The fabrication, performance characteristics, and design rules of buried-facet optical amplifiers are described. Chip gain of 25 dB, gain ripple of <1 dB, and gain difference of ≤1 dB for TE- and TM-polarized light are observed. The gain ripple and polarization dependence of gain correlate well with the ripple and polarization dependence of the amplified spontaneous emission spectrum. The performance of buried-facet amplifiers is comparable to that of cleaved-facet amplifiers with very good antireflection (R<10−4) coatings. The buried-facet design reduces the requirement on antireflection coatings and makes the fabrication process more reproducible.