Patent ID: 7830940

Claim:
A nitride semiconductor laser element comprising: a nitride semiconductor substrate fabricated to have a high dislocation density region and a low dislocation density region containing lower dislocation than that of the high dislocation density region, and has at least one recess formed in a top surface of the nitride semiconductor substrate in at least the high dislocation density region; a first nitride semiconductor layer laminated on the top surface of the nitride semiconductor substrate, and having a recess over the recess in the nitride semiconductor substrate, the first nitride semiconductor layer having a first film portion grown from a side face of the recess in the nitride semiconductor substrate in a direction parallel to the top surface of the nitride semiconductor substrate, the first film portion having a first film thickness as measured from a top corner of the recess in the nitride semiconductor substrate in the direction parallel to the top surface of the nitride semiconductor substrate, and a second film portion grown in a direction perpendicular to the top surface of the nitride semiconductor substrate in a region other than the recess in the first nitride semiconductor layer, the second film portion having a second film thickness as measured from the top surface of the nitride semiconductor substrate in the direction perpendicular to the top surface of the nitride semiconductor substrate, the first film thickness being greater than the second film thickness; and a second nitride semiconductor layer laminated on a top surface of the first nitride semiconductor layer and containing indium, the second nitride semiconductor layer having a recess formed over the recess in the first nitride semiconductor layer.