JP2009065086A - Surface emitting semiconductor laser, surface emitting semiconductor laser array, and laser printer - Google Patents

Abstract

A surface-emitting semiconductor laser capable of reducing the manufacturing cost and extending the life while maintaining the reliability of a laser printer or the like is provided.
A surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention includes three or more resonators 141 to 143, a first common electrode electrically connected to each of the resonators, and each of the resonators electrically. Each of the resonators includes a first mirror electrically connected to the first common electrode, and an active layer formed above the first mirror. And a second mirror formed above the active layer and electrically connected to the second common electrode, and at least a part of each of the active layer is a light emitting region 108, and in plan view, The centers of the light emitting regions are located on the circumference and are arranged at equal intervals.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a surface emitting semiconductor laser, a surface emitting semiconductor laser array, and a laser printer.

  In recent years, semiconductor lasers have begun to be used not only in printing apparatuses such as laser printers but also in video apparatuses such as projectors in order to improve their performance. In the past, many semiconductor lasers used in laser printers were based on a single beam. However, in order to realize high-speed printing using a plurality of beams, it is considered to use a semiconductor laser array arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally as a light source. Also in projectors, it is considered to use a semiconductor laser as a light source instead of a conventional mercury lamp, and it is desired to increase the output of the semiconductor laser for improving the luminance. One method is to array semiconductor lasers.

When semiconductor lasers are used in the form of an array, it may become defective even if one element in the array fails, as in a laser printer. The failure rate becomes higher as the number of elements constituting the array is increased, which may cause a reduction in lifetime and a decrease in reliability. As a method for extending the life of the semiconductor laser array, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 discloses a method of providing a spare semiconductor laser array and switching to a spare element when an element fails.
JP 7-276704 A

  However, in the above method, a spare semiconductor laser array and a peripheral circuit must be prepared, which may lead to an increase in the number of parts and an increase in cost.

  One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a surface emitting semiconductor laser capable of reducing the manufacturing cost and extending the life while maintaining the reliability of a laser printer or the like. Another object of the present invention is to provide a surface emitting semiconductor laser array and a laser printer having the surface emitting semiconductor laser.

The surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention is:
Three or more resonators;
A first common electrode electrically connected to each of the resonators;
A second common electrode electrically connected to each of the resonators,
Each of the resonators
A first mirror electrically connected to the first common electrode;
An active layer formed above the first mirror;
A second mirror formed above the active layer and electrically connected to the second common electrode;
At least a part of each of the active layers is a light emitting region,
In plan view, the centers of the light emitting regions are located on the circumference and are arranged at equal intervals.

  In the surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention, the centers of the light emitting regions are located on the circumference and arranged at equal intervals in plan view. As a result, in a laser printer or the like to which the surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention is applied, three or more spots can be equally applied to each of a plurality of pixels in a balanced manner. Further, in each pixel, for example, when any one spot disappears due to a failure or the like, even if the disappearance occurs in any pixel, the pattern after the disappearance can be made equivalent. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate variations in the pattern of each pixel after a failure or the like.

  From the above, according to the surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention, it is possible to extend the life while maintaining good reliability of a laser printer or the like. According to the surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention, unlike the method described in Patent Document 1, it is not necessary to prepare a spare semiconductor laser array and peripheral circuits, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced. it can.

  In the description of the present invention, the word “upper” is referred to as, for example, another specific member (hereinafter referred to as “B member”) formed “above” a “specific member (hereinafter referred to as“ A member ”). ) "Etc. In the description according to the present invention, in such a case, the B member is formed directly on the A member, and the B member is formed on the A member via another. The word “above” is used as a case where the case is included.

  In the present invention, the “equal interval” includes a case where the interval is completely equal and a case where the interval is substantially equal.

In the surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention,
The resonator has a current confinement layer having an opening,
The light emitting region may coincide with the opening of the current confinement layer in plan view.

  In the present invention, the case of “matching” includes the case of perfect matching and the case of matching substantially.

In the surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention,
At least the second mirror is provided with a groove,
The current confinement layer may be oxidized from a side surface of the groove.

In the surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention,
Each of the resonators has a plurality of the grooves,
Each of the plurality of grooves may be physically separated from each other.

In the surface emitting semiconductor laser according to the present invention,
A part of the plurality of grooves of the adjacent resonators may be integrated.

