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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Ultrafast Optics: From Fundamental Dynamics to Transformative Technologies
edited by Yizhou Liu and Kong Gao
submission deadline 15 Jul 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 4554
Keywords: ultrafast optics; ultrafast lasers; femtosecond dynamics; strong-field physics; nonlinear optics; ultrafast laser–matter interaction; optical imaging; novel optical interactions; advanced laser technologies
THz Spectroscopy: New Trends and Applications
edited by Mihaela Bojan, , Iuliana Urzică and
submission deadline 15 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 1071
Keywords: THz spectroscopy; terahertz imaging; ultrafast dynamics; non-destructive testing; advanced materials; biological applications; security applications; environmental monitoring; novel THz sources
Photodetector Devices and Emerging Technologies
edited by Haroldo T. Hattori, Andrey E. Miroshnichenko and As’ham Khalil
submission deadline 15 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 498
Keywords: photodetectors; opto-electronic materials; quantum sensors
New Progress in Infrared Detector
edited by
submission deadline 15 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 465
Keywords: infrared detectors; light coupling manipulation; low-dimensional detection materials; integrated multi-mode infrared detection; polarimetric imaging; spectral imaging
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Emerging Optical Technologies for 6G Space-Borne Communication Networks
edited by and Qifu Sun
submission deadline 15 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 316
Keywords: 6G and beyond; non-terrestrial networks (NTN); space-borne communication networks; optical wireless communications (OWC); free-space optical communications (FSO); optical transceivers and photonic technologies; integrated sensing and communications (ISAC); coding, modulation, and information theory for space networks; quantum communications and quantum key distribution (QKD); system design, testbeds, prototyping, and experimental validation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Advances in 3OM: Opto-Mechatronics, Opto-Mechanics, and Optical Metrology, 2nd Edition
edited by , Constantin Daniel Comeagă, Marija Strojnik and
submission deadline 20 Jul 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 10345 | Submission Open
Keywords: 3OM; opto-mechatronics; opto-mechanics; optical metrology; optical devices; optical systems; laser scanners; imaging techniques; optical coherence tomography (OCT); non-destructive testing (NDT); analytic approaches; numerical simulations; finite element analysis (FEA); experimental studies; sensors and control structures
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
High-Power Fiber Lasers, 2nd Edition
edited by
submission deadline 20 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 326 | Submission Open
Keywords: ytterbium-doped fiber laser; fiber laser oscillator; fiber laser amplifier; multi cladding fiber; transverse mode instability; nonlinear effect; single-frequency fiber laser; narrow-linewidth fiber laser; pulsed fiber laser; quasi-continuous-wave fiber laser
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Optical Systems for Next-Generation Lidar Technology
edited by Qingyan Li
submission deadline 20 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 266 | Submission Open
Keywords: LiDAR; laser communication; optical system design
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Emerging Technologies and Applications in Fiber Optic Sensing
edited by and
submission deadline 30 Jul 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 9141 | Submission Open
Keywords: fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs); distributed acoustic sensing (DAS); distributed temperature sensing (DTS); fiber lasers; fiber optic devices; specialty optical fiber; fiber micromachining techniques; smart sensing systems; industrial IoT
Deep Ultraviolet Detection Materials and Devices
edited by , and Weizong Xu
submission deadline 30 Jul 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3289 | Submission Open
Keywords: III-V semiconductors (GaN, etc.); SiC materials and devices; AlN crystals and templates; BN growth and fundamental properties ; heterostructure physics ; first-principles calculation; deep UV photodetectors; diamonds materials and devices; gallium oxide materials and devices
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Optical Fiber Sensing: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives, 2nd Edition
edited by
submission deadline 30 Jul 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1658 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical fiber sensor; optical fiber sensing; fiber Bragg gratings; specialty optical fiber; photonics crystal fiber; characterization; optical fiber design; fiber fabrication; power delivery; fiber laser; optoelectronics; structural health monitoring
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Emerging Trends in Optical Fiber Technology
edited by and Xixin Wang
submission deadline 30 Jul 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1330 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical fiber; optical fiber communication; optical fiber sensing; optical signal processing; quantum communication; integrated optical chip; photonic crystal fiber
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Emerging Technologies and Future Directions in Optical Frequency Combs
edited by
submission deadline 30 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 238 | Submission Open
