Instructions for the preparation of a

manuscript for OSA express journals

AUTHOR ONE, 1 AUTHOR TWO, 2,* AND AUTHOR THREE 2,3
1
Peer Review, Publications Department, The Optical Society, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20036, USA

2
Publications Department, The Optical Society, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20036, USA

3
Currently with the Department of Electronic Journals, The Optical Society, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA

*[email protected]

Abstract: Updated 20 July 2016. Explicit and detailed rules are given for preparing a
manuscript for OSA express journals. 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. Adherence to
these guidelines will significantly expedite the production of your paper.
2016 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (000.0000) General; (000.2700) General Science.

References and links (see Section 4)

1. P. J. Harshman, T. K. Gustafson, and P. Kelley, Title of paper, J. Chem. Phys. 3, (to be published).
2. K. Gallo and G. Assanto, All-optical diode based on second-harmonic generation in an asymmetric
waveguide, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 16(2), 267269 (1999).
3. B. R. Masters, Three-dimensional microscopic tomographic imagings of the cataract in a human lens in vivo,
Opt. Express 3(9), 332338 (1998).
4. D. Yelin, D. Oron, S. Thiberge, E. Moses, and Y. Silberberg, Multiphoton plasmon-resonance microscopy,
Opt. Express 11(12), 13851391 (2003).

1. Introduction
Adherence to the specifications listed in this style guide is essential for efficient review and
publication of submissions.
OSA accepts Word and LaTeX submissions. 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 to
normalize, format, tag, update citations, and parse the file into full-
text XML.

Except for numbering and titling of sections, which may not be

desirable for short articles, the express journal style and layout
rules have been followed in this guide. There is a checklist available
in Section 8 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 3.3-cm
(1.3 in.) top and bottom and 4.11-cm (1.625 in.) left and right.
To maintain a rapid publication cycle, the recommended page
length for an express journal article is 6 pages. Higher publication
fees apply to articles 715 pages in length. There is an additional
per-page fee for manuscripts longer than 15 pages.

3. Typographical style
The title, author listing and all headers should be in Arial font. The rest of the text and body of
the article should be Times New Roman. Please see the checklist in Section 8 that summarizes
all of the style specifications.
3.1 Title
Left align the title. The title should be in 16-pt. bold Arial font. Kerning should be set to 16-
pt. and spacing expanded by 0.5 in. 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."
3.2 Author name
Left align author names in 12-pt. bold Arial font using small caps. Each express journal has
its own color for the author names. 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.
3.3 Author affiliation
All authors and affiliations should be styled in 9-pt. italic Times New Roman font. If all
authors share one affiliation, superscript numbers are not needed. The corresponding author
will have an asterisk correlating to an email address. All authors must be grouped together
using superscripts to callout each affiliation. Hard returns (Enter key) must be used to
separate each individual affiliation. Abbreviations should not be used. Please include the
country at the end of the affiliation.

AUTHOR ONE 1 AND AUTHOR TWO 2,*

1
Peer Review, Publications Department, Optical Society of America, Washington, DC 20036, USA

2
Publications Department, Optical Society of America, Washington, DC 20036, USA

*[email protected]

Option 1 for affiliation line with two email addresses (only one for the corresponding
author):
AUTHOR ONE 1,3 AND AUTHOR TWO 2,*
1
Peer Review, Publications Department, Optical Society of America, Washington, DC 20036, USA

2
Publications Department, Optical Society of America, Washington, DC 20036, USA

3
[email protected]

*[email protected]

Option 2 for affiliation line with two email addresses (no asterisk used to denote
corresponding authorship, implying that the two email addresses share corresponding
authorship equally):

AUTHOR ONE 1,3 AND AUTHOR TWO 2,4

1
Peer Review, Publications Department, Optical Society of America, Washington, DC 20036, USA

2
Publications Department, Optical Society of America, Washington, DC 20036, USA

3
[email protected]

4
[email protected]

4.4 Abstract
Begin the section with the word Abstract: in bold print followed by a colon. 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, that citation should be written out
without a number, [e.g., journal, volume, first page, and year (Opt.
Express 22, 1234 (2014).)], and a separate citation should be
included in the body of the text. The first reference cited in the
main text must be [1]. Do not include numbers, bullets, or lists
inside the abstract.

3.4 Copyright
The line immediately following the abstract should be in 8-pt. type.
2016 Optical Society of America

Please be sure to update this line with the appropriate publication year if needed. Insert a 4-pt.
space above and below the copyright line.
3.5 OCIS subject classification
Optics Classification and Indexing Scheme (OCIS) subject classifications should be included
at the end of the abstract. OCIS codes should be provided to help with indexing. 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 8-pt. type for this line.
Please avoid using OCIS codes (000.0000) General or (000.2700) General science, and
instead customize these codes to best represent the topics of your manuscript.
OCIS codes can be selected during upload. Follow the link for a
complete listing.