A surface-emitting semiconductor laser array according to the present invention includes a plurality of the above-described surface-emitting semiconductor lasers,
The plurality of surface emitting semiconductor lasers are arranged in an array.

A laser printer according to the present invention includes the above-described surface-emitting type semiconductor laser array,
A photoreceptor for receiving laser light emitted from the surface emitting semiconductor laser,
The same number of laser beams as the resonator are irradiated to each of the plurality of pixels of the photoconductor.

In the laser printer according to the present invention,
An optical system member for changing a path of the laser beam emitted from the surface emitting semiconductor laser;
The center of the circumference where each center of the light emitting region is located may be aligned with the optical axis of the optical system member.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1. First, a surface emitting semiconductor laser (hereinafter also referred to as “surface emitting laser”) 100 and a surface emitting semiconductor laser array (hereinafter also referred to as “surface emitting laser array”) 300 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  1 is a plan view schematically showing the surface emitting laser 100 and the surface emitting laser array 300, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a top view which shows a part roughly.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the surface emitting laser 100 includes a substrate 101, three resonators 141, 142, and 143, an insulating layer 110, a first common electrode 107, a second common electrode 109, Can be included. Note that the surface emitting laser 100 may include more than three resonators.

  As the substrate 101, for example, a first conductivity type (for example, n-type) GaAs substrate or the like can be used.

The resonators 141 to 143 are formed on the substrate 101. Each of the resonators 141 to 143 includes a first conductivity type (n-type) first mirror 102, an active layer 103 formed on the first mirror 102, and a second layer formed on the active layer 103. A second mirror 104 of a conductive type (for example, p-type). Specifically, the first mirror 102 includes, for example, 40 pairs of distributed Bragg reflections in which n-type Al _0.9 Ga _0.1 As layers and n-type Al _0.15 Ga _0.85 As layers are alternately stacked. A type (DBR) mirror. The active layer 103 has, for example, a multiple quantum well (MQW) structure in which three quantum well structures each composed of a GaAs well layer and an Al _0.3 Ga _0.7 As barrier layer are stacked. The second mirror 104 is, for example, a 25 pair DBR mirror in which p-type Al _0.9 Ga _0.1 As layers and p-type Al _0.15 Ga _0.85 As layers are alternately stacked. Note that the composition and the number of layers constituting the first mirror 102, the active layer 103, and the second mirror 104 are not particularly limited.

  The first mirror 102, the active layer 103, and the second mirror 104 can constitute a vertical resonator. The p-type second mirror 104, the active layer 103 not doped with impurities, and the n-type first mirror 102 constitute a pin diode. At least the second mirror 104 can constitute a columnar semiconductor deposited body (hereinafter referred to as “columnar portion”) 130. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the columnar section 130 may be configured by the upper portion of the first mirror 102, the active layer 103, and the second mirror 104. The planar shape of the columnar section 130 is, for example, a circle. Each of the columnar portions 130 of the resonators 141 to 143 is physically separated from each other as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example. The resonators 141 to 143 share the lower part of the first mirror 102, and three columnar parts 130 are independently provided on the lower part of the first mirror 102.

  In addition, each of the resonators 141 to 143 includes a current confinement layer 105 including an opening 115 as shown in FIG. For example, at least one of the layers constituting the second mirror 104 can be the current confinement layer 105. As the current confinement layer 105, for example, an oxidized AlGaAs layer can be used. The current confinement layer 105 is an insulating layer. The current confinement layer 105 is formed in a ring shape, for example.

  A part of the active layer 103 is a light emitting region 108 as shown in FIG. The light emitting region 108 is provided in the central portion of the active layer 103 in the example of FIG. The boundary of the light emitting region 108 of the active layer 103 is defined by the shape, position, size, and the like of the opening 115 of the current confinement layer 105. For example, the light emitting region 108 may coincide with the opening 115 of the current confinement layer 105 in a plan view (FIG. 3). The planar shape of the light emitting region 108 is, for example, a circle as shown in FIG. Note that the entire active layer 103 may be the light emitting region 108.

