PURPOSE: To enhance the controllability of a step of etching a mesa and to suppress the deterioration of light emitting characteristic in an AlGaInP visible semiconductor laser by forming an etching stopper layer having the same composition as that of an active layer on a second clad layer.

CONSTITUTION: An AlGaInP first clad layer 30 having larger forbidden band width than that of an active layer 10, the active layer 10 made of (AlxGe1-x)0.5 In0.5P and an AlGaInP second clad layer 40 having larger forbidden band width than that of the layer 10 are sequentially formed on a GaAs substrate 100 in a double hetero structure. An etching stopper layer 20 formed of the same composition as that of the layer 10 and doped with 1×1018cm-3 or more, a mesa type third clad layer 50 made of AlGaInP having larger forbidden band width than that of the layer 10 and a protective layer 80 are formed thereon, current blocking layers 70 are formed on both sides of the mesa, and a cap layer 60 is laminated thereon.