NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR LASER AND EPITAXIAL SUBSTRATE

摘要

Provided is a nitride semiconductor laser with which it is possible to reduce drive voltage while restricting the reduction in the optical confinement factor. In a semiconductor region (19), an active layer (25) of a light-emitting layer (13), a first cladding region (21), and a second cladding region (23) are disposed on a primary surface (17a). The second cladding region (23) comprises a first p-type Group III nitride semiconductor layer (27) and a second p-type Group III nitride semiconductor layer (29). The first p-type Group III nitride semiconductor layer (27) is formed from an AlGaN layer, and the second p-type Group III nitride semiconductor layer (29) is formed from a semiconductor that is different from the AlGaN layer. The AlGaN layer contains anisotropic distortion. The first p-type Group III nitride semiconductor layer (27) is disposed between the second p-type Group III nitride semiconductor (29) and the active layer (25). The specific resistance rho29 of the second p-type Group III nitride semiconductor layer (29) is lower than the specific resistance rho27 of the first p-type Group III nitride semiconductor layer 27.