Provided here are: a mesa strip which has an n-type cladding layer, an active layer and a p-type cladding layer that are stacked sequentially on a surface of an n-type substrate; Fe-doped semi-insulating layers which are embedded along both sides of the mesa stripe, each up to a height higher than the mesa stripe; n-type blocking layers which are stacked on respective surfaces of the Fe-doped semi-insulating layers located on the both sides of the mesa stripe, and which are spaced apart from each other with an interval that is a space corresponding to a central portion of the active layer and is thus narrower than the active layer; p-type cladding layers which are formed on back surfaces of respective mesa-stripe-side end portions of the n-type blocking layers; and a p-type cladding layer which buries a top of the mesa stripe, the p-type cladding layers and the n-type blocking layers.

An optical semiconductor device outputting a predetermined wavelength of laser light includes a quantum well active layer positioned between a p-type cladding layer and an n-type cladding layer in thickness direction. The optical semiconductor device includes a separate confinement heterostructure layer positioned between the quantum well active layer and the n-type cladding layer. The optical semiconductor device further includes an electric-field-distribution-control layer positioned between the separate confinement heterostructure layer and the n-type cladding layer and configured by at least two semiconductor layers having band gap energy greater than band gap energy of a barrier layer constituting the quantum well active layer. The quantum well active layer is doped with 0.3 to 1×10.sup.18/cm.sup.3 of n-type impurity.

A semiconductor laser is provided with: an active layer that excites a transverse electric (TE) mode and a transverse magnetic (TM) mode of light and constitutes at least a part of a resonator guiding the TE mode and the TM mode of light; and a diffraction grating as a frequency difference setting structure that sets the difference in oscillation frequency between the TE mode and the TM mode of light higher than a relaxation-oscillation frequency.

A light emitting device includes a first active layer on a substrate, a current spreading length, and a plurality of mesa regions on the first active layer. At least a first portion of the first active layer can comprise a first electrical polarity. Each mesa region can include, at least a second portion of the first active layer, a light emitting region on the second portion of the first active layer with a dimension parallel to the substrate smaller than twice the current spreading length, and a second active layer on the light emitting region. The light emitting region can be configured to emit light with a target wavelength from 200 nm to 300 nm. At least a portion of the second active layer can comprise a second electrical polarity.

A method of forming an optical aperture of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser includes the steps of providing a layer stack of semiconductor layers, the semiconductor layers including an intermediate layer comprising a semiconductor material suitable to be oxidized and oxidizing the intermediate layer to an oxidation width so as to form an oxidized outer region and a non-oxidized central region in the intermediate layer. The method also includes removing at least a part of the oxidized outer region so as to form a gap where the oxidized outer region or the part of the oxidized outer region has been removed, depositing an electrically non-conducting material on walls of the gap with a thickness smaller than a thickness of the gap, and filling a remaining void of the gap with a further material.

A first burying layer burying a side of a first ridge structure is formed by selective growth using a first selective growth mask and a third selective growth mask. The first burying layer is formed by regrowth from a surface of a second semiconductor layer on a side of the first ridge structure. At the same time, by selective growth using a second selective growth mask and a fourth selective growth mask, a second burying layer burying a side of a second ridge structure is formed. The second burying layer is formed by regrowth from a surface of a fourth semiconductor layer on a side of the second ridge structure.

A semiconductor laser device includes a laser section and a modulator section. The laser section has: a first mesa stripe which is formed on a semiconductor substrate; semi-insulative burying layers which are placed to abut on both side surfaces of the first mesa stripe and are formed on the semiconductor substrate; n-type burying layers formed on respective surfaces of the semi-insulative burying layers; and a p-type cladding layer which covers surfaces of the n-type burying layers and the first mesa stripe. The modulator section has: a second mesa stripe which is formed on the semiconductor substrate; semi-insulative burying layers which are placed to abut on both side surfaces of the second mesa stripe and are formed on the semiconductor substrate; and a p-type cladding layer which covers surfaces of the semi-insulative burying layers and the second mesa stripe.

A method for fabricating a semiconductor device on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor device is adapted to provide target lasing properties, the method includes creating, a mask layer over the semiconductor substrate, the mask layer having at least one opening to expose a region of the semiconductor substrate, etching using a first etching process the exposed region, utilizing inductively coupled plasma with preselected first set of parameters to obtain a baseline mesa profile, the baseline mesa profile having a baseline mesa angle, re-etching using a second etching process the etched region, utilizing inductively coupled plasma with preselected second set of parameters, to alter the baseline mesa profile to obtain a requisite mesa profile having a requisite mesa angle defined by the target lasing properties and the requisite mesa angle being different from the baseline mesa angle, removing the mask layer and defining a p-n junction for the semiconductor substrate.

A laminate (22) is formed on a semiconductor substrate (10). Two or more grooves (54) are formed in the laminate (22). A mesa (24) with two grooves among the two or more grooves (54) positioned on both sides is formed. An insulating resin film (30) is embedded into the two or more grooves (54). A first opening (32) is formed at the insulating resin film (30) embedded in one of the two or more grooves (54) and an electrode (46) extracted upward from a bottom surface (36) is formed. A first side surface (34) of the insulating resin film (30) is inclined in a forward tapered direction.

There are provided a surface emission laser 10, a surface emission laser array in which the surface emission laser 10 is arrayed two-dimensionally, and a surface emission laser manufacturing method that enable efficient injection of a current to an active layer 200b, while suppressing deterioration of the crystallinity of layers stacked above a contact area.

The present technology provides a surface emission laser 10 including a substrate 100, and a mesa structure 200 formed on the substrate 100, in which the mesa structure 200 includes at least a part of a first multilayer film reflector 200a stacked on the substrate 100, an active layer 200b stacked on the first multilayer film reflector 200a, and a second multilayer film reflector 200c stacked on the active layer 200b, and an impurity area 800 is provided over a contact area CA that is adjacent to the mesa structure 200, and contacts an electrode 600, and a side wall section of a portion of the mesa structure 200 which portion includes the first multilayer film reflector 200a.