Photonic and Optical Devices
Photonic and Optical Devices is a research topic within Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Science Explorer counts 155k research works in it since 1950. 13.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers covers advances in silicon photonics technology, including optical modulators, microcavities, nanophotonic waveguides, biosensors, integrated circuits, Raman lasers, whispering gallery mode devices, optofluidic technology, and on-chip interconnects.
- Silicon Photonics
- Optical Modulators
- Microcavities
- Nanophotonic Waveguides
- Biosensors
- Integrated Circuits
- Raman Lasers
- Whispering Gallery Mode
- Optofluidic Technology
- On-chip Interconnects
- Research works
- 155k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 20k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 13.2% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +2% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Photonic and Optical Devices research?
By volume, China and the United States publish the most (7.4k and 2.8k works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China 7.4k works
- 2 United States 2.8k works
- 3 Japan 1.2k works
- 4 India 1.1k works
- 5 Germany 958 works
- 6 France 665 works
- 7 Russia 653 works
- 8 United Kingdom 598 works
- 9 Canada 483 works
- 10 Italy 460 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Photonic and Optical Devices research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Chinese Academy of Sciences publishes the most Photonic and Optical Devices research, followed by Zhejiang University and University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 214 works
- 2 Zhejiang UniversityChina 203 works
- 3 University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChina 182 works
- 4 Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyChina 179 works
- 5 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 177 works
- 6 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 168 works
- 7 Beijing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsChina 155 works
- 8 Tsinghua UniversityChina 125 works
- 9 Tianjin UniversityChina 121 works
- 10 Southeast UniversityChina 107 works
Who are the leading researchers in Photonic and Optical Devices?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Photonic and Optical Devices include K. K. Gan and M. Lefebvre.
- 1 K. K. Gan United States 8.1k citations
- 2 M. Lefebvre United States 6.8k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Photonic and Optical Devices research done?
The largest centres of Photonic and Optical Devices research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Tokyo (Japan) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Coppell and Atsugi.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- CoppellUS · 24.7 works77×
- AtsugiJP · 27.5 works33×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Photonic and Optical Devices than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Photonic and Optical Devices?
Among universities, judged by research, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Semnan University and Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneSwitzerland | 61.6 | 19.5% | 9.3× | 78 | +0.6% |
| 2 | Semnan UniversityIran | 61.4 | 37.4% | 5.9× | 12 | +588.2% |
| 3 | Nanjing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsChina | 58.3 | 8.2% | 10.9× | 95 | +127.0% |
| 4 | University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina | 57.0 | 11.6% | 5.0× | 168 | +206.9% |
| 5 | ITMO UniversityRussia | 55.1 | 4.1% | 12.9× | 45 | +424.1% |
| 6 | American University in CairoEgypt | 54.5 | 10.6% | 10.8× | 16 | +213.4% |
| 7 | California Institute of TechnologyUnited States | 54.2 | 18.0% | 9.7× | 46 | -20.9% |
| 8 | Shanxi UniversityChina | 53.7 | 24.2% | 5.5× | 30 | +166.6% |
| 9 | Beijing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsChina | 53.6 | 6.5% | 12.5× | 155 | +19.3% |
| 10 | University of California, Santa BarbaraUnited States | 53.6 | 19.0% | 8.4× | 54 | +11.3% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Photonic and Optical Devices research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 2% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Photonic and Optical Devices.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.