NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR LASER DEVICE AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD

A method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor laser device with suppression of deterioration of the yield and good light emission characteristic. The method comprises a step of forming nitride semiconductor layers on an n-type GaN substrate, a step of forming a ridge composed of a p-type clad layer and a contact layer and extending in the [1-100] direction, a step of forming a trench made in the top surface of the n-type GaN substrate by applying a YAG laser beam and extending in the direction ([11-20] direction) perpendicular to the ridge, and a step of forming end surfaces of a resonator by dividing the n-type GaN substrate from the trench. The step of forming a trench includes a substep of forming the end of the trench in a region a predetermined distance W2 (about 50 μm to about 200 μm) apart from the side face of the ridge.