Patent ID: 8693515

Claim:
A group-III nitride semiconductor laser device comprising: a laser structure including a support base and a semiconductor region, the support base comprising a hexagonal group-III nitride semiconductor and having a semipolar primary surface, and the semiconductor region being provided on the semipolar primary surface of the support base; and an electrode provided on the semiconductor region of the laser structure, the semiconductor region including a first cladding layer of a first conductivity type gallium nitride-based semiconductor, a second cladding layer of a second conductivity type gallium nitride-based semiconductor, and an active layer, the active layer being provided between the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer, the first cladding layer, the second cladding layer, and the active layer being arranged along a normal axis to the semipolar primary surface, the active layer including a gallium nitride-based semiconductor layer, a c-axis of the hexagonal group-III nitride semiconductor of the support base tilting at an angle ALPHA with respect to the normal axis toward an m-axis of the hexagonal group-III nitride semiconductor, the angle ALPHA between the normal axis and the c-axis of the hexagonal group-III nitride semiconductor falling within one of a range of not less than 45° and not more than 80° and a range of not less than 100° and not more than 135°, the laser structure including first and second fractured faces, the first and second fractured faces intersecting with an m-n plane defined by the normal axis and the m-axis of the hexagonal group-III nitride semiconductor, a laser cavity of the group-III nitride semiconductor laser device including the first and second fractured faces, wherein a laser waveguide extends from one of the first fractured face and the second fractured face to the other of the first fractured face and the second fractured face, the laser structure including first and second surfaces and the first surface is opposite to the second surface, and each of the first and second fractured faces extending from an edge of the first surface to an edge of the second surface, wherein an end face of the support base and an end face of the semiconductor region are exposed in each of the first and second fractured faces, and wherein an angle between the end face of the active layer in the semiconductor region and a reference plane perpendicular to the m-axis of the support base of the hexagonal nitride semiconductor is in the range of not less than (ALPHA−5)° and not more than (ALPHA+5)° in a first plane defined by the c-axis and the m-axis of the group-III nitride semiconductor, wherein the angle is in the range of not less than −5° and not more than +5° on a second plane perpendicular to the first plane and the normal axis.