Special Issues

Photonics publishes Special Issues to create collections of papers on specific topics, with the aim of building a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Special Issues are led by Guest Editors, who are experts on the topic and all Special Issue submissions follow MDPI's standard editorial process. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief and/or designated Editorial Board Member will oversee Guest Editor appointments and Special Issue proposals, checking their content for relevance and ensuring the suitability of the material for the journal. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website. Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies and Guest Editor responsibilities can be found here. For any inquiries related to a Special Issue, please contact the Editorial Office.

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New Perspectives in Biomedical Optics and Optical Imaging
edited by , Xiong Wang and Shuangli Liu
submission deadline 10 May 2026 | 8 articles | Viewed by 29106 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical imaging; terahertz imaging; photoacoustic imaging; photobiomodulation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics)
Advanced Optical Fiber Sensors for Harsh Environment Applications
edited by Qi Zhang and
submission deadline 10 May 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 17196 | Submission Open
Keywords: fiber-optic sensor; fiber-optic sensing technology; advanced manufacturing technique; structural health monitoring; single-point sensing; ai for optical fiber sensing; distributed sensing; environmental monitoring; harsh environment sensing technique
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Bound States in the Continuum in Photonics, Plasmonics, and Terahertz Technology
edited by and Fu Deng
submission deadline 10 May 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3249 | Submission Open
Keywords: bound states in the continuum; optical field enhancement; light-matter interaction; polarization manipulation; metamaterial; nonlinear effect; photonic device; plasmonic device; terahertz device
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
The Principle and Application of Photonic Metasurfaces
edited by
submission deadline 15 May 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 5245 | Submission Open
Keywords: photonic metasurfaces; principle; application; light manipulation; imaging; sensing; communication; design; fabrication; photonics medicine; optical/photonics devices and system; AI technology
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Advancements in Terahertz Metamaterial Optics, Devices, and Applications
edited by , Zhang Zhang and
submission deadline 15 May 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 5122 | Submission Open
Keywords: plasmonics; THz metasurfaces; biosensing and biosensors; optofluidics; THz photodetectors; dynamic modulators; terahertz non-destructive test
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Long-Wave Infrared Lasers and Applications
edited by Zhiyong Li and
submission deadline 15 May 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 938 | Submission Open
Keywords: long-wave infrared; nonlinear optical frequency conversion; quantum cascade laser; laser annealing; single frequency; wavelength stability; transmission; high peak power
Breakthroughs in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes: Materials, Devices, and Applications
edited by Mangey Ram Nagar and
submission deadline 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 341 | Submission Open
Keywords: thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF); hyperfluorescent emitters; hybridized local and charge-transfer (HLCT) emitters; organic semiconductors; host– guest systems; exciton management; high-efficiency OLEDs; color purity and stability; solution-processed OLEDs; vacuum-deposited OLEDs; charge-transport layers; device engineering and architecture; flexible and transparent OLEDs; display and lighting applications; degradation mechanisms in OLEDs
High-Power Laser Physics and Technology: From Fundamental Strong-Field Interactions to Industrial Applications
edited by , and
submission deadline 19 May 2026 | Viewed by 228 | Submission Open
Keywords: high-power laser; strong-field physics; petawatt laser systems; OPCPA; laser-driven acceleration; attosecond science; industrial micromachining; plasma X-ray sources; coherent beam combining; laser-fusion technology
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Photonic Crystals: Physics and Devices, 2nd Edition
edited by and
submission deadline 20 May 2026 | 7 articles | Viewed by 12651 | Submission Open
Keywords: nanophotonics; topological photonics; photonic crystals; photonic band gaps; metamaterials; metasurfaces; subwavelength gratings; resonances; bound states in the continuum; Goos– Hä nchen shift; photonic spin Hall effect; polaritons; devices
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Advances in Interferometric Optics and Applications
edited by Shanzhi Tang and
submission deadline 20 May 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 7753 | Submission Open
Keywords: novel method for optical interferometer; laser heterodyne/homodyne interferometer; grating interferometer; picometer/nanometer-level dimensional metrology; interferometric optical component; optomechanical design; optic– electronic detection techniques; data processing
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Advances in Raman Spectroscopy
edited by Jeewan C. Ranasinghe
submission deadline 20 May 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 965 | Submission Open
