Patent ID: 6650683
Filing Date: 2003-11-18
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
A surface emitting semiconductor laser, comprising:a semiconductor substrate having sequentially layered thereon a lower multi-layer mirror, an active layer region, and an upper multi-layer mirror that, together with the lower multi-layer mirror, contributes to the formation of a cavity; an upper electrode disposed on an upper layer of the upper multi-layer mirror and provided with an aperture that forms an emission region of a laser beam generated at the active layer region; and a current confinement portion disposed between the upper electrode and the lower multi-layer mirror and provided with an aperture that forms a current path, wherein an aperture diameter of the upper electrode and an aperture diameter of the current confinement portion are determined such that a difference between an optical loss of the cavity in a higher-order lateral mode of the laser beam and an optical loss of the cavity in a fundamental lateral mode of the laser beam becomes a value in the vicinity of a maximum value, and the higher-order lateral mode is suppressed, and at least one of the aperture formed in the upper electrode and the aperture of the current confinement portion is formed into a two-fold symmetrical configuration having long and short axes with respect to arbitrary two axial directions orthogonal to each other in a plane.