We recommend printing these guidelines so they can be consulted throughout the submission.

Author Guidelines

Manuscript materials must be submitted to the journal as follows:

Upload a single, complete manuscript file that contains both the article text (including references, tables, and captions) AND the figures (either within the manuscript near each figure callout, or grouped at the end). The source file should be in one of the following formats: Word, LaTeX, PDF, or PS format. Your uploaded source file will be converted to PDF format, which will be used for the review process. Note that if your paper is accepted for publication, you will then be requested to supply individual figure files for use in production in one of the following source file formats: TIFF, PS, EPS, or PDF. Upload any multimedia files separately. See multimedia guidelines below.

Please note: Upon acceptance, you will be required to submit a manuscript file that is properly formatted for production.

• Manuscript pages should be numbered.
• The entire manuscript must be double-spaced, including the abstract and references (do not use single or 1.5 line spacing).
• Please do not use acronyms in the title or keywords; all acronyms should be spelled out.
• The manuscript should be ordered as follows: title page, abstract, text, acknowledgments, references, biographies (do not include for Letters or Communication papers), tables, list of figure captions. (Note: table captions may remain with the tables. However, a double-spaced list of figure captions must be included at the end of the manuscript. The figure captions may be included with the figures themselves.)
• Preferably, the article text file should be submitted in Microsoft Word or LaTeX. Alternatively, the article text may be submitted in PDF or PostScript; however, note that these formats are not usable for composition.
• For LaTeX submissions: File should be a single .tex file. Multiple-file submissions are not supported. Figure files may be called in. Submission of .sty files or .bib files is not supported. Submissions in Plain TeX format or in dvi format are not supported.
• For Microsoft Word submissions: Do not enter a paragraph mark or hard return at the end of each line of text, since this may cause conversion problems. Hard returns or paragraph marks should only be entered at the end of a paragraph.
• Please include biographies and photographs of the authors with your manuscript (or note if they are not available). Biographies should be inserted in the manuscript after the references (double-spaced). Photographs should be submitted in the same manner as figures (see below). For Letters and Communication papers, do not submit author biographies or photos.

See additional manuscript formatting guidelines here.

It is important that the following instructions be followed precisely for the graphics files to be utilized in the journal production process.

• For review purposes, figures should be included in the article file, either near the figure callouts or grouped at the end of the manuscript. However, for accepted manuscripts, authors must provide individual figure files in TIFF, PostScript, EPS, or PDF. This will ensure optimal quality of figures in the final published article.
• We can accept PostScript (PS), Encapsulated PostScript (EPS, using either Arial or Times Roman fonts), TIFF (lzw compressed), or PDF files. We cannot accept application files, i.e., Corel Draw, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, etc.
• Make sure there is only ONE figure per file. Each figure file should contain all parts of the figure. For example, if Figure 1 contains three parts, (a), (b), and (c), then all of the labeled parts should be combined in a single file for Figure 1.
• Figure part labels [(a), (b), (c), etc.] should be included in the file; a font size of 8 points for the labels is preferable.
• Figures should be numbered consecutively (not by section).
• Set the graphic for 600 dpi resolution for line art, 264 dpi for halftones, and 600 dpi for combinations (line art + halftone).
• Submit color files at 300 dpi TIFF, PS, or EPS format. If selecting a file mode, use CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) or RGB (Red, Green, Blue).
• Save line art as black/white bitmap; not grayscale.
• Save halftones and combinations as grayscale, not black/white bitmap.
• Set the bounding box to image to avoid excess white space around the image.
• Submit ALL illustrations for each article, including line art.
• If possible, size your illustrations according to the journal's specifications for column widths: 3 & 5/16 inches (20 picas) for one column, and 7 inches (42 picas) for two columns. Submit each illustration at the final size in which you would like it to appear in the journal. Each illustration should be prepared for 100% reproduction.
• Avoid submitting illustrations containing small axes with oversized labels.
• Ensure that line weights will be 0.5 points or greater in the final published size. Line weights below 0.5 points will reproduce poorly.
• The graphic should be sent with the correct orientation.
• Check files for extraneous information. Edit out any figure captions or e-mail headers. The only data in the file should be the figure itself.

Authors may submit multimedia files as an integral part of the paper. Supplemental multimedia material is not accepted.

See the detailed multimedia guidelines given in the instructions for how to prepare a manuscript. Acceptable file formats include QuickTime nonstreaming video (.qt or .mov) and MPEG (.mpg). These file formats are playable using standard media players such as QuickTime and Windows Media Player. Media players should be used to check file properties and image/sound quality prior to submission. The recommended maximum size for each video file is 10-12 MB.