Keywords: Raman spectroscopy; surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS); tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS); coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS); graphene-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (GERS); nanomaterials in spectroscopy; machine learning for spectral analysis; multimodal spectroscopy; biomedical and environmental applications
Photonic Metasurfaces: Advances and Applications
edited by
submission deadline 20 May 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 835 | Submission Open
Keywords: multidimensional optical modulation; structural color; polarimetry and polarization imaging; biosensing metasurface; metalens; multispectral/hyperspectral imaging; augmented/virtual reality optics via metasurface; edge detection; structural light
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Spectroscopy of Hot Atomic Vapor
edited by Thierry Passerat De Silans, and João Carlos de Aquino Carvalho
submission deadline 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 347 | Submission Open
Keywords: hot vapors as sensors; lights scattering by hot vapors; coherent effects; non-linear optics; quantum manipulations; Rydberg atoms
Advances in Meta-Devices and Their Applications
edited by and Zhiyong Li
submission deadline 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 190 | Submission Open
Keywords: on-chip-integrated devices; meta-devices; metamaterial; metasurface and metalens; wavefront shaping; inverse design; nanofabrication
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Advanced Optical Fiber Communication
edited by , Fang Wei and
submission deadline 25 May 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 2575 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical fibers; space-division multiplexing; coherent detection; digital signal processing; intelligent optical networks; advanced modulation formats; high-capacity optical communication; optical amplifiers
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Advanced Fiber Laser Technology and Its Application: 2nd Edition
edited by , Peng Liu, , Shanzhe Wang, Jun He and Yanwen Jiang
submission deadline 28 May 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1854 | Submission Open
Keywords: simulations and studies of fiber laser dynamics; temporal and modal fluctuations; mode-locked; Q-switched and Gain-switched fiber lasers; continuous wave fiber lasers; single-cycle fiber lasers and fiber-laser-based Frequency Combs; nonlinearity-based fiber lasers (Raman; Brillouin; supercontinuum; etc.); high-energy pulsed fiber lasers; high-power fiber lasers; including multiple laser combining; single-frequency fiber lasers; multi-wavelength fiber lasers; multi-core fiber lasers (coherent; incoherent); novel fiber materials and structures for fiber lasers; micro/nano structure fabrication; lasers for biophotonics; robotics; machine vision and microscopy
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Advanced Technologies in Biophotonics and Medical Physics
edited by , and
submission deadline 30 May 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 9574 | Submission Open
Keywords: photoacoustic imaging and spectroscopy; optical coherent tomography; laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy; biomedical optics and biophotonics; X-ray-induced acoustic computed tomography; radiation-induced ultrasound imaging; biological and medical physics; basic research and translational research.
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics)
Advances in Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors: Materials, Designs and Applications
edited by
submission deadline 30 May 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 7972 | Submission Open
Keywords: polymer; polymer optical fibers; fiber sensors; surface Plasmon resonance; gratings; optical time-domain reflectometry
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Terahertz Photonics: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives
edited by Ziqi Li
submission deadline 30 May 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 7178 | Submission Open
Keywords: THz sources; THz-TDS; optical pump THz probe; THz pump; THz spintronics; THz detectors; THz devices; THz sensors; THz imaging
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Advanced Photonic Sensing Technologies for Optical Fiber Devices
edited by Shuhui Liu and
submission deadline 30 May 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3415 | Submission Open
Keywords: novel fiber structures and materials; environmental; industrial; and biomedical sensing applications; quantum sensing technologies using optical fibers; distributed and multiplexed sensing; nonlinear and multifunctional fiber sensors; fiber-based LIDAR and remote sensing
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Optical Materials: Novel Properties and Engineering for Future Photonic Devices
edited by Degui Sun
submission deadline 30 May 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1324 | Submission Open
Keywords: isotropic optical material; anisotropic optical material; integrated optics; polarization; application
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Optical Materials in Laser Cleaning
edited by and
submission deadline 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 286 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical materials; high-power laser; ultrafast laser; optical path design; machine vision; theoretical model; new cleaning process; multi online monitoring; engineering application
New Perspectives in Laser Nonlinearity: Phenomena, Theory, and Breakthroughs
edited by and
submission deadline 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 182 | Submission Open
Keywords: material (such as 2D materials; thin film; meta-materials) nonlinearities and their applications; novel nonlinear phenomena; nonlinearity in quantum optics; advances in nonlinear optics theory and methods; nonlinear properties with structured light