  In the light emitting region 108 of the active layer 103, recombination of electrons and holes occurs, and light emission due to the recombination occurs. Stimulated emission occurs when this light reciprocates between the first mirror 102 and the second mirror 104, and the intensity of the light is amplified. When the optical gain exceeds the optical loss, laser oscillation occurs, and laser light is emitted from the upper surface of the second mirror 104 to the outside.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the main part of the surface emitting laser 100. In plan view (FIG. 4), the centers of the three light emitting regions 108 are located on the circumference A and are arranged at equal intervals. As shown in FIG. 4, the distance between the center of the first light emitting region 108a and the center of the second light emitting region 108b is d1, and the distance between the center of the second light emitting region 108b and the center of the third light emitting region 108c. Is d2, and the distance between the center of the third light emitting region 108c and the center of the first light emitting region 108a is d3,
d1 = d2 = d3
It is. d1, d2, and d3 are, for example, 10 μm or less. In the illustrated example, the areas of the three light emitting regions 108a, 108b, and 108c in plan view can be made equal to each other.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a first common electrode 107 is formed on the lower surface side of the substrate 101. The first common electrode 107 is electrically connected to the first mirror 102 via the substrate 101. For example, the first common electrode 107 is formed under the entire lower surface of the substrate 101.

  A second common electrode 109 is formed on the second mirror 104 and the insulating layer 110. The second common electrode 109 is electrically connected to the second mirror 104. As shown in FIG. 1, the second common electrode 109 may include a contact portion 109a, a lead portion 109b, and a pad portion 109c. The second common electrode 109 is in contact with the second mirror 104 at the contact portion 109a. The planar shape of the contact portion 109a of the second common electrode 109 is, for example, a circle having three circular openings 180 as shown in FIG. The opening portion 180 of the contact portion 109 a is provided on the columnar portion 130. In plan view, the light emitting region 108 is provided inside the opening 180 of the contact portion 109a. The lead portion 109b of the second common electrode 109 connects the contact portion 109a and the pad portion 109c. The planar shape of the lead-out part 109b is, for example, a straight line as shown in FIG. The pad portion 109c of the second common electrode 109 is connected to an external wiring or the like as an electrode pad. The planar shape of the pad portion 109c is, for example, a circle as shown in FIG.

  The insulating layer 110 is formed on the first mirror 102. The insulating layer 110 is formed so as to surround the columnar part 130. On the insulating layer 110, a lead portion 109b and a pad portion 109c of the second common electrode 109 are formed. The insulating layer 110 electrically separates the second common electrode 109 and the first mirror 102.

  FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the surface emitting laser 100. As shown in FIG. 5, the three resonators 141 to 143 are connected in parallel in the same direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the surface emitting laser array 300 includes a plurality of the surface emitting lasers 100 described above. The plurality of surface emitting lasers 100 are arranged in an array. The plurality of surface emitting lasers 100 are arranged in a horizontal row, for example, as shown in FIG. For convenience, FIG. 1 shows only two surface emitting lasers 100 provided at one end of the surface emitting laser array 300 and one surface emitting laser 100 provided at the other end. The remaining surface emitting laser 100 is not shown. A plurality of surface emitting lasers 100 in the surface emitting laser array 300 share a substrate 101.

  2. Next, an example of the method for manufacturing the surface emitting laser 100 and the method for manufacturing the surface emitting laser array 300 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  6 and 7 are cross-sectional views schematically showing one manufacturing process of the surface-emitting laser 100 and the surface-emitting laser array 300 of the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. It corresponds.

  (1) First, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, an n-type GaAs substrate is prepared as the substrate 101. Next, the semiconductor multilayer film 150 is formed on the substrate 101 by epitaxial growth while modulating the composition. The semiconductor multilayer film 150 is obtained by sequentially stacking the semiconductor layers constituting the first mirror 102, the active layer 103, and the second mirror 104. When the second mirror 104 is grown, at least one layer in the vicinity of the active layer 103 can be a layer that is oxidized later to become the current confinement layer 105. As the layer that becomes the current confinement layer 105, for example, an AlGaAs layer having an Al composition of 0.95 or more can be used.

  (2) Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the semiconductor multilayer film 150 is patterned to form the first mirror 102, the active layer 103, and the second mirror 104 having desired shapes. Thereby, the columnar part 130 is formed. The patterning of the semiconductor multilayer film 150 is performed using, for example, a lithography technique and an etching technique.

  Next, the current constricting layer 105 is formed by oxidizing the layer to be the current confining layer 105 from the side surface by introducing the whole after the columnar portion 130 is formed in a water vapor atmosphere at about 400 ° C., for example.

  (3) Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an insulating layer 110 is formed on the first mirror 102 so as to surround the columnar portion 130. First, an insulating layer made of polyimide resin or the like is formed on the entire surface by using, for example, a spin coating method. Next, the upper surface of the columnar section 130 is exposed using, for example, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method. In this manner, the insulating layer 110 having a desired shape can be formed.

