US Patent 7499481 Surface-emitting laser and method for producing the same

A surface-emitting laser includes reflectors. One of the reflectors has multiple layers including one or more high-refractive-index layers and one or more low-refractive-index layers which are alternately stacked. At least one of the low-refractive-index layers includes a first region containing aluminum oxide and a second region surrounding the first region. A boundary between the first and second regions is positioned within a region where laser light is emitted. The reflectance of the multilayer reflector is higher in a portion including the first region than in a portion including the second region.