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Nonprofit · Washington · United States

Optica

In research, Optica stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,660 of 12,888 worldwide) and Engineering (#4,830 of 6,636 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Physics and Astronomy and Electrical and Electronic Engineering — Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics is 17.7× its share of world research.

optica.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#7,629
of 28,054 · #1,778 all time
Rank in United States
#1,011
of 4,192
Research works
3.6k
▼ 41% vs 2013–17
Citations
72k
20.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
10.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
23%
world 28%

What is Optica known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #4,660 of 12,888 10.5%164 #1322
EngineeringField #4,830 of 6,636 8.8%86 #1475

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Optica sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

What does Optica specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics takes 17.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 25.9 works18×
  2. Physics and AstronomyField · 34.9 works7.7×
  3. Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield · 44.6 works6.1×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.27× its world share, 3 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.72× its world share, 8 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.07× its world share, 4 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.62× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.09× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.91× its world share, 3 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.68× its world share, 11 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.67× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.15× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.81× its world share, 86 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.69× its world share, 7 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.33× its world share, 17 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.38× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 7.69× its world share, 35 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.30× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.30× its world share, 12 worksMedicineNursing: 0.66× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.38× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.46× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.27× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.18× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.17× its world share, 4 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 7.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Optica?

Ranked on the composite score, Sorin Tibuleac, Oscar W. Richards and Thomas W. Wolfe lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Optica.

  1. 1 Sorin Tibuleac United States · #109,545 worldwide 187 citations · 25 works
  2. 2 Oscar W. Richards United States · #199,204 worldwide 134 citations · 69 works
  3. 3 Thomas W. Wolfe United States · #277,995 worldwide 36 citations · 30 works
  4. 4 W. J. Walecki United States · #294,539 worldwide 57 citations · 21 works
  5. 5 Stephen Daniels United States · #367,091 worldwide 22 citations · 27 works
  6. 6 R. L. Hilliard United States · #436,123 worldwide 12 citations · 26 works
  7. 7 A. Brunsting United States · #437,828 worldwide 32 citations · 22 works
  8. 8 Mark Filer United States · #443,770 worldwide 42 citations · 18 works
  9. 9 Mark A. Ealey United States · #524,629 worldwide 33 citations · 21 works
  10. 10 F. Valdés United States · #646,840 worldwide 118 citations · 49 works
All ranked researchers at Optica

Which keywords describe research at Optica?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Biosensors, Optical Modulators, Raman Lasers, Nonlinear Optics, Optical Fiber, Integrated Circuits, Microcavities and Microwave Photonics.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Biosensors13▲ 12×9 topics
  2. Optical Modulators10▲ 32×3 topics
  3. Raman Lasers9▲ 41×2 topics
  4. Nonlinear Optics9▲ 41×4 topics
  5. Optical Fiber8▲ 39×3 topics
  6. Integrated Circuits8▲ 24×3 topics
  7. Microcavities8▲ 33×2 topics
  8. Biomedical Applications7▲ 3.1×16 topics
  9. Microwave Photonics7▲ 41×2 topics
  10. Nanophotonic Waveguides7▲ 37×1 topic
  11. Silicon Photonics7▲ 33×1 topic
  12. Fiber Lasers7▲ 35×3 topics
  13. Photonic Crystals7▲ 27×5 topics
  14. Microresonators6▲ 34×2 topics
  15. Structured Light5▲ 46×2 topics
  16. Crystal Growth5▲ 8.5×7 topics
  17. Coherent Detection5▲ 53×1 topic
  18. Digital Signal Processing5▲ 47×1 topic
  19. Optical Frequency Combs5▲ 41×1 topic
  20. Ultrafast Lasers5▲ 41×1 topic
  21. Metamaterials4▲ 16×5 topics
  22. Semiconductor4▲ 6.5×7 topics
  23. Semiconductor Lasers4▲ 32×2 topics
  24. Compound Eyes4▲ 268×1 topic
  25. Freeform Optics4▲ 268×1 topic
  26. Frequency Conversion4▲ 52×3 topics
  27. Imaging4▲ 8.0×6 topics
  28. Image Processing4▲ 4.4×8 topics
  29. Nanophotonics4▲ 21×3 topics
  30. Inverse Modeling4▲ 32×2 topics
  31. Adaptive Optics4▲ 137×1 topic
  32. Optical Interconnects4▲ 46×1 topic
  33. Spectroscopy4▲ 10×8 topics
  34. Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs)4▲ 46×1 topic
  35. Wavefront Sensing4▲ 137×1 topic
  36. Camera Calibration3▲ 53×1 topic
  37. Fringe Projection3▲ 53×1 topic
  38. Structural Health Monitoring3▲ 21×2 topics
  39. Machine Tools3▲ 22×2 topics
  40. Fiber Optic Sensors3▲ 28×1 topic

Which research topics does Optica publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Photonic and Optical Devices, Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies, Optical Network Technologies and Advanced optical system design.

Photonic and Optical Dev…7Photonic and Optical Devices: 7 fractional worksAdvanced Fiber Laser Tec…5Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies: 5 fractional worksOptical Network Technolo…5Optical Network Technologies: 5 fractional worksAdvanced optical system …4Advanced optical system design: 4 fractional worksAdaptive optics and wavefront sensing: 4 fractional worksSemiconductor Lasers and Optical Devices: 4 fractional worksOptical measurement and …3Optical measurement and interference techniques: 3 fractional worksAdvanced Fiber Optic Sensors: 3 fractional worksAdvanced Measurement and Metrology Techniques: 3 fractional worksAdvanced Optical Imaging…3Advanced Optical Imaging Technologies: 3 fractional works
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsBiomedical EngineeringComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition2 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Photonic and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 7 works
  2. 2 Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 5 works
  3. 3 Optical Network Technologies Electrical and Electronic Engineering 5 works
  4. 4 Advanced optical system design Biomedical Engineering 4 works
  5. 5 Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 4 works
  6. 6 Semiconductor Lasers and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 4 works
  7. 7 Optical measurement and interference techniques Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition 3 works
  8. 8 Advanced Fiber Optic Sensors Electrical and Electronic Engineering 3 works
  9. 9 Advanced Measurement and Metrology Techniques Mechanical Engineering 3 works
  10. 10 Advanced Optical Imaging Technologies Media Technology 3 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available22.6%not open77.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors33.9%domestic only66.1%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Optica's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 41% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Washington

All research institutions in Washington

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.