden (SLUB)
Technische Hochschule Deggendorf
Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm
Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe - S(kim)
Technische Informationsbibliothek Hannoverm (TIB)
Technische Universität Ilmenau
TH Mittelhessen, Hochschulbibliothek
Universitaet Stuttgart, Bibliothek
Universitaet Rostock / Universitaetsbibliothek

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)

Tokyo Denki University
Tokyo Institute of Technology

Eindhoven University of Technology
Delft University of Technology
Univ. of Twente
Univ. of Amsterdam

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

University Politècnica de Catalunya

Chalmers University of Technology
Gothenburg University Library
Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan (KTH)
Linkoping University
Lulea Univ. of Technology
Lund University
Mid Sweden University
Swedish Defence Research Agency
Swedish Patent and Registration Office
Uppsala University

Aston University
The Open University
University of Bath
University of Cambridge
University of Liverpool

Carnegie Mellon University
Chapman University
JPL Library
Syracuse University
The University of Chicago
The University of Texas at Dallas
University of Michigan
Vanderbilt University

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