1 Introduction

This set of author guidelines defines unified standards for manuscript preparation, formatting, submission and publication for all manuscripts submitted to Intelligent Electronics & Metrology (IEM). All provisions are mandatory for editorial evaluation and formal publication. The journal adheres to consistent publication standards to ensure uniform quality, standardized layout and rigorous academic style for all published articles. All authors must fully comply with the publication ethics, formatting specifications and submission rules stipulated in this document.

2 Manuscript Types

IEM welcomes high-quality original manuscripts in the fields of intelligent electronic technology, electronic devices and systems, precision metrology, measuring instruments, electromagnetic sensing and related interdisciplinary research. The journal primarily accepts two categories of manuscripts:

Regular Article: Systematic research works featuring complete theoretical analysis, solid experimental data, in-depth result discussion and comprehensive conclusions. The length is limited to 3–6 journal pages.

Review Article: High-quality comprehensive reviews either invited by the editorial board or voluntarily submitted by authors. Such reviews focus on the state-of-the-art progress, core challenges and future development trends in intelligent electronics and metrology. All review manuscripts are restricted to 6–8 journal pages.

3 General Submission Requirements

(1) All submitted manuscripts must be original and unpublished. Multiple submissions to other journals, conference proceedings or any academic platforms are strictly prohibited. Any form of academic misconduct, including duplicate publication and self-plagiarism, is forbidden.

(2) Manuscripts must be written in standard, fluent and formal academic English. Manuscripts with grammatical errors, ambiguous descriptions or non-standard academic terminology will be either rejected directly or returned for major revision.

(3) All research contents, experimental data, figures and tables in the manuscripts must be authentic and reliable. Data fabrication, result tampering and unauthorized reuse of previously published contents are strictly prohibited. Any confirmed academic misconduct will be permanently recorded in the journal's filing system.

(4) Authors shall adequately cite relevant domestic and international literature to avoid omission of core references. Irregular citation behaviors, such as excessive self-citation and irrelevant referencing, are not allowed.

4 Page Layout and Length Specifications

All manuscript types are subject to strict page limits. Authors are required to truncate and revise overlength manuscripts. Extra page charges will be applied to excess contents during formal publication. The final page count for length assessment is based on the typeset proof version rather than the initial submitted draft.

5 Manuscript Structure and Format

IEM adopts the standard structural framework of mainstream international academic journals. Manuscripts must follow a fixed sequence: Title, Author Information, Institutional Affiliation, Corresponding Author Mark, Abstract, Keywords, Main Text, Acknowledgements, References, Figure Captions and Tables. No arbitrary adjustment of the structural order is permitted.

5.1 Title

Manuscript titles should be concise, accurate and highly generalized, fully reflecting the core research content and innovative highlights. Only the first letter of the first word is capitalized; proper nouns and standard academic abbreviations follow standardized capitalization rules. Redundant modifiers and vague expressions are prohibited. A title shall not exceed 20 English words and must exclude serial numbers, special symbols and funding information.

5.2 Authors and Affiliations

All contributing authors shall be listed in full and in order without omission, arbitrary addition or deletion. Author names adopt standard initial capitalization (e.g., X. Jing, X. F. Jing), with superscript Arabic numerals used to establish one-to-one correspondence between authors and their affiliations.

Each affiliation must include complete information of department, institution, city, postal code and country with no abbreviations. Each manuscript must designate one corresponding author, marked with a superscript asterisk (*) and accompanied by a valid email address. The corresponding author is fully responsible for manuscript submission, proofreading confirmation and all other publication-related matters.

5.3 Abstract

The abstract is a standalone, unified paragraph of 150–200 English words without paragraphs, bullet points or serial numbers. It should clearly elaborate the research background, core methods, key results and major conclusions, and highlight the research innovations and academic value. Citations and complex formulas are not allowed in the abstract. All professional abbreviations must be fully spelled out upon first occurrence.

5.4 Keywords

A total of 3–6 standardized academic keywords are required, covering the core research objects, methods and disciplinary scope. Overly broad or irrelevant terms should be avoided. All keywords are in lowercase except for proper nouns and separated by commas.

5.5 Main Text

The main text adopts a logically structured layout, consisting of five mandatory sections: Introduction, Theory and Methods, Experiments and Simulations, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion. Section headings are hierarchically numbered (1, 1.1, 1.2...). The text must feature rigorous logic, complete research procedures and sufficient data analysis. All professional terms, symbols and units shall strictly comply with international electromagnetic academic standards.

5.6 Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements are optional and placed before the References section. This section is used to acknowledge national and provincial funding projects, research support institutions and academic advisors. Project numbers may be included as required by funding bodies. The acknowledgement heading carries no serial number, and the content shall not include any research findings or academic discussions that belong to the main text.

6 Formula and Symbol Specifications

All formulas and symbols in IEM manuscripts must comply with the unified formatting standards below:

• Display Equations: All standalone single-line equations are center-aligned, with parenthetical equation numbers right-aligned at the page margin and numbered sequentially in the order of appearance (Equation (1), Equation (2), etc.).

