Patent ID: 8540376

Claim:
A projector comprising: a light emitting device; a light modulation device adapted to modulate a light beam emitted from the light emitting device in accordance with image information; and a projection device adapted to project the image formed by the light modulation device, wherein the light emitting device includes a light emitting element, and an optical member which a light beam emitted from the light emitting element enters, the light emitting element is a super luminescent diode provided with a stacked structure having an active layer sandwiched between a first cladding layer and a second cladding layer, at least a part of the active layer constitutes a first gain region and a second gain region, a first surface and a second surface out of exposed surfaces of the active layer opposed to each other in the stacked structure, the first gain region is disposed linearly from the first surface to the second surface of the active layer so as to be tilted in a clockwise direction with respect to a perpendicular of the first surface in a plan view along a stacking direction of the stacked structure, the second gain region is disposed linearly from the first surface to the second surface of the active layer so as to be tilted in a counterclockwise direction with respect to a perpendicular of the first surface in the plan view along the stacking direction of the stacked structure, and the optical member has a first planar surface in which the light beam emitted from an end surface located on a second surface side of the first gain region enters so as to be tilted toward one side with respect to the second surface, a second planar surface in which the light beam emitted from an end surface located on a second surface side of the second gain region enters so as to be tilted toward another side with respect to the second surface, and an exit planar surface that is parallel to the second surface and emits the light incident in the optical member, the optical member refracting the light beams emitted respectively from the end surface of the first gain region on the second surface side and the end surface of the second gain region on the second surface side to thereby emit the light beams as light beams proceeding in the same direction.