Photonic-crystal surface emitting laser, laser array using the laser, and image forming apparatus using the laser array

摘要

A laser structure is provided in which an influence caused by a concave-convex structure on laser characteristics is reduced when the Epitaxial Lateral Overgrowth (ELO) technique is applied to a photonic-crystal surface emitting laser. A height of the mask structure is set such that a reflection peak wavelength of 0-th order diffracted light and a reflection peak wavelength of first-order diffracted light differ from each other for light that enters a concave-convex periodic structure, which is constituted by a first layer and a mask structure, from a photonic crystal. Further, reflection intensity of the 0-th order diffracted light from the concave-convex periodic structure is larger than reflection intensity of the first-order diffracted light from the concave-convex periodic structure at an oscillation wavelength λ.