Patent ID: 8031753

Claim:
A red surface emitting laser element comprising: a first reflector; a second reflector including a p-type semiconductor multilayer film containing aluminum and arsenic; an active layer between the first reflector and the second reflector; a first spacer layer between the active layer and the second reflector, wherein the first spacer layer is a p-type semiconductor spacer layer and has a thickness of 150 nm or more and 350 nm or less, and wherein the first spacer layer contains aluminum, indium, and phosphorus; a second spacer layer between the first spacer layer and the active layer, wherein the second spacer layer is a semiconductor layer having an impurity concentration lower than that of the first spacer layer; a third spacer layer that is an n-type semiconductor spacer layer between the first reflector and the active layer; and a fourth spacer layer between the third spacer layer and the active layer, wherein the fourth spacer layer has an impurity concentration lower than that of the third spacer layer, wherein the active layer is located in a resonator, and the resonator has an asymmetrical structure in which the active layer is not located at the center of the resonator in a cavity length direction, wherein a thickness of the first spacer layer is larger than a thickness of the third spacer layer, a thickness of the second spacer layer is smaller than the thickness of the first spacer layer, a thickness of the fourth spacer layer is smaller than the thickness of the third spacer layer, and the thickness of the second spacer layer and the thickness of the fourth spacer layer are smaller than a thickness of the active layer, and wherein the first spacer layer and the second spacer layer are in contact with each other and the third spacer layer and the fourth spacer layer are in contact with each other.