Keywords: next-generation frequency comb sources; applications in quantum technologies; dual-comb spectroscopy and its expanding horizons; astrophysics and space applications; metrology and timing systems
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
AI for Photonics: Intelligent Imaging, Learning-Driven Optics, and Photonic Computing submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 8 articles | Viewed by 8035 | Submission Open
Keywords: AI for photonics and learning-driven optics; inverse design and differentiable photonics; adaptive optics and wavefront sensing or shaping; digital holography and computational imaging; lensless and fiber endomicroscopy; optical tomography and quantitative phase imaging; optical neural networks and photonic computing; nonlinear optics and high-power or solid-state lasers; stimulated Brillouin scattering and Raman sensing; physics-informed machine learning and digital twins
(This special issue belongs to the Section Data-Science Based Techniques in Photonics)
Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Photonics Sensors—2nd Edition submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 2957 | Submission Open
Keywords: fiber optic sensors; interferometric sensors ; resonance-based sensors ; plasmonic sensors ; fluorescence ; luminescence ; absorption ; spectroscopy ; physical and mechanical sensors ; chemical sensors and biosensors ; nanostructured materials and coatings; microfluidics ; lab on chip ; artificial intelligence and machine learning for sensing
Advances in Biomedical Optical Imaging: Advances, Technologies, and Emerging Applications
edited by Naresh Kumar Ravichandran and
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1764 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical coherence tomography (OCT); multiphoton microscopy (MPM); widefield and confocal fluorescence microscopy (FM); photoacoustic imaging (PAI); hyper- and multispectral imaging (HSI, MSI); structured illumination microscopy (SIM); super-resolution optical imaging; raman and Brillouin imaging; label-free and functional optical imaging; artificial intelligence and computational imaging; optical biosensors and biophotonics; clinical and preclinical optical imaging; multimodal and hybrid imaging systems; endoscopic and miniaturized optical imaging; cell and molecular imaging; 3D tumor and cancer imaging and analysis; advances in biomarkers; real-time optical imaging for surgery and diagnosis
Advances in Spin-Orbit Coupling of Light
edited by and
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1291 | Submission Open
Keywords: light–matter interactions; spin–orbit coupling; optical skyrmions; propagation; scattering polarization manipulation; Goos–Hänchen shift; spin Hall effect of light; spatiotemporal vortices; optical geometric phase
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Exploring the Optical Solitons in Fiber Optics: Fundamental Concepts, Computational Approaches, and Broad Applications
edited by Usman Younas and Shafqat Ur Rehman
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 657 | Submission Open
Keywords: nonlinear optics; soliton dynamics; nonlinear wave phenomena
Recent Progress in Integrated Photonics, 2nd Edition
edited by
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 586 | Submission Open
Keywords: integrated photonics; photonic integration; quantum photonics; photonic devices; photonic materials; telecommunications; hybrid integration; data processing; sensing technologies
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Hybrid RF/Optical Wireless Solutions for Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial 6G Networks
edited by
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 405 | Submission Open
Keywords: hybrid RF/FSO communication; optical wireless communication (OWC); non-terrestrial networks (NTN); UAV/HAPS/satellite communications; mobility management; beamforming and beam management; reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS); optical; AI/ML for 6G hybrid networks; channel modeling and turbulence mitigation; sustainable 6G systems; quantum communication and security
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
New Advances in Optical Wireless Communication, 2nd Edition
edited by Xiaolin Zhou
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 273 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical wireless communications; signal processing; channel estimation; optical devices
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
New Insights in Integrated Quantum Photonics
edited by Mostafa Khalil
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 236 | Submission Open
Keywords: integrated quantum photonics; quantum optical microcombs; quantum dot lasers; quantum encryption; on-chip entangled photon pair sources; high-dimensional quantum key distribution; quantum optical frequency comb
(This special issue belongs to the Section Quantum Photonics and Technologies)
Recent Progress in Silicon Photonics
edited by and
submission deadline 1 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1793 | Submission Open
Keywords: integrated photonic circuits; fiber optics communication; modulators; detectors; power splitters; polarization management; WDM; heterogeneous and hybrid integration; advanced packaging; fiber-to-chip coupling; design automation; quantum computing; photonics computing; sensing; LiDAR; transceivers
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Advanced Nonlinear Optics in Ultrafast Lasers: From Novel Materials to System Applications
edited by , and Penglai Guo
submission deadline 1 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 727 | Submission Open