  Next, the first common electrode 107 and the second common electrode 109 are formed. These electrodes can be formed in a desired shape by, for example, a combination of a vacuum deposition method and a lift-off method. In addition, the order which forms each electrode is not specifically limited.

  (4) Through the above steps, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the surface emitting laser 100 and the surface emitting laser array 300 of this embodiment are obtained.

  3. Next, the laser printer 500 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the laser printer 500, and FIG. 9 is a plan view schematically showing the photoconductor 510 of the laser printer 500 in a state where laser light is irradiated.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the laser printer 500 includes a support member 502, the above-described surface emitting laser array 300, a first spacer 504, an optical system member 506, a second spacer 508, and a photoreceptor 510. Can be included.

  The support member 502 supports the surface emitting laser array 300. As the support member 502, for example, a ceramic member having a metal film lead formed on the upper surface can be used. The support member 502 is sometimes called a submount. The surface emitting laser array 300 is provided on the support member 502.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the optical system member 506 can change the course of the laser beam 520 emitted from the surface emitting laser 100 of the surface emitting laser array 300. As the optical system member 506, for example, a lens array can be used. The optical system member 506 is preferably arranged so that the optical axis thereof matches the center a (see FIG. 4) of the circumference A where the center of each light emitting region 108 of the surface emitting laser 100 is located.

  The first spacer 504 is a spacer between the support member 502 and the optical system member 506. The first spacer 504 may be provided on the support member 502 and below the optical system member 506. The first spacer 504 is formed using, for example, various resin materials, various metal materials, and the like.

  The photoreceptor 510 receives the laser beam 520 emitted from the surface emitting laser 100. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the same number (three in the illustrated example) of laser beams 520 as the resonators 141 to 143 are irradiated to each of the plurality of pixels 512 of the photoconductor 510. On the photoconductor 510, as shown in FIG. 9, three spots 522 of the laser beam 520 are formed for one pixel 512. The shape of the spot 522 is, for example, a circle as shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, each of the spots 522 is in contact with each other and overlaps at a point. Note that the spots 522 do not have to overlap each other. The planar shape of the pixel 512 is, for example, a circle as shown in FIG. 9, and its diameter is, for example, 20 μm or less.

  The second spacer 508 is a spacer between the optical system member 506 and the photoreceptor 510 as shown in FIG. The second spacer 508 may be provided on the optical system member 506 and below the photoconductor 510. The second spacer 508 is formed using, for example, various resin materials, various metal materials, and the like.

  4). In the surface emitting laser 100 according to the present embodiment, the centers of the light emitting regions 108 are located on the circumference A and arranged at equal intervals in plan view (see FIG. 4). Thereby, for example, in a laser printer 500 to which the surface emitting laser 100 is applied, for example, three spots 522 can be applied equally to each of the plurality of pixels 512 in a balanced manner as shown in FIG. . Further, in any pixel 512, for example, when any one spot disappears due to a failure or the like, even if the disappearance occurs in any pixel 512, the pattern after the disappearance can be made equivalent. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9, the pattern in the pixel 512 of the remaining two spots 522 after disappearance is 120 degree rotational symmetry regardless of which spot disappears (in FIG. 9, the disappeared spot Is labeled 524). Note that the axis of symmetry passes through the center of the pixel 512. In this way, since the pattern after the spot disappearance can be made equivalent, variations in the pattern for each pixel 512 after a failure or the like can be eliminated. The failure of the resonators 141 to 143 is often caused by a defect that occurs in the light emitting region 108. However, since each of the light emitting regions 108 is provided separately, the failure of the resonators 141 to 143 is It happens almost alone. That is, the spot disappearance due to the failure of the resonators 141 to 143 mostly occurs one by one.

  From the above, according to the surface emitting laser 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to extend the life while maintaining the reliability of the laser printer 500 or the like, for example. Then, according to the surface emitting laser 100 according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to prepare a spare semiconductor laser array or a peripheral circuit as in the method described in Patent Document 1 above, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced. it can.

  As described above, when a spot disappears due to a failure or the like in one pixel 512, for example, when there are three spots 522 before the disappearance and two spots 522 after the disappearance, the disappearance occurs. It is desirable to increase the output of the laser beam 520 that forms the latter two spots 522 to 3/2 times (1.5 times). Thereby, the light quantity irradiated to one pixel 512 can be kept constant before and after spot disappearance. The output of the laser beam 520 can be controlled by monitoring the light amount from the outside of the surface emitting laser 100.

