Does laser clipping occur in an optical transmitter or a optical receiver?

Laser clipping primarily occurs in an optical transmitter. It happens when the input signal to the laser exceeds the maximum output level that the laser can produce, leading to distortion and a nonlinear response. This can result in signal degradation and loss of information integrity. In contrast, optical receivers generally deal with signal detection and amplification rather than generating light, so clipping is not a relevant issue in that context.