Keywords: ultrafast laser technology; mode-locked fiber lasers; saturable absorber materials; optical soliton dynamics; laser system applications
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Optical Atomic Clocks: Progress, Applications and Fundamental Physics
edited by Matteo Barbiero and
submission deadline 10 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 5091 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical frequency standard; optical atomic clock; frequency stability; uncertainty; physics beyond standard model; quantum precision measurement
(This special issue belongs to the Section Quantum Photonics and Technologies)
Non-Hermitian Photonics for Enhanced Light Control and Sensing
edited by and
submission deadline 10 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1792 | Submission Open
Keywords: non-Hermitian photonics; exceptional point sensing; chiral mode conversion; quantum photonics; light control; photonic sensors; non-Hermitian systems
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Recent Progress in Terahertz Radar Imaging
edited by and
submission deadline 10 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1277 | Submission Open
Keywords: terahertz radar; terahertz imaging; terahertz video SAR; terahertz 3D imaging; target detection and tracking; terahertz device; terahertz antenna; terahertz detector
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Next-Generation Optical Networks for 5G, 6G, and Beyond submission deadline 10 Aug 2026 | Viewed by 901 | Submission Open
Keywords: 5G and beyond; 6G; dynamic bandwidth allocation; network slicing; fiber-to-everything (FTTx); optical fronthaul; backhaul; energy-efficient networks; photonic technologies; AI-driven network management
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Optical Imaging and Measurements: 2nd Edition
edited by Zixin Zhao, and
submission deadline 15 Aug 2026 | 8 articles | Viewed by 13684 | Submission Open
Keywords: three-dimensional imaging; phase imaging; polarization imaging; computational optical imaging; optical coherence tomography; digital holography; speckle interferometry; optical triangulation measurements
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Recent Advancements in Tunable Laser Technology
edited by Dário Machado Garcia
submission deadline 15 Aug 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 11665 | Submission Open
Keywords: tunable lasers; optical communication; coupled resonator; spectral control; optical tuning; laser spectroscopy; laser devices
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Advancements in Optical Measurement Techniques and Applications
edited by and Juan Zhao
submission deadline 15 Aug 2026 | 9 articles | Viewed by 11091 | Submission Open
Keywords: applications of optical measurement; optical sensors and instrumentation; advances in spectroscopy and imaging; optical metrology in manufacturing and industry; environmental monitoring using optical methods; optical measurement in telecommunications; optical applications in ocean exploration; applications of optical measurements in the life sciences; optical measurements for space research; integration of optical measurement techniques with other technologies
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Optical Signal Processing for Advanced Communication Systems
edited by Weile Zhai
submission deadline 15 Aug 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 5246 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical fiber; microwave photonics; communication system; integrated sensing and communication; secure communication
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Optical Fiber Sensors: Recent Progress and Future Prospects
edited by and
submission deadline 15 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 4389 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical fiber sensors; surface plasmon resonance ; photonic sensors; fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs); long period gratings (LPGs); interferometric optical fiber devices; fluorescent sensors; light diffuser-integrated sensors; evanescent wave sensors; fiber laser sensors
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Super-Resolution Optical Microscopy: Science and Applications
edited by and
submission deadline 15 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2049 | Submission Open
Keywords: super-resolution microscopy; single-molecule localization microscopy; structured illumination microscopy; stimulated emission depletion microscopy; DNA-PAINT; expansion microscopy; multimodal imaging
(This special issue belongs to the Section New Applications Enabled by Photonics Technologies and Systems)
Liquid Crystals in Photonics II
edited by , and Tiegang Lin
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 8003 | Submission Open
Keywords: liquid crystals; photonics; AR/VR; LCD; optical communication; sensors; laser technology; electronic devices; computational optics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
The Interaction between Photonics and Machine Learning
edited by and
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3444 | Submission Open
Keywords: computational optics and machine learning; deep learning for optical systems; AI-empowered photonic sensor networks; adaptive optics and machine learning algorithms; optoelectronic neural networks for information processing; machine learning-based optimization of photonic devices; photonics-enabled machine vision systems; AI-driven design of optical components; quantum photonics and quantum machine learning; reinforcement learning to control optical systems
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Emerging Trends in Rare-Earth Doped Material for Photonics
edited by
