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Where to Submit Your Manuscript | Content | Abstracts | Manuscript submissions | Electronic text files
Style | Illustrations | Math text | References | Tables | Publication charges | Supplementary material | Correspondence
Proofs of processed manuscripts | Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters available for author names
Where to Submit Your Manuscript
Submit your manuscripts for JVST A electronically via the journal’s online manuscript submission system, Peer X-Press,
Peer X-Press Site
Revised manuscripts should also be submitted via Peer X-Press. The submission should include a cover letter giving specific responses to the reviewer report(s) and a list of changes made to the manuscript in response to the reviewers’ comments.
Content
Articles
This journal publishes two types of articles: original research reports submitted by authors comprising a complete, detailed, self-contained description of a research effort and Critical Review papers solicited by Editor that provide an updating of an area of science or technology pertinent to the scope of this journal. For scope of the journal please visit JVST A. All articles must contain an abstract.
Brief Reports and Comments
These are short submissions that either report a brief item of research or technology that does not require extensive descriptive writing or that comment on an item previously published in the journal. Brief Reports and Comments do not require the format structure of regular journal articles and do not require an abstract.
Letters
These are short submissions that contain important new results and are intended for accelerated publication. Letters are given priority in handling. While there is no page limit, typical letters are 3-4 printed pages and have less than five illustrations.
Shop Notes
These are "how to do it" papers. They should be written and illustrated so that the reader may easily follow whatever instruction or advice is being given. An abstract is not required for a Shop Note.
Perspective papers summarize a new or timely research area that is of interest to the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. They should be self-contained, written for the non-expert and focused on the most important discoveries and phenomena. The perspective articles should finish with an outlook on future research direction. Perspectives are solicited by the Editors.
Abstracts
An abstract must accompany each article. It should be adequate as an index and as a summary, giving all major and minor subjects concerning the new information presented. It should also give the conclusions of the article and numerical results of general interest. An abstract is usually reused verbatim in abstracting and indexing services. Therefore, great care should be used in writing it.
Manuscript submissions
(1) present original findings, conclusions or analysis that have not been published previously by the authors or others,
(2) be free of errors and ambiguities,
(3) support conclusions with data and analysis,
(4) written clearly, and
(5) have high impact in its field, which must be within the scope of topics covered by the journal.
Manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that they have not been copyrighted, published, or accepted for publication elsewhere. A signed copyright transfer form will be required for publication. Manuscripts must be in English, double-spaced and conform to the style consistent with papers published in JVSTA and JVSTB. Authors should adopt a particular way of writing their names in the byline and use the same name for all publications. This practice makes indexes more useful and less confusing.
Electronic text files
Acceptable manuscript file types are MSWord, LaTeX, and PDF. For the initial submission/review process, a single PDF or MSWord file including the figures is sufficient. This file should contain, in order, the following.
- Title
- Author names and affiliations
- Abstract
- Main text
- Acknowledgements
- Appendix
- References
- Tables
- Figure and table captions list
- Figures
Please place one figure per page. Each figure should include all parts of the figure. For example, if Figure 1 contains three parts (a, b, c), then all of the parts should be on the same page.
However, once a paper is accepted, MSWord or TeX file of the text, any tables and the list of figure captions along with the separate figure files will be required for final production by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) who prepares the proofs. At this final stage, the figures should be in separate files (not embedded in the text) and in one of the following formats: PostScript, EPS, TIFF or production-ready PDF (Creating a Production-Ready PDF image) files. The AVS Publications Office encourages authors to go ahead and submit the separate text and figure files along with the complete MSWord or PDF file at the time of submission or revision.
AIP converts REVTeX, LaTeX, and Word into XML and ultimately into Xyvision to produce galley proofs. A REVTeX toolbox to help prepare your manuscript is available via anonymous FTP from ftp.aip.org in the directory /pub/revtex. The REVTeX toolbox, as well as general information regarding the electronic text preparation and transmission, are accessible via the AIP Author Information website (www.aip.org/epub/compuscripts.info.html).
Please see information about submitting individual figure files
Style
Authors are expected to follow the conventional writing, notation, and illustration style prescribed in the American Institute of Physics Style Manual, which is available from the AIP by visiting http://www.aip.org/pubservs/style.html. Authors should also study the form and style of published material in this journal. The SI units should be used. Please use the JVST Template for MSWord for preparing your manuscript. The easiest way to prepare your manuscript is to download the Sample Article.doc and delete and replace the text. This file also contains tips on how to organize your article and information abstracted from detailed instructions in eCEInstructions.pdf. The template file is eC.dot.
Figures
Prepare figures in the final published size, not oversized or undersized. Size your figures according to your journal's specifications. Submit each figure at the final size you wish it to appear in the journal. The standard is 8.5-cm maximum width (3-3/8” or 20.5 picas) for one column. Ensure a minimum of 8-point type size (2.8 mm high; 1/8” high) and that line weights will be 0.5 points or greater in the final published size. Avoid inconsistencies in lettering within individual figures, and from one figure to the next.
