Measurements of the gain spectrum of near-traveling wave and Fabry-Perot semiconductor optical amplifiers at 1.5micron.

We discuss the relationship between facet reflectivity and gain bandwidth in semiconductor optical amplifiers and present the first high resolution measurements of the gain spectrum of InGaAsP 1.5micron optical amplifiers. The relatively smooth gain spectrum and high output power of near-traveling wave amplifiers are compared with those of Fabry-Perot amplifiers.