Patent ID: 7944957

Claim:
A surface emitting semiconductor laser, comprising: a substrate; a lower reflective mirror formed on the substrate; an active layer formed on the lower reflective mirror, and emitting light; an upper reflective mirror formed on the active layer, and forming a resonator between the lower reflective mirror and thereof; an optical mode controlling layer comprising a single layer and being formed between the lower reflective mirror and the upper reflective mirror, and an opening being formed therein for selectively absorbing or reflecting off light that is emitted in the active layer, the opening being formed to have slit-like shapes, and the optical mode controlling layer optically controlling mode of laser light; and a current confining layer formed between the lower reflective mirror and the upper reflective mirror, and confining current that is applied during driving, wherein a portion of light emitted from the active layer passes through the opening, and the rest of the light is absorbed by or reflected off the optical mode controlling layer, and the optical mode controlling layer is made of a semiconductor layer that has a lattice constant matched to the active layer.