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Light-Emitting Diodes: Technology, Advances, Challenges and Applications submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 13361 | Submission Open
Keywords: light-emitting diodes (LEDs); advanced semiconductor materials for LEDs; luminescent materials for LEDs; thermal management of LEDs; optimization of LED materials and construction; optimization of LED systems; energy efficiency of LEDs; UV-VIS-NIR LED applications (e.g.; lighting; medicine; sensors); sustainability of LEDs (materials; technology; and applications); LED recycling and lifecycle analysis
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Optical Fiber Sensors: Design and Application
edited by Yiwei Ma, Zicheng Wang and Jing Zhang
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 7 articles | Viewed by 9867 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical fiber sensors; optical fiber sensing; optical fiber gyro; optical fiber gratings; optical data processing; photonic material; structure-modulated fiber sensor; signal processing; microstructure fiber sensors
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Advances in Micro and Nano-Photonics: Emerging Materials and Applications
edited by Nikita Toropov, Aneesh Veluthandath and Maria Mukhina
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 9683 | Submission Open
Keywords: nanoparticle; microparticle; emission; laser; chirality; anisotropy; sensor; diagnostics; biomedicine; light-matter interaction; optical manipulation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Optical Measurement Systems, 2nd Edition submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 6729 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical measurement; laser technology; quantum optics; precision measurement; instrumentation and metrology; phase measurement; photonic devices for sensing and measurements; computational optical measurement; industrial applications; medical diagnostics
(This special issue belongs to the Section New Applications Enabled by Photonics Technologies and Systems)
Infrared Optoelectronic Materials and Devices
edited by Lihua Ye
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2780 | Submission Open
Keywords: infrared optoelectronic materials; infrared lasers; infrared emitters; infrared modulators; infrared detectors; infrared integrated photonics; infrared metamaterials; infrared metasurfaces; infrared optical fibers; infrared sensing
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Ultrafast Dynamics Probed by Photonics and Electron-Based Techniques
edited by Duan Luo
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 2151 | Submission Open
Keywords: ultrafast dynamics; time-resolved spectroscopy; ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy; ultrafast X-ray techniques; nonequilibrium states; multiscale spatiotemporal characterization; quantum materials and heterostructures; in situ excitation methods
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
High-Speed Optical Fiber Communication
edited by , and
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 980 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical fibers; optical fiber communication; laser optics; optical sensors; measurement; integrated optics; nonlinear optics; optoelectronics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Advances in Fiber Optics and Their Applications
edited by Qiang Guo
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 851 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical fiber; fiber gratings; optical fiber sensors; radiotherapy dosimetry; optical fiber application; photonics; fiber laser
Innovation in Optical Design
edited by Lei Yu
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 529 | Submission Open
Keywords: design theory and method; optical system; freeform optics; computational optics
Next-Generation Nano-Optoelectronics: Materials, Devices, and Systems
edited by and
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 435 | Submission Open
Keywords: nano-optoelectronics; quantum devices; 2D materials; plasmonic detectors; nano-LEDs; hybrid photonics; quantum emitters
Computational Imaging
edited by , Xiaoli Ma and Fan Chu
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 434 | Submission Open
Keywords: computational cameras hyperspectral computational imaging; computational microscopy super-resolution techniques; photonics in medical and biomedical imaging applications
Free-Space Optical Communications: Latest Advances and Prospects
edited by Lei Yang and Yueying Zhan
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 264 | Submission Open
Keywords: free space optical communications; optical wireless communication; atmospheric turbulence; adaptive optics; satellite communication; hybrid RF/FSO; pointing-acquisition-tracking (PAT)
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Optical Levitation: Physics and Applications
edited by
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 228 | Submission Open
Keywords: feedback cooling of levitated micro- or nanoparticles; launching strategy; real-time trapped particle characterization; novel displacement calibration method; quantum ground state cooling in levitated system; force/acceleration/torque sensing based on levitated optomechanics
Advanced Optothermal and Optical Trapping and Manipulation: From Microscale Interfaces to Applications
edited by , Rafael Zaca Móran and Arturo Guzmán Barraza
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 208 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical trapping; optothermal trapping; Marangoni effect; thermal gradients; microparticles; microbubbles