  In the laser printer 500 of this embodiment, the optical axis of the optical system member 506 is aligned with the center a of the circumference A where the center of each light emitting region 108 of the surface emitting laser 100 is located (see FIG. 4). It is desirable that they are arranged as follows. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, three spots 522 can be more reliably applied to each of the plurality of pixels 512 with good balance.

  5). Next, a modification of the surface emitting laser according to this embodiment will be described. Note that differences from the surface-emitting laser 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (hereinafter referred to as “example of surface-emitting laser 100”) will be described, and description of similar points will be omitted.

  (1) First, a first modification will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view schematically showing a part of the surface emitting laser 400 according to this modification, and FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI in FIG. The plan view shown in FIG. 10 corresponds to the plan view shown in FIG. 3 in the example of the surface emitting laser 100.

  In the example of the surface emitting laser 100, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the case where the columnar portions 130 that are physically separated from each other are provided has been described. On the other hand, in this modification, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, an integrated columnar portion 430 can be provided. The planar shape of the integrated columnar portion 430 is, for example, a circle as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing one manufacturing process of the surface emitting laser 400 of the present modification, and corresponds to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. In the present modification, at least the groove 420 can be provided in the second mirror 104. In the illustrated example, the groove 420 is provided through the upper part of the second mirror 104, the active layer 103, and the first mirror 102. A plurality of grooves 420 can be formed in each of the resonators 141 to 143. In the illustrated example, three grooves 420 are formed for each of the resonators 141 to 143. The planar shape of the groove 420 is, for example, an arc shape as shown in FIG. Each of the plurality of grooves 420 is physically separated from each other as shown in FIG. 10, for example, and is not continuous. The groove 420 is formed using, for example, a lithography technique and an etching technique. The groove 420 can be formed, for example, in the same process as the process of forming the columnar part 430.

  In addition, a part of the plurality of grooves 420 of the adjacent resonators can be integrated. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 422 is attached to the integrated groove. In the illustrated example, three grooves 420 near the center of the entire three resonators 141 to 143 are integrated to form a groove 422.

  In the present modification, the current confinement layer 405 can be formed by being oxidized from the side surface of the groove 420 as shown in FIG. In the present modification, the current confinement layer 405 can be formed so as to surround the groove 420. The current confinement layer 405 may be formed without a gap between the grooves 420. Thereby, since each groove 420 can be insulated, a current can be efficiently injected into the light emitting region 108 of the active layer 103. In order to form the current confinement layer 405 without any gap between the grooves 420, the distance between the grooves 420 (shortest distance) is set to the shortest distance from the side surface of the groove 420 to the opening 415 of the current confinement layer 405 (that is, , The distance to be oxidized) may be less than twice.

  After the current confinement layer 405 is formed, the insulating layer 410 can be formed so as to fill the groove 420. The insulating layer 410 can be formed on the first mirror 102 and the second mirror 104. The insulating layer 410 can be formed so as to surround the columnar part 430.

  In the surface emitting laser 400 according to this modification, the insulating layer 410 is embedded in the groove 420, but the region where the groove 420 is not formed is made of a semiconductor that forms the second mirror 104, the active layer 103, and the like. . Since the thermal conductivity of the semiconductor is higher than that of the insulator, the surface emitting laser 400 according to the present modification can improve the heat dissipation compared to the surface emitting laser 100, for example.

  Further, in the surface emitting laser 400 according to the present modification, a part of the plurality of grooves 420 of adjacent resonators can be integrated. Thereby, the entire area of the three resonators 141 to 143 can be reduced, and the surface emitting laser 400 can be reduced in size.

  (2) Next, a second modification will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a plan view schematically showing a part of a surface emitting laser 600 according to this modification. The plan view shown in FIG. 13 corresponds to the plan view shown in FIG. 3 in the example of the surface emitting laser 100.

  In the present modification, the planar shape of the contact portion 109a of the second common electrode 109 can be a shape in which a part of three circles overlap as shown in FIG. In addition, since the one where the area of an electrode is larger is preferable from a thermal radiation viewpoint, the planar shape of an electrode can be changed suitably.

  In the example of the surface emitting laser 100, as shown in FIG. 3, the case where the lead portion 109b of the second common electrode 109 is pulled out from the two resonators 141 and 142 side has been described. On the other hand, in the present modification, as shown in FIG. 13, the lead-out portion 109b can be pulled out from the opposite side of the two resonators 141 and 142, that is, from the remaining one resonator 143 side.

