Patent ID: 8737447

Claim:
A surface-emitting laser comprising: an active layer; a two-dimensional photonic crystal layer having a resonant mode in an in-plane direction; a semiconductor layer; and an electrode in this order, wherein the two-dimensional photonic crystal layer contains p-type conductive In x Ga 1-x N (0≦x≦1) as a high-refractive-index medium, the semiconductor layer contains p-type conductive In y Ga 1-y N (0≦y≦1), and the thickness t PhC of the two-dimensional photonic crystal layer satisfies the relation of t PhC ≧(λ/n eff ), where λ denotes a lasing wavelength, and n eff denotes an effective refractive index of the resonant mode; and the thickness t semi of the semiconductor layer satisfies the relation of 0.25×(λ/n eff )≦t semi ≦1.25×(λ/n eff ).