In order to solve the problems of bad sidewall steepness and device repetition in the traditional etching process of semiconductor laser, the etching process of 980 nm tapered semiconductor laser is optimized by means of the combination of wet etching and dry etching. The difference of wet etching solution and concentration ratio is determined through the study of mesa roughness and etching speed. The effect of inductively coupled plasma etching on the surface morphology of the damaged grooves in ridged waveguide and cavity is analyzed. The results show that the etching rate is about 7 nm/s, and the etching rate is easy to be controlled by wet etching with the ratio of NH3 ·H2O∶H2O2∶H2O=1∶1∶50. The surface of the sample has good roughness and uniformity, the ridge waveguide and cavity etched by inductively coupled plasma have good steepness of the side wall of the groove, and there is no transverse drilling erosion.