Patent ID: 7312508

Claim:
An optical element comprising: a surface-emitting type semiconductor laser including, above a substrate, a first mirror, an active layer, a second mirror and an isolation layer disposed on a top face of the substrate; a photodetector element, that is provided directly on a top surface of the surface-emitting type semiconductor laser, including a first contact layer in contact with the isolation layer, a photoabsorption layer and a second contact layer; a first dielectric layer formed above the substrate; and a second dielectric layer on a top face of the first contact layer, wherein the first dielectric layer covers a side surface of a first columnar section including at least a portion of the second mirror, the second dielectric layer covers a side surface of a second columnar section including at least a portion of the second contact layer, and the first dielectric layer, the second dielectric layer and the isolation layer are composed in different layers.