The amplification factor (or gain factor) of an optical amplifier is the factor by which the input power is amplified. In the case of laser amplifiers, in addition to the wavelength of the light and possible beam polarization, it depends on the various details of the laser gain medium and the degree of excitation. In the case of optical parametric amplifiers, it depends on factors such as the length of the nonlinear crystal, pump intensity, beam diameter, etc.
During the amplification of the strong light pulse, the amplification factor may decrease due to gain saturation. The effective amplification factor can then be defined as the ratio of the output energy to the input energy.
Another way to gain is in decibels, calculated as 10 times the logarithm of a base 10 magnification factor.
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