• Inline Equations: All inline mathematical symbols and formulas must be typeset in standard mathematical formats to avoid ambiguous presentation; simple fractions and operators follow universally accepted academic styles.

• Symbol Font Rules: Single-letter physical variables are italicized; vector and matrix variables are bold italicized; physical constants, unit symbols and function names are in roman type. The entire manuscript adopts the International System of Units (SI). Conversion specifications must be specified for non-standard units upon first use.

• Format Consistency: All symbols, abbreviations and definitions must remain consistent throughout the manuscript. New professional symbols and abbreviations must be fully defined at their first occurrence.

7 Reference Format

IEM adopts bracket citation format and enforces strict citation and formatting standards:

• In-text Citation: References are cited with bracketed numerals [1] numbered in the order of first appearance. Consecutive citations are connected with en dashes [1–4], while non-consecutive citations are separated by commas [2,5,7]. Redundant markers such as "Ref." are not required.

• Reference List: References are listed strictly in the order of in-text citation rather than sorted by author or publication year. Each reference is assigned a unique serial number, and footnotes are not supported.

• Author Naming Rule: For references with more than six authors, list the first six authors followed by et al.

• Source Requirements: Priority should be given to high-quality journal papers published within the latest five years. The proportion of conference papers, dissertations and grey literature must be strictly controlled. All references must contain complete and accurate information, including journal abbreviations, volume numbers, page ranges, publication years and DOIs.

Typical Reference Examples:

1. X. Jing, F. Jing, and X.F. Jing, "Intelligent Electronics & Metrology," Intel. Electron. & Metrol. 48, 1256–1259 (2023).

2. X. Jing, Intelligent Electronics and Metrology (Intelligent Electronics & Metrology Press, 2022).

8 Figure and Table Specifications

Detailed requirements for figures and tables are specified as follows:

8.1 Figures

All figures must be original high-resolution graphics submitted in TIFF or EPS vector formats with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi, ensuring clear lines, text and annotations. Multi-subfigure layouts must adopt unified labels of (a), (b), (c) with consistent styling. Figure captions are placed after the References section independently of the main text, starting with "Fig. X." and concisely describing the core content without redundant interpretation.

8.2 Tables

All tables are numbered sequentially (Table 1, Table 2...), with concise and standardized titles placed above each table. Table contents must be complete and self-consistent, with necessary notes attached below the tables. Only top, bottom and header dividing lines are retained, with no redundant internal grid lines. Splitting a single table into multiple subtables is prohibited; multi-module datasets should be compiled into independent separate tables.

9 Publication Ethics and Copyright Regulations

All authors must abide by international publication ethics and academic norms. All forms of academic misconduct, including data fabrication, plagiarism, academic fraud, inappropriate authorship and unauthorized secondary publication, are strictly prohibited.

Upon manuscript acceptance, all authors automatically transfer the publication copyright to the journal editorial office, which holds the legitimate rights to edit, typeset, publish and disseminate the manuscript. Authors may use accepted manuscripts for personal academic research and communication, while any commercial utilization without official authorization is forbidden.

10 Submission and Revision Rules

Prior to final submission, authors must carefully verify the manuscript format, content completeness, figure and table quality, and reference standardization. Manuscripts with incomplete content or non-compliant formats will be returned directly. After submission, authors can track the real-time manuscript status via the online system, including under review, minor revision, major revision, acceptance and rejection. All revised manuscripts must be accompanied by a detailed point-by-point response letter to address all editorial comments.

11 Proofreading

After formal acceptance, the editorial office will send the final typeset proofs to the corresponding author via email. Authors must complete proof revision within the specified time limit (usually 48 hours). Only typographical errors, formula formatting mistakes and figure/table labeling errors are allowed to be corrected at the proof stage. Substantial content modification, content addition, data adjustment, and changes to author or institutional information are prohibited. Failure to reply within the deadline will be deemed as automatic confirmation of the proof content, and the manuscript will enter the formal publication process directly.

12 Open Access Policy

In line with international scientific journal standards, IEM supports Open Access (OA) publishing. Authors can choose either traditional subscription-based publishing or Gold Open Access publishing. Manuscripts published under Gold OA are freely accessible, readable and downloadable for global readers. All OA manuscripts are licensed under the CC BY 4.0 International Open Access License. Authors retain the core academic rights of their works, while the journal holds exclusive publication rights.

13 Manuscript Withdrawal and Retraction Rules

Prior to the completion of editorial processing, authors may submit a formal written withdrawal application with valid reasons. Unjustified voluntary withdrawal applications will not be accepted. Withdrawal requests for processed or accepted manuscripts are subject to strict examination by the editorial board. After formal publication, the journal will initiate a retraction procedure and release an official retraction statement in accordance with international academic publishing standards if academic misconduct, data errors or major content defects are identified.

14 Right of Final Interpretation and Guideline Updates

These Author Guidelines are officially formulated by the Editorial Office of Intelligent Electronics & Metrology (IEM). The editorial office reserves the right of final interpretation of all provisions herein. The guidelines will be revised and updated timely to adapt to upgraded publication standards and academic specifications. No separate notification will be issued for updates, and all subsequent manuscript submissions shall comply with the latest version of these guidelines.