Booster Optical Amplifiers (BOAs), designed for handling significant input signals (typically around 10dBm), are available in both submount and fiber-coupled configurations. O-band quantum dot BOAs are notable for their high output power, with some models exceeding 550mW, and a high saturation. Booster Optical Amplifiers (BOAs) are single-pass, traveling-wave amplifiers that perform well with both monochromatic and multi-wavelength signals. Since BOAs only amplify one state of polarization, they are best suited for applications where the input polarization of the light is known. An illustration of the effective gainis given below. Typically, inputs and outputs are laser beams (very rarely other types of light beams), either propagating as Gaussian beams in free space or in a fiber.
[PDF Version]