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 3028 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical amplifiers; luminescent phosphors; photonic lasers; ultrafast spectroscopy; perovskite materials
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Latest Advances in Optical Diffraction, Imaging and Display
edited by Chenrun Feng, and Zhiyong Yang
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2548 | Submission Open
Keywords: diffraction optical elements (DOEs); meta-surfaces for imaging and display; virtual reality and augmented reality; nano-photonics and nanolithography; holography and fourier optics; metamaterials; light scattering; phase modulation and laser beam shaping; wavefront sensing; optical microscopy; differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope; coherent diffraction imaging/phase contrast imaging/computational imaging
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Plasmonic Sensors: Advances and Applications
edited by Evangelia Chatzianagnostou and Dimosthenis Spasopoulos
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1575 | Submission Open
Keywords: plasmonic sensors; SPR sensors; localized SPR sensors; nanoplasmonic sensors; plasmo-photonic sensors; biosensing and point-of-care diagnostics; temperature sensing; gas sensing; food safety; environmental sensing
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Optical Tweezers: From Light Scattering Theory to Micro/Nanoparticle Manipulation
edited by and
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1099 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical tweezers; light scattering/electromagnetic theory; micro/nanoparticle manipulation; sub-piconewton precision; non-contact force measurement; biophysics; multi-field integration; modeling and simulations; photonics/interdisciplinary applications; AI-powered optical tweezers
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics)
Optical Imaging for 3D Surface and Phase Recovery: Techniques and Applications
edited by and Cheng Liu
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1012 | Submission Open
Keywords: optical imaging; 3D reconstruction; phase recovery; deep learning
Advances in Infrared Photodetectors
edited by
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | Viewed by 290 | Submission Open
Keywords: infrared photodetectors; long-wavelength infrared; very-long-wavelength infrared; focal plane arrays; silicon-based infrared detection
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Advances in Optical Sensors and Applications
edited by , Natasha Vukovic and
submission deadline 30 Aug 2026 | 12 articles | Viewed by 15612 | Submission Open
Keywords: biosensors; fibre optics; fluorescence; gyroscope; integrated optics; luminescence; pressure sensing; spectroscopy; temperature sensing
(This special issue belongs to the Section Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors)
Optical Metasurface: Applications in Sensing and Imaging submission deadline 30 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3976 | Submission Open
Keywords: metasurface-enhanced imaging; metasurface-based sensing; biomedical metasurfaces; optical computing with metasurfaces; integrated metasurface photonics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Recent Trends in Fiber Bragg Grating-Based Optical Systems
edited by
submission deadline 30 Aug 2026 | Viewed by 339 | Submission Open
Keywords: fiber bragg grating; optical fiber sensor; fiber laser; optical fiber communication system; fiber grating inscription
Advanced Optical Transmission Techniques submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 11052 | Submission Open
Keywords: high-capacity transmission systems; artificial intelligence optical communication; digital signal processing; data center optical interconnection; flexible optical network
Advancements in Optical Techniques for Enhancing the Sensitivity and Precision of Atomic Magnetometers
edited by and
submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 6910 | Submission Open
Keywords: atomic magnetometers; weak magnetic measurement; atomic polarization; three-axis measurement
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Interaction Science)
Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices: Characterizations, Design and Fabrication
edited by Yining Mu and Jikai Yang
submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 3792 | Submission Open
Keywords: semiconductor optoelectronic devices; photodetectors and imaging sensors; light-emitting diodes and lasers; nanofabrication and device design; optical and electrical characterization; quantum and integrated photonics; perovskite and emerging semiconductors; device stability and reliability
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optoelectronics and Optical Materials)
Neural Networks in Optical Communications and Optical Computing: Implementation, Applications, and Prospects submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 3148 | Submission Open
Keywords: neural networks; photonic neural networks; optical networks; artificial intelligence; photonics; optical signal processing; intelligent optical communications; optical computing; optical fiber systems; machine learning in photonics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Optical Communication and Network)
Next-Generation Optical Transmission Systems: Breakthroughs, Technologies, and Emerging Frontiers
edited by Xizheng Ke
submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 2806 | Submission Open
Keywords: intelligent optics; optical sensors and fiber optic sensing technology; optical communication; visible light communication systems
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