OCIS codes: (260.1440) Birefringence; (050.1950) Diffraction gratings

3.6 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.

3.7 Equations
The express journals do not accept equations built using the Word 2007 or 2010 Equation
Builder. All display equations should be created in MathType (or the Microsoft Equation
editor from Design Science). Inline equations can be created with these tools or by using
keyboard and Unicode characters where needed for the best quality line spacing. 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 b2 - 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 , which are better left in this form. Summations and
1 n 2
n - 2n
-1

2 n 1
integrals that appear within text such as should have
limits placed to the right of the symbol to reduce white space. Use
MathType, Design Science Equation Editor, or Unicode character
sets for in-text and display notation wherever possible.

4. 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 6-pt. 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.
OSA express journals use 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 precede 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 [14].
 The express journals follow 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, the issue number in Roman and
parenthesis, inclusive page numbers, and the year in parentheses. Journal titles are required.
Do not include DOIs in published journal citationsthese will be added post-publication.
1 C. van Trigt, Visual system-response functions and estimating reflectance, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 14(4), 741755
(1997).
5. S. Yerolatsitis, I. Gris-Snches, and T. A. Birks, Adiabatically-tapered fiber mode multiplexers, Opt. Express
22(1), 608617 (2014).

Journal paper identified by paper number

Do not provide the number of pages; the paper number is sufficient.
6. L. Rippe, B. Julsgaard, A. Walther, Y. Ying, and S. Krll, Experimental quantum-state tomography of a solid-
state qubit, Phys. Rev. A 77, 022307 (2008).

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 and year in parenthesis. Chapter number may be added if
applicable.
7. T. Masters, Practical Neural Network Recipes in C++ (Academic, 1993).
8. F. Ladouceur and J. D. Love, Silica-Based Buried Channel Waveguides and Devices (Chapman & Hall, 1995),
Chap. 8.

Article in a 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, and the publisher and
publication year in parenthesis.
9. D. F. Edwards, Silicon (Si), in Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids, E. D. Palik, ed. (Academic, 1985).

Paper in published conference proceedings

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

Paper published in OSA conference proceedings

11. R. Craig and B. Gignac, High-power 980-nm pump lasers, in Optical Fiber Communication Conference, Vol.
2 of 1996 OSA Technical Digest Series (Optical Society of America, 1996), paper ThG1.

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, 56 Sept. 1996.

SPIE proceedings
For later SPIE proceedings with a paper number, cite just the paper number and not any page
information.
13. S. K. Griebel, M. Richardson, K. E. Devenport, and H. S. Hinton, Experimental performance of an ATM-based
buffered hyperplane CMOS-SEED smart pixel array, Proc. SPIE 3005, 254256 (1997).
14. S. Gu, F. Shao, G. Jiang, F. Li, and M. Yu, An objective visibility threshold measurement method for
asymmetric stereoscopic images, Proc. SPIE 8205, 820505 (2011).

IEEE proceedings
15. T. Darrel and K. Wohn, Pyramid based depth from focus, in Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Computer
Vision and Pattern Recognition (IEEE, 1988), pp. 504509.

Paper accepted for publication

16. D. Piao, Cancelation of coherent artifacts in optical coherence tomography imaging, Appl. Opt. (to be
published).
17. D. W. Diehl and T. D. Visser, Phase singularities of the longitudinal field components in the focal region of a
high-aperture optical system, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A, doc. ID 56789 (posted 11 November 2005, in press).

Manuscript in preparation
18. 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
19. T. Miller, Publications Department, Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C., 20036 (personal communication, 2010).

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.
20. Extreme Networks white paper, Virtual metropolitan area networks, (Extreme Networks, 2001),
http://www.extremenetworks.com/technology/whitepapers/vMAN.asp.
21. A. G. Ramm, Invisible obstacles, http://www.arxiv.org/abs/math-ph/0608034.

5. Figures, supplementary materials, 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, embedded inside the text, or included within a list. All
the figures should be centered. No part of a figure should go
beyond the typing area. Place figures as closely as possible to
where they are mentioned in the text. Figures should be numbered
consecutively in the order of appearance and citation in the text. Be
sure to cite every figure.

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 Supplementary materials in OSA express journals

Most OSA journals allow authors to include supplementary materials as integral parts of a
manuscript. Such materials are subject to the same editorial standards and peer review
procedures along with the rest of the paper and should be uploaded and described using
OSAs Prism manuscript system.
Authors can submit appropriate visualizations or small data files
(see details below) for OSA to host. Large datasets and code or
simulation files can be included but must be placed in an
appropriate archival repository and cited as described here.

