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25 - 30 January 2025
San Francisco, California, US

Photonics West Abstract Submission Guidelines

Present your research at SPIE Photonics West

Abstract submissions are currently being accepted


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Below are abstract submission instructions, the accompanying submission agreement, conference presentation guidelines, and guidelines for publishing in the Proceedings of SPIE in the SPIE Digital Library.

Important dates


Abstracts due 17 July 2024
Registration opens October 2024
Authors notified and program posts online 7 October 2024
Submission system opens for manuscripts and poster PDFs* 25 November 2024
Poster PDFs due for spie.org preview and publication 2 January 2025
Manuscripts due 8 January 2025
Advance upload deadline for oral presentation slides** 22 January 2025

*Contact author or speaker must register prior to uploading
**After this date slides must be uploaded onsite at Speaker Check-in

How-to guide for successful abstract submission


What you will need to submit

  • Presentation title
  • Author(s) information
  • Speaker biography (1000-character max including spaces)
  • Abstract for technical review (200-300 words; text only)
  • Summary of abstract for display in the program (50-150 words; text only)
  • Keywords used in search for your paper (optional)
  • Check the individual conference call for papers for additional requirements (i.e., special abstract requirements or instructions for award competitions)

Note: Only original material should be submitted. Commercial papers, papers with no new research/development content, and papers with proprietary restrictions will not be accepted for presentation.


How to submit your abstract

  • Browse the conference topics to review the conferences
  • Choose one conference that most closely matches the topics of your abstract. You may submit more than one abstract, but submit each abstract only once
  • Click the title of the conference to view the full description and submit by clicking the "Submit an Abstract" button on that page
  • Sign in to your SPIE account, or create an account if you do not already have one
  • Follow the steps in the submission wizard until the submission process is completed
  • If your submission is related to an application track below, indicate the appropriate track when prompted during the submission process


Application tracks

An application track is a grouping of presentations on a topic of interest across all conferences. During submission of the abstract, the submitting author should select an application track if it is relevant to their research. Learn more about application tracks

  • AI/ML: Papers that highlight the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning to create and implement intelligent systems across multiple sectors, technologies, and applications
  • Sustainability: Papers that highlight the use of optics and photonics for renewable energy, natural resource management, sustainable manufacturing, and greenhouse gas mitigation in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Brain function: Papers that highlight the development of innovative optics and photonics technologies that increase our understanding of brain physiology and function
  • Translational research: Papers that highlight the transition from bench to bedside using the latest photonics technologies, tools, and techniques for healthcare
  • 3D printing: Papers that highlight the innovative use of optics and photonics in multidisciplinary applications for multidimensional manufacturing
  • Photonic chips: Papers that highlight advances in materials, design, fabrication, integration, testing and packaging of photonic components at the chip level


Submission agreement

All presenting authors, including keynote, invited, oral, and poster presenters, agree to the following by submitting an abstract:

  • Register and pay the conference registration fee
  • Agree to receive email messaging for the conference series
  • Oral presenters: agree to recording and publication of your onsite presentation (slides synched with voice) in the Proceedings of SPIE in the SPIE Digital Library
  • Poster presenters: one person may not present more than two posters in a poster session; submit a poster PDF for preview in the online program (web and app) and for publication in the Proceedings of SPIE in the SPIE Digital Library
  • Submit a manuscript by the advertised due date for publication in the Proceedings of SPIE in the SPIE Digital Library
  • Obtain funding for registration fees, travel, and accommodations
  • Attend the meeting
  • Present at the scheduled time


Review and program placement

  • To ensure a high-quality conference, all submissions will be assessed by the conference chair/editor for technical merit and suitability of content
  • Conference chairs/editors and/or SPIE staff reserve the right to reject for presentation any paper that does not meet content or presentation expectations
  • Final placement in an oral or poster session is subject to chair discretion


Publication of Proceedings in the SPIE Digital Library

Increase your professional visibility and publish in the world's largest collection of optics and photonics research. Your peers access approximately 18 million papers, presentations, and posters from the SPIE Digital Library each year.

  • Only manuscripts, presentations, and posters presented at the conference and received according to publication guidelines and due dates will be published in the Proceedings of SPIE in the SPIE Digital Library
  • Manuscripts, presentations, and posters will be officially published after the event in the SPIE Digital Library
  • Conference chairs/editors or SPIE staff may require revision before approving publication and reserve the right to reject for publication any manuscript or presentation that does not meet acceptable standards for a scientific publication
  • Conference chair/editor and/or SPIE staff decision to accept or reject a manuscript, presentation, or poster for publication is final
  • Authors must be authorized to provide a suitable publication license to SPIE; authors retain copyright of all scientific material
  • SPIE retains rights to distribute and market the official SPIE recording of the presentation and/or submitted poster
  • SPIE partners with relevant scientific databases and indexes to enable researchers to easily find papers published in the Proceedings of SPIE. The databases that abstract and index these papers include Astrophysical Data System (ADS), Ei Compendex, CrossRef, Google Scholar, Inspec, Scopus, and Web of Science
  • More publication information is available in the SPIE Digital Library


Contact information

Questions? Contact the SPIE staff coordinator listed in your spie.org account.

For questions about the event, program, your presentation, and/or submitting an abstract, contact your conference program coordinator.

For questions about submitting for, and publication on, the SPIE Digital Library, contact your proceedings coordinator.

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