Patent ID: 7099363

Claim:
A surface-emitting laser comprising: a substrate having first and second opposing sides; a first multilayer film reflecting mirror formed on the first side of said substrate; an active layer formed on said first multilayer film reflecting mirror; a current confinement layer formed on said active layer; a clad layer formed on said current confinement layer; a second multilayer film reflecting mirror formed on part of said clad layer; a first electrode formed on said clad layer at a side of said second multilayer film reflecting mirror for injecting current into said active layer only from the side of said second multilayer film reflecting mirror; and a second electrode formed on the second side of said substrate, wherein said current confinement layer comprises a conductive part and an insulating part surrounding the conductive part, the conductive part being defined by a sidewall surface that widens along a direction toward said active layer, wherein electric current applied to said active layer has current density thereof maximized at a central axis of the surface-emitting laser in said active layer, and wherein an inclination angle θ that the sidewall surface of the conductive part has with respect to directions perpendicular to a surface of said current confinement layer satisfies arctan (2.3) ≦θ<90°.