Patent ID: 8331414

Claim:
A surface-emitting laser comprising: a lower multilayer reflector provided on a substrate; an active layer provided on the lower multilayer reflector; an upper multilayer reflector provided on the active layer; and a surface relief structure provided on the upper multilayer reflector, wherein the surface relief structure includes: a high-reflectance region in the middle portion of a light exit region, the high-reflectance region having a higher reflectance than a peripheral portion, a region of a first laminate, a region of a second laminate that has a larger optical thickness than the first laminate, and a region of a third laminate that has a larger optical thickness than the first laminate and the second laminate, wherein the region of the first laminate, the region of the second laminate, and the region of the third laminate are arranged horizontally, wherein the reflectance of the middle portion of the high-reflectance region including the region of the first laminate and the region of the third laminate is higher than that of the peripheral portion including the region of the second laminate, or wherein the reflectance of the middle portion of the high-reflectance region including the region of the second laminate is higher than that of the peripheral portion including the region of the first laminate and the region of the third laminate.