  (3) Next, a third modification will be described.

  In this modification, although not shown, the substrate 101 in the example of the surface emitting laser 100 can be separated using, for example, an epitaxial lift-off (ELO) method. That is, the surface emitting laser 100 can have no substrate 101.

  (4) Next, a fourth modification will be described.

  As described above, the surface emitting laser 100 and the surface emitting laser array 300 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are suitable for the laser printer 500 as shown in FIG. 8, for example, but the surface emitting laser 100 and the surface emitting laser array 300 are suitable. Can also be applied to other laser drawing apparatuses. As another laser drawing apparatus, a laser display etc. are mentioned, for example. In addition, the surface emitting laser 100 and the surface emitting laser array 300 can be applied to, for example, a projector or a communication device having an optical waveguide (for example, an optical fiber).

  (5) The above-described modifications are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these. For example, it is possible to appropriately combine the modified examples.

  6). Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail as described above, those skilled in the art will readily understand that many modifications are possible without substantially departing from the novel matters and effects of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the present invention.

The top view which shows schematically the surface emitting laser and surface emitting laser array of this embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows schematically the surface emitting laser and surface emitting laser array of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing a part of the surface emitting laser according to the embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the principal part of the surface emitting laser which concerns on this embodiment. 1 is a circuit diagram of a surface emitting laser according to an embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the surface emitting laser and surface emitting laser array of this embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the surface emitting laser and surface emitting laser array of this embodiment. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a laser printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing a photoreceptor of the laser printer according to the present embodiment. The top view which shows roughly the 1st modification of the surface emitting laser which concerns on this embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows schematically the 1st modification of the surface emitting laser which concerns on this embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows roughly one manufacturing process of the modification of the surface emitting laser of this embodiment. The top view which shows roughly the 2nd modification of the surface emitting laser which concerns on this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 surface emitting laser, 101 substrate, 102 first mirror, 103 active layer, 104 second mirror, 105 current confinement layer, 107 first common electrode, 108 light emitting region, 109 second common electrode, 110 insulating layer, 115 opening , 130 Columnar part, 141 to 143 resonator, 150 semiconductor multilayer film, 180 aperture, 300 surface emitting laser array, 400 surface emitting laser, 405 current confinement layer, 410 insulating layer, 420, 422 groove, 500 laser printer, 502 Support member, 504 First spacer, 506 Optical system member, 508 Second spacer, 510 Photoconductor, 512 pixels, 520 Laser beam, 522 Spot, 600 Surface emitting laser

Claims (8)

Three or more resonators;
A first common electrode electrically connected to each of the resonators;
A second common electrode electrically connected to each of the resonators,
Each of the resonators
A first mirror electrically connected to the first common electrode;
An active layer formed above the first mirror;
A second mirror formed above the active layer and electrically connected to the second common electrode;
At least a part of each of the active layers is a light emitting region,
A planar light emitting semiconductor laser in which the centers of the light emitting regions are positioned on a circumference and arranged at equal intervals in a plan view. In claim 1,
The resonator has a current confinement layer having an opening,
The surface emitting semiconductor laser, wherein the light emitting region coincides with the opening of the current confinement layer in plan view. In claim 2,
At least the second mirror is provided with a groove,
The surface emitting semiconductor laser, wherein the current confinement layer is oxidized from a side surface of the groove. In claim 3,
Each of the resonators has a plurality of the grooves,
Each of the plurality of grooves is a surface-emitting type semiconductor laser that is physically separated from each other. In claim 4,
A surface emitting semiconductor laser in which a part of the plurality of grooves of adjacent resonators is integrated. Including a plurality of surface-emitting type semiconductor lasers according to claim 1,
The plurality of surface-emitting type semiconductor lasers are surface-emitting type semiconductor laser arrays arranged in an array. A surface-emitting type semiconductor laser array according to claim 6,
A photoreceptor for receiving laser light emitted from the surface emitting semiconductor laser,
The laser printer in which the same number of the laser beams as the resonator are irradiated to each of the plurality of pixels of the photoconductor. In claim 7,
An optical system member for changing a path of the laser beam emitted from the surface emitting semiconductor laser;
The laser printer, wherein a center of the circumference where each center of the light emitting region is located is aligned with an optical axis of the optical system member.

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