Table 1. Supplementary Materials Supported in OSA Journalsa

Visualizatio
2D image, 3D image, video
n
Data File Small data file such as data underlying a plot in a figure
Dataset Dataset stored in an appropriate external repository
Code or simulation files stored in an appropriate external
Code
repository

a
Optica allows authors to include a supplemental document that can contain additional text, equations, citations, etc.
(see Supplementary Materials in Optica for details). For all other OSA journals, supplemental text must be included
as appendices within the primary manuscript.

Video visualizations (formerly media files) are the most

commonly submitted type of supplementary materials for the
express journals. They typically illustrate a synopsis of research
results. They are integral and as such should be included only when
they convey essential information beyond what can be presented
within the article's PDF representation. Video visualizations should
be uploaded upon submission and peer-reviewed along with the
manuscript. Video files must use open compression standards for
display on broadly available applications such as VLC or Windows
Media Player. MOV, AVI, MPG, and MP4 video containers are
accepted. The following video guidelines will help with the
submission process:

1. 15 MB is the recommended maximum video file size.

2. 720 x 480 pixels (width by height) is the recommended

screen size.

3. If appropriate, insert a representative frame from the

video in the manuscript as a figure.

4. Minimize file size by using an acceptable codec such as

x264 or XviD. HandBrake is an open source tool for
converting video to common codecs.

5. Videos must be playable on all platforms using VLC.

6. Animations must be formatted into a standard video

container.
Visualizations must be associated with a figure, table, or
equation OR be referenced in the results section of the manuscript.
Use the label "Visualization" and the item number to identify the
visualization.

Fig. 5. Three traps create three rings of magnetic nanoparticles. The rings interact with one
another (see Visualization 3). [From Masajada et al., Opt. Lett. 38, 3910 (2013).]

Please refer to the Author Guidelines for Supplementary

Materials for more detailed instructions and other acceptable
supplementary material types.

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,
but not in a table cell. Table footnote labels should be text; numbers or special characters are
not permitted. Position tables as closely as possible to where they are mentioned in the main
text.

Table 2. Optical Constants of Thin Films of Materialsa

83.4 nm 121.6 nm
Material n K n k
Ir 1.182 0.865 1.450 1.040
MgF2 1.584 0.487 1.682 0.0627
Al 0.09874 0.1915 0.0424 1.137
Mo 0.98 1.08 0.78 1.03
C 1.16 1.29 1.85 1.10

a
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 Issue in Progress, Current Issue, and Abstract pages. Please note that if authors
do not choose a file, OSA Production Staff will choose an image from the submission. For
precise representation of an article, we recommend that authors choose and upload the
thumbnail image.
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.

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

7. Funding and Acknowledgments

Funding information should be listed in a separate block preceding any acknowledgments.
The section title should read Funding in 10-pt. bold Arial font. List just the funding
agencies and any associated grants or project numbers, as shown in the example below:
National Science Foundation (NSF) (1253236, 0868895, 1222301);
Program 973 (2014AA014402); Natural National Science Foundation
of China (NSFC) (123456).
OSA participates in Crossrefs Funding Data, a service that
provides a standard way to report funding sources for published
scholarly research. To ensure consistency, please enter any funding
agencies and contract numbers from the Funding section in Prism
during submission. Update any changes to your funding information
in Prism during any revision stages.
 Acknowledgments should be included at the end of the
document. The section title should read Acknowledgments in 10-
pt. bold Arial font. The section title should not follow the numbering
scheme of the body of the paper. Please do not include any funding
sources in the Acknowledgment section.

8. 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 3. Style guide checklist

Standard Page Text Area: 5.25 x 8.5 in.; Margins: 1.3 in. top and bottom, 1.625 in. left and right
Type of Text Font Font Size Alignment Notes
(Points)
Title Arial 16 Left Bold
Spacing expanded by 0.5 pts.
Kerning 16 pts
Author Name Arial 12 Left Bold
Use SMALL CAPS
Use journal color
Affiliation & Email Times New Roman 9 Left Italic

Abstract Times New Roman 10 Justified Bold Abstract: header

Copyright Times New Roman 8 Left

OCIS Codes Times New Roman 8 Left Bold OCIS codes: header
Main Text Times New Roman 10 Justified The first paragraph of a section or
First paragraph subsection is not indented. The
Subsequent paragraphs first line of subsequent paragraphs
is indented 0.2 in.
Section & Subsection Arial 10 Left Insert 6-pt. space above and
Headings below each heading.
Section headers: Bold
Subsection headers: Italic
Equations 10 Center Eq. Number: right tab to end of
last line of Eq., in parentheses.

References and Links Times New Roman 8 Left Bold References and links.
Delimit with horizontal rules.

Funding Times New Roman Justified Bold Funding section header

Acknowledgments Times New Roman 10 Justified Bold Acknowledgments

section header
Figures Center
Figure Captions Times New Roman 8 Justified Long captions: indent 0.5 in.
left/right.
Tables Times New Roman 8 Center Table 1. Bold table captions
Table Heads Times New Roman 8 Center Long heads follow table margins.