Patent ID: 8642365

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a ridge-type semiconductor laser comprising the steps of: forming a stacked semiconductor layer on a semiconductor substrate having a major surface including a first surface and a second surface that are provided in that order in a waveguiding direction, the stacked semiconductor layer including an active layer and an etch stop layer provided above the active layer; etching at least a portion of the etch stop layer and a portion of the active layer of the stacked semiconductor layer formed on the second surface; forming a semiconductor portion on the second surface where the stacked semiconductor layer is etched off; forming a ridge waveguide portion in the stacked semiconductor layer by etching a region of the stacked semiconductor layer formed on the first surface to a first depth reaching the etch stop layer; forming a plurality of semiconductor diffraction grating portions by etching a region of the semiconductor portion formed on the second surface to a second depth larger than the first depth, the plurality of semiconductor diffraction grating portions being formed periodically in the waveguiding direction; and forming a diffraction grating section including the plurality of semiconductor diffraction grating portions and a plurality of resin diffraction grating portions, the plurality of resin diffraction grating portions being formed by providing a resin layer over and between the plurality of semiconductor diffraction grating portions, wherein the step of forming the ridge waveguide portion includes forming and patterning a first mask portion on the stacked semiconductor layer; and selectively etching the stacked semiconductor layer to the etch stop layer by using the patterned first mask portion as a mask, wherein the step of forming the semiconductor diffraction grating portions includes forming and patterning a second mask portion on the semiconductor portion; and etching the semiconductor portion by using the patterned second mask portion as a mask, and wherein the etching of the stacked semiconductor layer in the step of forming the ridge waveguide portion and the etching of the semiconductor portion in the step of forming the semiconductor diffraction grating portions are performed simultaneously.