Innovation in Optical Design

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
Interests: Optics; Computational spectrum; Imaging spectrometer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optical design is the core of modern imaging technologies, driving innovations that enable precision, efficiency, and functionality across scientific and industrial domains. This field integrates physics, mathematics, optics, and computerl science to create and optimize the best optical systems. These systems contains common lens, mirrors, aspherical lens, advanced freeform optics and more photonic architectures such as metasurface. This Special Issue on Innovation in Optical Design aims to highlight recent advances in theory, simulation, fabrication, and system integration, with an emphasis on methods that bridge the design and the application. Contributions are welcomed on topics including imaging and illumination optics, optical tolerancing analysis, optimization algorithms, design for optical element manufacturability, and computational optical design approaches. Through this Special Issue, we seek to provide a comprehensive platform to clarify the evolving principles, challenges, and innovations that define the future of optical system design.

Dr. Lei Yu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Design theory and method
  • Optical system
  • Freeform optics
  • Computational optics

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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