Vertical cavity surface emitting device

A vertical cavity surface emitting device comprising:

• a nitride semiconductor substrate;
• a first multilayer film reflecting mirror formed on the nitride semiconductor substrate and made of nitride semiconductor;
• a first nitride semiconductor layer formed on the first multilayer film reflecting mirror and having a first conductivity type;
• a light-emitting layer formed on the first nitride semiconductor layer and made of nitride semiconductor;
• a second nitride semiconductor layer formed on the light-emitting layer and having a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type of the first nitride semiconductor layer,
• a light-transmitting electrode layer formed on an upper surface of the second nitride semiconductor layer;
• and
• a second multilayer film reflecting mirror formed on the light-transmitting electrode layer,
• wherein:
• a resonator is constituted between the second multilayer film reflecting mirror and the first multilayer film reflecting mirror,
• the upper surface of the second nitride semiconductor layer has a low resistance region and a high resistance region, the high resistance region surrounding the low resistance region and having an electrical resistance higher than an electrical resistance of the low resistance region,
• the low resistance region of the upper surface of the second nitride semiconductor layer is projected,
• the light-transmitting electrode layer covers both the low resistance region and the high resistance region,
• the low resistance region functions as a current injected region in which a current is injected from the light-transmitting electrode layer to the second nitride semiconductor layer,
• the high resistance region functions as a non-current injected region in which a current injection from the light-transmitting electrode layer to the second nitride semiconductor layer is suppressed,
• the resonator includes a central region and an outer region, the central region corresponding to the low resistance region and extending between the first and the second multilayer film reflecting mirrors, and the outer region being disposed corresponding to the high resistance region outside the central region, and
• the outer region has an equivalent refractive index lower than an equivalent refractive index of the central region.