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Fundamentals and Design of Micro/Nano Photonic Devices
edited by Taojie Zhou and Guohong Xiang
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 152 | Submission Open
Keywords: micro/nano photonics; photonic crystals; integrated photonics; plasmonics; metasurfaces; micro- and nanocavities; topological photonics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Advanced Technologies in Optical Wireless Communications—2nd Edition
edited by , Chengwei Fang, and
submission deadline 1 Jun 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 3430 | Submission Open
Keywords: free-space optical (FSO) communication; visible light communication (VLC) and LiFi; underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC); system design and signal processing; devices and components
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Photonics Enabled by Plasmonic Metamaterials: Recent Developments and Future Directions
edited by Weijie Kong
submission deadline 1 Jun 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 853 | Submission Open
Keywords: plasmonic; metamaterial; metasurface; super-resolution; subwavelength; nanolithography; nanofabrication; ultraviolet; quantum; spectroscopy; sensing
Artificial Intelligence for Label-Free Imaging and Spectroscopy in the Life Sciences
edited by Arianna Bresci
submission deadline 1 Jun 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 717 | Submission Open
Keywords: artificial intelligence; biphotonics; label-free imaging; machine learning; microscopy; spectroscopy; optical biosensing; data-driven photonics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics)
Electromagnetic Solutions for Thermal Management and Sustainability
edited by Chenghao Wan
submission deadline 1 Jun 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 554 | Submission Open
Keywords: radiative cooling; metasurfaces; thermophotovoltaics; thermal management; sustainable photonics; microwave heating; wireless power; energy harvesting; metamaterials; green communications
(This special issue belongs to the Section New Applications Enabled by Photonics Technologies and Systems)
Optical Waveguides: Numerical Methods, Mathematical Modeling, and AI Techniques
edited by Eugene Smolkin
submission deadline 10 Jun 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 2119 | Submission Open
Keywords: numerical modeling; optical waveguides; finite element method; finite difference method; computational photonics; mathematical modeling; AI in photonics; machine learning in waveguide design; signal processing in waveguides; predictive modeling
Challenges and Future Directions in Adaptive Optics Technology, 2nd Edition
edited by Ping Yang, and Xinlan Ge
submission deadline 10 Jun 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 1894 | Submission Open
Keywords: adaptive optics; wavefront sensing; wavefront correction; wavefront shaping; optical metrology; optical communication; machine learning; atmospheric; oceanic or biomedical optics
Photoluminescence: Advances and Applications
edited by Vijayalakshmi Lakkamraju
submission deadline 10 Jun 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 949 | Submission Open
Keywords: photoluminescence; rare-earth and transition-metal-doped materials; quantum dots and nanostructures; perovskite photophysics; energy transfer and defect engineering; optical amplifiers and lasers; light-emitting diodes (LEDs); biomedical imaging and sensing; solar energy conversion; advanced spectroscopic techniques
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Optical Metasurfaces: Applications and Trends submission deadline 15 Jun 2026 | 9 articles | Viewed by 15989 | Submission Open
Keywords: achromatic metalenses; phase-tuning metasurfaces; optoelectronic co-designs in metadevices; metasurface holography; diffractive– refractive optics; wide-angle metalens designs; off-axis metalens imaging; optical metasurfaces in AR/VR; broadband infrared metalenses; metasurface-based computing imaging; metasurfaces as vortex beam generators
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications
edited by and Jian Huang
submission deadline 15 Jun 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 6124 | Submission Open
Keywords: free space optical communication; acquisition; tracking and pointing; laser propagation; adaptive optics; free space optical network
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Advances and Challenges in Free-Space Optics
edited by
submission deadline 15 Jun 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 907 | Submission Open
Keywords: FSO; channel modeling; laser; photodetectors; turbulence suppression; quantum optical communication
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Light Emitting Devices: Science and Applications submission deadline 15 Jun 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 878 | Submission Open
Keywords: light-emitting diodes (LEDs); quantum light sources; multi-color emission; 2D semiconductors; photonics applications; single-photon emitters; nanostructured LEDs; optoelectronic devices; visible light communication; advanced light sources
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Intelligent Medical Optical Imaging: From Multimodal Sensing to Precision Reconstruction
edited by and
submission deadline 15 Jun 2026 | Viewed by 283 | Submission Open
Keywords: multimodal optical imaging; deep learning in medical imaging; photoacoustic imaging; fluorescence imaging; optical coherence tomography (OCT); image reconstruction algorithms; generative adversarial networks (GANs); surgical navigation; precision medicine; adaptive optics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics)
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