Abstract: A semiconductor mesa structure including active, absorbing, or passive guide layer is surrounding laterally by insulating mask, and is buried by a cladding layer which extends over the insulating mask, and injected current flows through the cladding layer into the mesa structure without leakage from the cladding layer into a substrate so that the semiconductor optical device is improved in performance.

Abstract: The present invention provides a low noise multimode VCSEL that can be used to transmit data reliably on multimode optical media at data rates up to and exceeding 1 gigabit per second with bit error rates less than 1.times.10.sup.-9 errors/bit. In contrast to conventional multimode lasers where optimal mirror reflectivity is designed for maximum power output, in the present invention mirror reflectivity is increased to a point where the output power is less than half the maximum output power. Preferably, the reflectivity of the first and second mirror regions of the multimode laser is high, typically greater than 99.5%.

Abstract: A semiconductor laser having a plurality of semiconductor laser chips laminated by solder layers which cause no interference with laser beams is provided. To this end, each of the semiconductor laser chips has a solder sump recess formed in the surface to be soldered at an end adjacent to a laser beam radiating surface and extending through portions of the chip except an active layer.