About Plasma Sources Science and Technology

Plasma Sources Science and Technology^TM (PSST) reports on low-temperature plasmas and ionized gases operating over all ranges of gas pressure and plasma density, with varying degrees of ionization. The emphasis of PSST is on the fundamental science of these plasmas, their sources and the physical and chemical processes initiated or sustained by them, as elucidated through theoretical, computational or experimental techniques. PSST also reports on new experimentally or theoretically derived fundamental data (e.g. cross sections, transport coefficients) required for investigation of low temperature plasmas. Reports that relate to the technology and applications of these plasmas should be closely linked to the science and fundamental processes occurring in the plasma state.

For further detailed clarifications on the journal scope, please see the ‘Special requirements‘ section below.

• High standards: the editorial policy is to maintain the quality of published papers at the highest level by strict peer review. The Editorial Board is closely involved in the peer review process in order to maintain these high standards.
• Fast publication: we are committed to providing you with a quick, professional service to ensure rapid first decision, acceptance and publication. Once accepted, your article will be accessible to readers within 24 hours and will include a citable DOI.
• Open access: PSST is a hybrid open access journal–this is a publishing model in which subscription-based journals give authors the choice to make individual articles available on an open access basis (on payment of an article publication charge).
• Transfer opportunities: as well as accepting direct submissions, the journal also offers you a quick and easy solution to transfer your manuscript from another IOP Publishing journal if it does not fit that journal’s scope or significance criteria. Articles are transferred along with peer review reports to save time and avoid duplication of work for reviewers.
• International Editorial Board: scientific leadership for PSST is provided by the Editor-in-Chief, supported by a team of Associate Editors, an international Editorial Board and a Senior Advisory Board.
• Society owned: IOP Publishing is a leading society publisher of advanced physics research. Any profits generated by IOP Publishing are invested in the Institute of Physics, helping to support research, education and outreach around the world.

PSST welcomes submissions of the following article types:

• Research papers: reports of original research work; not normally more than 14 journal pages (approx. 12 000 words).
• Letters: short, outstanding articles reporting results that are of particularly high interest to the plasma community. They are designed to provide rapid publication and high visibility for your most significant and timely research results. Maximum of four journal pages (approx. 3500 words).
• Notes: brief articles which are usually more technical in nature and which make a useful and novel addition to the literature (approx. 3500 words).
• Topical Reviews: timely review articles on an emerging field, commissioned by the Editorial Board. These are not normally more than 28 journal pages (approx. 24 000 words).

The focus of manuscripts submitted to PSST should be on the fundamental studies of low-temperature plasmas. Studies of high energy, fully ionized plasmas would be a better fit in journals such as Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. High-temperature, near local thermodynamic equilibrium arc plasmas would be a better fit in journals such as Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, unless there is a strong focus on plasma processes. Contributions focusing on, for example, high-temperature heat transfer, ablation and evaporation of materials, qualitative imaging, etc., would be better submitted to more applied journals. Applied work, focusing on the engineering applications rather than on fundamental aspects, may also fit better in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics or other journals, unless the plasma physics and chemistry content, as assessed by the journal, clearly stands out. 

The following summary describes the peer review process for Plasma Sources Science and Technology, using the ANSI/NISO Standard Terminology for Peer Review:

• Identity transparency: single-anonymous, double-anonymous (author choice)
• Reviewer interacts with: Editor

Our Publishing Support website provides more information on our reviewing process as well as checklists in both English and Chinese language to help authors prepare their manuscripts for submission.

To ensure that the journal’s very strict editorial criteria are upheld, every submission is personally overseen by a member of the Editorial Board who, following a preliminary assessment for suitability, is responsible for reviewer selection and the final editorial decision. Articles can be rejected without full review after this initial assessment by the editors.

If an article is not accepted for publication, we may offer the author the opportunity to transfer their submission to other suitable journals we publish.

We work with our authors to help make their work as easy to discover as possible. PSST is currently included in the following abstracting and discovery services:

• ISI (SciSearch®, Science Citation Index®, Materials Science Citation Index®, Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, ISI Alerting Services)
• Scopus
• Inspec
• Chemical Abstracts Service
• Compendex
• INIS Atomindex (International Nuclear Information System)
• Mass Spectrometry Bulletin
• NASA Astrophysics Data System
• PASCAL Database
• VINITI Abstracts Journal (Referativnyi Zhurnal)