Patent ID: 7763907

Claim:
A semiconductor light emitting element comprising: an {0001} n-type semiconductor substrate formed of a III-V semiconductor, which is in a range of 0° to 45° in inclination angle into a <1-100> direction, and which is in a range of 0° to 10° in inclination angle into a <11-20> direction except the inclination angle of 0° in both the <1-100> direction and the <11-20> direction; an n-type layer formed of a III-V semiconductor on the n-type semiconductor substrate; an n-type guide layer formed of a III-V semiconductor above the n-type layer; an active layer formed of a III-V semiconductor above the n-type guide layer; a p-type first guide layer formed of a III-V semiconductor above the active layer; a p-type contact layer formed of a III-V semiconductor above the p-type first guide layer; a concavo-convex layer formed of In x Ga 1-x-y Al y N (0<x<1, 0<y<1) between the p-type first guide layer and the p-type contact layer, the concavo-convex layer having concave portions and convex portions which are alternately and regularly arranged at a top face thereof and having lower p-type impurity concentration than that of the p-type contact layer, a composition y of Al in the concavo-convex layer being in a range of 0.001% to 6%, and the height difference from a top of a convexity to a bottom of its neighboring concavity in the concavo-convex layer is in a range of 5 nm to 200 nm, wherein concave portions and convex portions are formed partly as a result of substrate orientation and without a dedicated etching step; a first electrode formed on the p-type contact layer and extending across the concave portions and convex portions, the p-type contact layer having concave portions and convex portions corresponding to the concave portions and the convex portions of the concavo-convex layer respectively, and the p-type contact layer and the concavo-convex layer being formed by crystal growth respectively.