Manuscript Types

Cover Letter

A cover letter file is required. The cover letter will not be accessible to the reviewers; it is accessible only to Editors and Staff. In the cover letter, authors should explain the significance of the work, the problem that is being addressed, and why the manuscript belongs in this journal. The cover letter should also contain any pertinent information regarding your submission. If you are submitting a Letters manuscript (which is a short technical communication intended for rapid publication), you must include a statement in the cover letter file setting forth the significance of the paper and why it merits rapid publication.

The manuscript submission process proceeds through a series of screens that gather detailed information about your manuscript and allow you to upload the pertinent files. Uploaded source files are automatically converted by system software into Portable Document Format (PDF) file versions. It is the PDF files that are made available to editors and reviewers; such files can be viewed via a web browser and Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The sequence of submission screens is as follows:

• An initial screen that includes important excerpts from the Author Instructions.
• A manuscript-submission form asking you to enter authors, title, abstract, keywords, quantities of files to upload, etc.
• A screen asking for the files to be uploaded. After completing this screen, your files will be uploaded to our server.
• A file-upload confirmation screen that will provide you with a specific tracking number for your manuscript submission.
• A file-conversion status & approval screen that advises you of the progress of converting each source file to its PDF version, and, when conversion is successfully completed, requires you to verify that each of the files uploaded and converted to PDF correctly. If a conversion is incorrect, you can replace or delete a file as necessary at this stage. You may also add (upload) new files (one at a time). Once all converted files are viewed and approved as correct, you will need to click on "Confirm Approved Converted Files" to officially register and notify the editorial office of the submission.
  NOTE: Until you complete this step, your manuscript is not considered as submitted to the editorial office for peer-review handling.

Upon confirming approval of the converted files, you are returned to your Home screen (Main page), with a message indicating that the submission has been registered. You now have the opportunity to view summary data, converted files, and current status information about your manuscript by checking the "Live Manuscripts" folder.

Upon receiving system notification of a submission, the journal Staff will check to make sure the manuscript submission is complete and that the files are properly prepared. If the submission is ready to be processed, the Author will receive a "confirmation of receipt" email message and the submission passes to the Editor. If the journal Staff has any questions or needs additional information, the Author will receive a "quality check" email message with a description of what is needed and instructions for amending the submission and/or supplying additional information.

The process for submitting a revised manuscript proceeds through the same series of screens as before. However, there are some important differences.

Please double check that each file that is uploaded is the most current version.

Publication charges of $90 per published page apply to both contributed and special section papers. Editorial acceptance of papers is not tied to payment of publication charges, but such payments are expected. These charges are financial contributions from authors' institutions to help defray the cost of publishing research results and should be regarded as an essential and proper part of their research budgets.

Open Access Option: SPIE offers authors the option to pay a fee of $1500 to support publication costs and to provide free online access to the full text of their published journal article, in perpetuity, to any online user, independent of any subscriptions to the journal. To select open access, please return the Open Access Publication Form with payment to SPIE either before or at the time you return your author proof corrections.

Open access to the article can be ensured only if payment in full is received by SPIE before the author’s proof corrections are completed. An author’s choice to select open access has no impact on any aspect of the peer-review process or on the Editor’s ultimate decision regarding publication. If an author chooses open access, but SPIE does not receive full payment before completion of the author corrections, the article will be published conventionally, that is, without open access. Payment of the open access fee covers regular page charges but does NOT cover other publication charges, such as charges for reprints or color printing.

Color Figures

The Transfer of Copyright Form must be completed and returned prior to publication of an accepted article. The form is available via a link in the navigation bar at the bottom of the pages of this site.

Download the copyright form, print it, complete it in full (include manuscript code number and journal name), sign it, and mail or fax it to the Editorial Office as soon as you are notified that your article has been accepted for publication.

The upper right-hand corner of every screen has links that allow you to:

Throughout the system, red arrows reflect pending action items that you should address by clicking on the associated link.

If you need additional help, you can click on the help signs located throughout the system. A help dialog box will pop up with context-sensitive help comments.

Checking a Manuscript's Status; Viewing Manuscript Files

After you have approved the file upload and conversion for your manuscript submission, you may obtain the status of your manuscript, or view the manuscript files, at any time by:

To send email to the journal staff regarding a manuscript that has already been submitted and is being processed, please use the "Send Manuscript Correspondence" link located at the end of the Detailed Status Information screen. This feature allows you to send email attachments and to cc: (e.g., to yourself). Your email is automatically recorded and stored within the system and accessible to journal staff. An author might use this feature to send in a corrected file for a recently submitted manuscript (provided the editorial process has not yet progressed too far).

Start the manuscript submission process by clicking the "Submit Manuscript" link on your Home screen (Main page).

Return to Main Page to continue.