Patent ID: 8329489

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device, the device including an n-type semiconductor layer, a p-type semiconductor layer, and a light emitting unit provided between the n-type semiconductor layer and the p-type semiconductor layer, the method comprising: forming a buffer layer made of a crystalline Al x Ga 1-x N (0.8≦x≦1) on a first substrate made of c-plane sapphire and forming a GaN layer on the buffer layer; stacking the n-type semiconductor layer, the light emitting unit, and the p-type semiconductor layer on the GaN layer; and separating the first substrate by irradiating the GaN layer with a laser having a wavelength shorter than a bandgap wavelength of GaN from the first substrate side through the first substrate and the buffer layer, wherein the p-type semiconductor layer includes a p-type cladding layer provided on the light emitting unit and a p-type contact layer provided on the p-type cladding layer, and the p-type cladding layer is Mg-doped p-type AlGaN formed to have a concentration profile including a higher Mg concentration on a side of the first substrate and a lower Mg concentration on a side opposite to the first substrate, so that a piezoelectric field in the p-type cladding layer is canceled by the concentration profile.