Vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode

A vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode comprising:

• a substrate;
• a semiconductor active layer which is formed on the substrate and has a light emitting region;
• a first reflecting mirror and a second reflecting mirror which sandwich the semiconductor active layer to form an optical cavity in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, the first reflecting mirror having a first semiconductor multi-layer film and being formed on an opposite side of the semiconductor active layer from the substrate, and the second reflecting mirror having a second semiconductor multi-layer and being formed on a side of the substrate to the semiconductor active layer;
• a pair of electrodes configured to inject current into the semiconductor active layer;
• a first recess which has a first groove depth penetrating at least the semiconductor active layer from the outermost layer of the first reflecting mirror;
• a second recess which has a second groove depth substantially equal to the first groove depth and has a size smaller than that of the first recess;
• a mesa portion which is surrounded by the first and second recesses;
• and
• an insulating film which is buried in the first recess.