Acceptable formats: Graphics must be submitted only as PostScript, EPS (using either Arial or Times Roman fonts), TIFF (lzw compressed,) or production-ready PDFs. A PDF image should only be used for graphic format when a preferred format, i.e., TIFF, EPS or PS cannot be output by the source creator of the image file. (Creating a Production-Ready PDF image)
Settings: Set the graphic for 600 dpi resolution for line art, halftones (non compressed), and combinations (line art + halftone). Save the files to grayscale (B/W) for online and print reproduction in black and white. Save as RGB for online reproduction in color, and print reproduction in black and white (no fee). Finally, save as CMYK for color reproduction in both the online and printed journals (there is a fee for this; please contact the AVS Publications office).
Make sure there is only ONE figure per file. Each figure file should include all parts of the figure. For example, if Figure 1 contains three parts (a, b, c), then all of the parts should be combined into a single file for Figure 1. Name files Figure# where # is the figure number. Detailed instructions for transmitting electronic graphics to AIP and a glossary of terms may be found on the AIP Physics Information website at www.aip.org/epub/submitgraph.html. Number figures in the order in which they appear in text.
Math text
Mathematical expressions should be typeset as completely as possible, using Unicode characters for all symbols, variables, and operators. Choose fonts that clearly distinguish capital and lowercase letters where there could be confusion. Use fractional exponents to avoid root signs. Extra symbols should be introduced to avoid complicated exponents or where it is necessary to repeat a complicated expression a number of times. Use the solidus (/) wherever possible for fractions. Do not repeat mathematical derivations that are easily found elsewhere in the literature; merely cite the references.
References
References should be collected at the end of the manuscript, numbered consecutively and arranged thus:
S. Gomez, R. J. Belen, M. Kiehlbauch, and E. S. Aydil, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 22, 606 (2004).
H. Lamb, Hydrodynamics, 6th ed. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1940), pp. 573, 645.
A list of the abbreviations for the names of journals appears in the AIP Style Manual.
Tables
All but the simplest tabular material should be organized into separate tables. Tables should be numbered with Roman numerals. Each table must have a caption set at the top of the table, which makes the data in the table intelligible without reference to the text. Avoid complicated column headings. If necessary, use symbols that are explained in the caption. Set a double horizontal line below the caption, a single line below the headings, and another double line at the end of the table. Very long tables, if possible, should be submitted in a form ready for reproduction.
Publication charges
Page charges comprise the major source of income for this journal. Consequently, author's institutions or companies are asked and urged to pay a publication charge of $95 per printed page, which entitles them to 100 reprints without covers or $85 per printed page without reprints. AVS full members receive the benefit of having page charges waived.
You can become an AVS member: http://www.avs.org/membership.aspx.
Supplementary Material
There is an opportunity for authors to post supplementary material or animated files. Please send the supplementary file (as a separate file) with your contribution so the material is available for reviewers. This pertains to non-essential material, as opposed to "essential multimedia." Please insert this statement in your paper where appropriate: "See supplementary material at [URL will be inserted by AIP] for [give brief description of material]." Posting of supplementary is free and is for material that is part of and supplementary to a published paper, but is too long to be included in the printed journal. The limit on supplementary material is 4 pages.
Correspondence
AVS Publications Office email is publications@avs.org. Mail can be sent to AVS Publications Office, Caller Box 13994, 100 Park Drive, Suite 105, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, ph: 919 361-2787, fax: 919 361-1378. However, all manuscripts must be submitted via Peer X-Press.
If your paper is accepted for publication, you will be notified by the Editor. Accepted papers are sent to American Institute of Physics for production. Correspondence about proofs, and links for reprints and publication charges will be sent to the author during the production stage from American Institute of Physics (AIP.) All subsequent correspondence about your paper should be addressed to AVS Publications Manager, JVST A JVST B, American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. (jva@aip.org or jvb@aip.org) Reference must be made to the AIP paper number, author, journal, and scheduled date of issue.
Proofs of processed manuscripts
After AIP makes pages from your manuscript, they will send you an email that has a URL and PIN for downloading your proof. The website from which you download the proofs also contains instructions for returning proof corrections. A few alterations in proof are unavoidable, but the cost of making extensive alterations or of correcting mistakes caused by careless preparation of the manuscript will be charged to the author. Unless corrected proofs are returned punctually, your paper will be published in uncorrected form and will be so labeled.
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters available for author names
Authors with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean names may choose to have their names published in their own language, alongside the English versions of their names, in the author list of their publications. For Chinese, authors may use either Simplified or Traditional characters. In order to participate in this free service, interested authors must include Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters within the author list of their manuscripts when submitting or resubmitting. The publisher does not offer a translation service and will not insert names; this is the author’s responsibility. To participate, authors must prepare their manuscripts using Microsoft Word or using the CJK LaTeX package. Specific guidelines for each authoring tool are given at http://www.aip.org/pubservs/cjk_instructions.html.
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