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 optical semiconductor device is applied to a ridge-stripe type laser.

A semiconductor laser device includes a first conductivity type cladding layer having a refractive index n.sub.c1, a first conductivity type side optical guide layer, an active layer, a second conductivity type side optical guide layer, and a second conductivity type cladding layer of n.sub.c2 laminated in order on a first conductivity type semiconductor substrate, wherein an oscillation wavelength is λ, a first conductivity type low refractive index layer of n.sub.1 lower than n.sub.c1 having a thickness of d.sub.1 is provided between the first conductivity type side optical guide layer and the first conductivity type cladding layer, a second conductivity type low refractive index layer of n.sub.2 lower than n.sub.c2 having a thickness of d.sub.2 is provided between the second conductivity type side optical guide layer and the second conductivity type cladding layer, and a condition of a normalization frequency v.sub.2>v.sub.1 is satisfied.

A quantum-cascade laser element includes: a semiconductor substrate; a semiconductor laminate formed on the semiconductor substrate to include a ridge portion configured to include an active layer having a quantum-cascade structure; an embedding layer including a first portion formed on a side surface of the ridge portion, and a second portion extending from an edge portion of the first portion on a side of the semiconductor substrate along a width direction of the semiconductor substrate; a metal layer formed on a top surface of the ridge portion, on the first portion, and on the second portion; and a dielectric layer disposed between the second portion and the metal layer. The dielectric layer is formed such that a part of the second portion is exposed from the dielectric layer. The metal layer is in contact with the second portion at the part.

A nitride-based electronic device includes an oxide cladding layer, a nitride cladding layer, and a nitride active region layer arranged between the oxide cladding layer and the nitride cladding layer. First and second metal contacts are electrically coupled to the nitride active region layer. The nitride-based electronic device can be formed in a system in which a non-reactive chamber is arranged between an oxide reaction chamber and a nitride reaction chamber so that oxide and nitride layers can be grown without exposing the device to the environment between growth of the oxide and nitride layers.

There are included: a second semiconductor layer of a second conduction-type formed to be on and in contact with the active layer; and a third semiconductor layer of a second conduction-type formed on the second semiconductor layer, the third semiconductor layer is arranged above a formation region of the active layer, a bottom surface of the third semiconductor layer is arranged in the formation region of the active layer, and a width of the third semiconductor layer, on the active layer side, in a direction perpendicular to a waveguide direction and parallel to a plane of a substrate is set to be smaller than a width of the active layer in the same direction.

A quantum-cascade laser element includes: a semiconductor substrate; a semiconductor mesa formed on the semiconductor substrate to include an active layer having a quantum-cascade structure and to extend along a light waveguide direction; an embedding layer formed to interpose the semiconductor mesa along a width direction of the semiconductor substrate; a cladding layer formed over the semiconductor mesa and over the embedding layer; and a metal layer formed on the cladding layer. A pair of groove portions extending along the light waveguide direction are formed in a surface on an opposite side of the cladding layer from the semiconductor substrate. The pair of groove portions are disposed in two respective outer regions when the cladding layer is equally divided into four regions in the width direction of the semiconductor substrate. The metal layer enters the pair of groove portions.

An edge-emitting multi-beam semiconductor laser device includes a layered structure including a substrate, an n-type cladding layer, a light-emitting layer, and a p-type cladding layer. The layered structure has m regions (m≥2) that are adjacent in a first direction, and a sum of a height of the substrate and a height of the first conductive cladding layer is different in each of the m regions, n laser resonators (2≤n≤m) each having a ridge stripe structure extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction are formed in the n regions among the m regions, and at least two of the n laser resonators have different oscillation wavelengths among the n laser resonators.

A light source includes a laser diode device and a wavelength conversion member. The wavelength conversion member includes a wavelength conversion element having voids and a dielectric element. The dielectric element fills the voids on a surface of the wavelength conversion element adjacent to the dielectric element. An output facet of the laser diode device is configured to output a laser beam of electromagnetic radiation. The laser beam is incident on a surface of the wavelength conversion member and a light is emitted from the wavelength conversion member. The light emission includes a mixture of wavelengths characterized by at least the second wavelength from the wavelength conversion member.

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 optical semiconductor device is applied to a ridge-stripe type laser.

An edge-emitting semiconductor laser includes: a semiconductor substrate; a first cladding layer having a first refractive index and formed on the semiconductor substrate; an active layer formed on the first cladding layer and having a second refractive index higher than the first refractive index; a Bragg reflector formed on the active layer and in which low-refractive-index layers and high-refractive-index layers each having a thickness larger than λ/4n are alternately laid one on another where λ is an lasing wavelength and n is a refractive index of a medium; a light absorption layer formed on the Bragg reflector and having bandgap energy lower than that of the active layer; and a second cladding layer formed on the light absorption layer and having a third refractive index lower than the second refractive index.