Patent ID: 7079562

Claim:
An apparatus for fabricating a surface emitting semiconductor laser comprising: a projection part projecting light onto an area including at least two kinds of monitor-use mesas respectively including III–V semiconductor layers that contain Al and have side surfaces exposed, when the side surfaces and a side surface of a III–V semiconductor layer of a laser-use mesa that contains Al and a side surface exposed are oxidized; a photoelectric conversion part converting reflected lights from the monitor-use mesas into electrical signals; an oxidization terminating time estimation part that detects times when the III–V semiconductor layers of the two kinds of monitor-use mesas are totally oxidized on the basis of the electrical signals, and estimates an oxidization terminating time when oxidization of the III–V semiconductor layer of the laser-use mesa should be terminated; and an oxidization control part causing oxidization of the III–V semiconductor layer of the laser-use mesa to be terminated at the oxidization terminating time to thus define a current confinement layer in the laser-use mesa.