Patent ID: 8237180

Claim:
A light emitting element, comprising: a semiconductor laminated structure comprising a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, a second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type, and an active layer sandwiched between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer; a surface electrode comprising a center electrode disposed on one surface of the semiconductor laminated structure and located directly below a pad electrode, and a thin wire electrode extending from a periphery of the center electrode; and a contact part disposed on a part of another surface of the semiconductor laminated structure extruding a part located directly below the surface electrode, in parallel along the thin wire electrode, and comprising a plurality of first regions forming a shortest current pathway between the thin wire electrode and a second region allowing the plurality of first regions to be connected, wherein the surface electrode includes an arrangement that a shortest current pathway between the center electrode and the contact part is longer than a shortest current pathway between the thin wire electrode and the first region, and a shortest current pathway between an end part of the thin wire electrode and the contact part is not shorter than the shortest current pathway between the thin wire electrode and the first region.