Patent ID: 7470555

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser device, comprising: laminating a layer of a first conductivity type, an active layer and a layer of a second conductivity type, in that order, on a substrate to form a laminate structure, wherein at least one of the layers is a nitride semiconductor layer; forming a first protective film on the laminate structure, the first protective film having a stripe configuration; first etching a portion of the laminate structure at a place where the first protective film is not formed, thereby forming a first stripe ridge in the layer of the second conductivity type; forming a second protective film on a part of the surface which has been exposed in the first etching such that a first portion of the laminate structure, including a part of the first stripe ridge, is covered, and such that a second portion of the laminate structure, including a part of the first stripe ridge, is exposed; second etching the second portion of the laminate structure, including where the first protective film is formed on the first stripe ridge, thereby forming a second stripe ridge in the layer of the first conductivity type; removing the second protective film such that the first protective film remains; forming a third protective film, having an insulating property and made of a material different from the first protective film, on the first protective film and an area exposed by the etchings; and removing the first protective film together with the third protective film which was formed on the first protective film.