A vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor laser array device includes a semiconductor substrate and a multilayer structure on the substrate that includes at least four core elements arranged in a two-dimensional rectangular array, with the core elements separated from one another and surrounded by a matrix region formed to have an effective higher index than the core elements for antiguiding of the radiation leakage from the core elements. The width of the matrix region separating adjacent core elements may be selected to provide either in-phase or out-of-phase resonant coupling between the adjacent core elements, and the matrix region and upper and lower reflectors are positioned to act upon the light generated in an active region layer to produce lasing action phase-locked between the core elements to produce emission of light from at least one of the upper or lower faces of the semiconductor laser array.