The center wavelength of a BOA can be readily tailored for specific applications. It is quite common to adjust the BOA wavelength spectrum to match the specific laser source. Please contact us if you have custom wavelength requirements for pilot-projects or OEM applications.

Click to Enlarge
When current is applied across the ridge waveguide, excited state electrons are stimulated by input light, leading to photon replication and signal gain.

Features

• Booster Optical Amplifier (BOA)
  • Polarization Maintaining: Amplifies Only One Polarization State
  • Single Mode (SM) or Polarization-Maintaining (PM) Fiber Pigtails (1.5 m) with FC/APC Connectors
  • Free-Space Chips Offered on Submount or Heatsink
  • Typical Applications: Boosting Laser Transmitters, Compensating for Transmit MUX/DeMUX Insertion Loss, Optical Shutter
• Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)
  • Polarization Independent: Amplifies All Polarization States
  • SM or PM Fiber Pigtails (1.5 m) with FC/APC Connectors
  • Typical Applications: Inline Amplifier, Detector Pre-Amp, Fast Optical Switch
    (~1 ns Switching Speed)

BOAs and SOAs 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. For applications where the input polarization is unknown or fluctuates, SOAs are required. However, the gain, noise, bandwidth, and saturation power specifications of a BOA are superior to that of a SOA because of the design features that make the SOA polarization insensitive.

Click to Enlarge
Our SOA1117S and BOA1004P optical amplifiers are also available in the S7FC1013S and S9FC1004P benchtop optical amplifiers, respectively.

Thorlabs offers fiber-coupled BOAs and SOAs that exhibit low coupling losses, as well as free-space BOAs as a chip on submount (C) or chip on heatsink (H). Losses typically range from 1.5 to 2.5 dB for the fiber-to-chip and chip-to-fiber coupling (each). This affects the total gain, noise figure (NF), and saturation power (P_sat). While the gain produced by the amplifier exceeds that of the losses, these losses remain an important factor in determining the device's performance. For instance, a 1 dB drop in input coupling efficiency increases the noise figure by 1 dB. Alternatively, a 1 dB drop in output coupling decreases the saturation power by 1 dB.

Mount and Driver Options
These butterfly packages are compatible with the CLD1015 laser diode mount with integrated controller and TEC. When operating the BOAs on this page with the CLD1015, the orientation for type 1 pin configurations should be used. They are also compatible with the LM14TS and LM14S2 mounts, which can be used with our laser diode, TEC, and combined current/TEC controllers. When operating these lasers in environments with more than 5 °C variation in temperature, we recommend using the LM14TS mount, which provides active control of the butterfly package's case temperature to stabilize the amplifier's output wavelength and power.

Center Wavelength Note
The center wavelength (CWL) of the ASE spectrum in broadband semiconductor devices such as optical amplifiers may show variation between lots. Please refer to the Specs tab for the CWL tolerances of each particular model. For applications in which a specific ASE center wavelength is a critical concern, please contact Tech Support for information on the CWL of currently available lots.

Booter Optical Amplifiers in Butterfly Packages

Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers in Butterfly Packages

Booster Optical Amplifier Chips

Item #		BOA1007C and BOA1007H
Parameter	Symbol	Min	Typical	Max
Operating Current	IOP	-	600 mA	750 mA
Central Wavelength	λC	1530 nm	1550 nm	1580 nm
Optical 3 dB Bandwidth	BW	80 nm	85 nm	-
Saturation Output Powera (@ -3 dB)	PSAT	15 dBm	18 dBm	-
Small Signal Gain (@ PIN = -20 dBm, λ = 1550 nm)	G	26 dB	30 dB	-
Gain Ripple (RMS) @ IOP	δG	-	0.05 dB	0.3 dB
Polarization Extinction Ratio	PER	-	18 dB	-
Chip Noise Figure	NF	-	6.0 dB	8.0 dB
Forward Voltage	VF	-	1.3 V	1.6 V
Chip Length	L	-	1.5 mm	-
Waveguide Refractive Index		-	3.2	-
Lateral Beam Exit Angle	ΘEXT	-	19.5°	-
Beam Divergence Angle (FWHM)
Transverse	ΘT	26°	34°	42°
Lateral	ΘL	10°	14°	30°

• The maximum amount of CW power that can be extracted is approximately 3 dB higher than the saturation power. Please see the Optical Amplifiers tab for more information.

Click to Enlarge
Figure 1: Diagram of the BOA1007C (top down view). The anode and cathode sections of the chip are highlighted here. Please note that the BOA1007H has the same chip structure, and thus, its anode and cathode sections can be similarly determined.

Note: All plots illustrate typical performance, and individual units may have slightly different performance, within the parameters outlined on the Specs tab.

BOA1004S and BOA1004P Graphs

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1004S and BOA1004P Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1004S and BOA1004P Raw Data

BOA1550S Graphs

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550S Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550S Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550S Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550S Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550S Raw Data

BOA1550P Graphs

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550P Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550P Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550P Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550P Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1550P Raw Data

SOA1013S Graphs

Click to Enlarge
Click for SOA1013S Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for SOA1013S Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for SOA1013S Raw Data

SOA1117S and SOA1117P Graphs

Click to Enlarge
Click for SOA1117S and SOA1117P Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for SOA1117S and SOA1117P Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for SOA1117S and SOA1117P Raw Data

BOA1007C and BOA1007H Graphs

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1007C and BOA1007H Raw Data

Click to Enlarge
Click for BOA1007C and BOA1007H Raw Data

Mechanical Drawing and Pin Assignments for Butterfly Package

Booster optical amplifiers (BOAs) and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) 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. For applications where the input polarization is unknown or fluctuates, SOAs are required. However, the gain, noise, bandwidth, and saturation power specifications of a BOA are superior to that of a SOA because of the design features that make the SOA polarization insensitive.

BOAs and SOAs are similar in design to Fabry-Perot Laser Diodes, the difference being that Fabry-Perot laser diodes have reflective coatings on both end faces of the semiconductor chip. The optical feedback from the reflective end faces establishes a cavity in which lasing can occur. SOAs and BOAs have an anti-reflection (AR) coating on both end faces of the semiconductor chip. The AR coatings limit the optical feedback into the chip so that lasing does not occur.

As is typical for all amplifiers, BOAs/SOAs operate in two regimes: a linear, flat, constant gain regime and a non-linear, saturated output regime. When used to amplify a modulated signal, the linear regime is typically used to eliminate pattern-dependent distortion, multi-channel cross-talk, and transient response issues common to EDFAs. The non-linear regime is used to take advantage of the highly non-linear attributes of the semiconductor gain medium (cross-gain modulation, cross phase modulation) to perform wavelength conversion, optical 3R regeneration, header recognition, and other high-speed optical signal processing functions.

For a continuous wave input signal, the amount of power that can be produced by the amplifier is determined by the saturation output power (P_sat) parameter. P_sat is defined as the output power at which the small-signal gain has been compressed by 3 dB. The maximum amount of CW power that can be extracted is approximately 3 dB higher than the saturation power.