To enable a group III nitride semiconductor light emitting element to fulfill its function of radiating short-wavelength visible light in the blue or green color band, by forming the light emitting layer of the element in such a way that a super lattice structure is arranged on an n-type clad layer side, and providing an active layer on the layer arranged at the end of the supper lattice structure on a p-type clad layer side.

A group III nitride semiconductor light emitting element is constituted in such a way that a buffer layer 102 composed of undoped GaN (gallium nitride) is deposited on a sapphire substrate 101 and a lower clad layer 103 composed of N-type GaN is deposited on the layer 102. Then a super lattice structure 104 is arranged on the layer 103 by alternately laminating Group III n-type crystalline nitride semiconductor layers containing group III constituent elements at different percentages composition and having nearly equal thicknesses upon another in 2-25 cycles. In addition, an active layer 109 composed of a crystalline group III n-type nitride semiconductor layer is provided on the upper terminating layer 106 arranged at the terminating end of the structure 104 on a p-type clad layer 110 side.