A surface-emitting semiconductor laser having a light-emitting region and a
non-light-emitting region, the light-emitting region emitting light in a
direction perpendicular to a semiconductor substrate. The light-emitting
region includes a resonator formed on the semiconductor substrate. The
non-light-emitting region includes a contact region electrically connected
to the resonator. The contact region is formed in a layer which is part of
a layer including at least part of the resonator but is apart from the
part of the resonator, and the contact region has a higher carrier density
than the layer in which the contact region is formed.