A quantum cascade laser integrated device includes: first and second lower semiconductor mesas extending in a direction of a first axis; a covering region disposed on top and side faces of the first and second lower semiconductor mesas, and including a first and second upper semiconductor mesas, the first and second upper semiconductor mesas extending in the direction of the first axis on the first and second lower semiconductor mesas, respectively; and a first and second electrodes disposed on the second upper semiconductor mesa, the first lower semiconductor mesa and the second lower semiconductor mesa each including a quantum cascading core layer, the covering region including a current blocking semiconductor region embedding the first and second lower semiconductor mesas, and a first conductivity-type semiconductor region disposed on the first and second lower semiconductor mesas and the current blocking semiconductor region, and the conductivity-type semiconductor region including an upper cladding region.

To provide a semiconductor optical device with device resistance reduced for optical communication. The semiconductor optical device includes an active layer (306) for emitting light through recombination of an electron and a hole; a diffraction grating (309) having a pitch defined in accordance with an output wavelength of the light emitted; a first semiconductor layer (311) including at least Al, made of In and group-V compound, and formed on the diffraction grating; and a second semiconductor layer (307) including Mg, made of In and group-V compound, and formed on the first semiconductor layer (311).

A semiconductor laser includes a semiconductor layer including end faces and at least one of the end faces is configured as a light emission end face. The semiconductor layer includes a waveguide and a light window structure region. The waveguide has a first width and is extended between the end faces. The light window structure region includes an opening having a second width greater than the first width arranged along the waveguide and is formed continuously or intermittently from one to another of the end faces.

A quantum cascade laser includes a substrate including first and second regions arranged along a first axis; a stacked semiconductor layer disposed in the second region, the stacked semiconductor layer having an end facet located on a boundary between the first and second regions, the stacked semiconductor layer including a core layer and a cladding layer that are exposed at the end facet thereof; and a distributed Bragg reflection structure disposed in the first region, the distributed Bragg reflection structure including a semiconductor wall and a covering semiconductor wall that covers the end facet of the stacked semiconductor layer. The semiconductor wall and the covering semiconductor wall are made of a single semiconductor material. The semiconductor wall has first and second side surfaces. The covering semiconductor wall has an end facet that is located away from the first and second side surfaces of the semiconductor wall.

A quantum cascade semiconductor laser includes a substrate with a main surface including a waveguide area and a distributed Bragg reflection area that are arranged in a direction of a first axis; a laser region provided on the waveguide area, the laser region including a mesa waveguide having first and second side surfaces, and first and second burying regions provided on the first and second side surfaces, respectively; a distributed Bragg reflection region provided on the distributed Bragg reflection area, the distributed Bragg reflection region including a semiconductor wall having first bulk semiconductor regions and first laminate regions that are alternately arrayed in a direction of a second axis intersecting the first axis; and an upper electrode provided on the laser region. Each first bulk semiconductor region includes a bulk semiconductor layer. Each first laminate region includes a stacked semiconductor layer having a plurality of semiconductor layers.

A laser resonator includes an active material, which amplifies light associated with an optical gain of the resonator, and passive materials disposed in proximity with the active material. The resonator oscillates over one or more optical modes, each of which corresponds to a particular spatial energy distribution and resonant frequency. Based on a characteristic of the passive materials, for the particular spatial energy distribution corresponding to at least one of the optical modes, a preponderant portion of optical energy is distributed apart from the active material. The passive materials may include a low loss material, which stores the preponderant optical energy portion distributed apart from the active material, and a buffer material disposed between the low loss material and the active material, which controls a ratio of the optical energy stored in the low loss material to a portion of the optical energy in the active material.

A semiconductor laser in a ridge waveguide structure includes: a semiconductor substrate; a lower cladding layer which is formed on the semiconductor substrate; an active layer and a semiconductor layer which are in parallel on the lower cladding layer and are connected with each other; a first upper cladding layer locally aligned above the active layer; a second upper cladding layer locally aligned above the semiconductor layer; and a third upper cladding layer locally aligned above the active layer to confine light which is guided in the active layer, wherein the semiconductor layer has a band gap which is larger than that of the active layer. According to this constitution, an optical semiconductor device with high reliability in which the ridge waveguide structure whose manufacturing is relatively easy is applied, and current diffusion and electrical crosstalk between lasers in the ridge waveguide structure are suppressed is enabled.

A semiconductor laser may include a substrate, an active region, and an electron stopper layer. The electron stopper layer may include an aluminum gallium indium arsenide phosphide alloy. The aluminum gallium indium arsenide phosphide alloy may have an Al.sub.xGa.sub.yIn.sub.(1-x-y)As.sub.zP.sub.(1-z) composition.

Provided is a semiconductor light source element or an optical device including a semiconductor optical waveguide of a high-mesa semi-insulated embedded structure having a window structure made of the same material as an overclad layer at a light emission end, and a method for manufacturing thereof, in which an active layer at a portion of the window structure is removed, and then the same layer as the overclad layer is formed.

An optical transmission apparatus includes a first multilevel optical phase modulator and a first semiconductor optical amplifier. The first semiconductor optical amplifier includes a first active region having a first multiple quantum well structure. Assuming that a first number of layers of a plurality of first well layers is defined as n.sub.1 and a first length of the first active region is defined as L.sub.1 (μm): (a) n.sub.1=5 and 400≤L.sub.1≤563; (b) n.sub.1=6 and 336≤L.sub.1≤470; (c) n.sub.1=7 and 280≤L.sub.1≤432; (d) n.sub.1=8 and 252≤L.sub.1≤397; (e) n.sub.1=9 and 224≤L.sub.1≤351; or (f) n.sub.1=10 and 200≤L.sub.1≤297.