A VCSEL with current confinement achieved by an oxide insulating region and by
an ion implant region. An annular shaped oxide layer is formed, and a gain guide
ion implant is formed. The ion implant gain guide includes a central region having
high conductivity. The VCSEL further includes first and second mirrors that are
separated by an optical path of at least one wavelength. Furthermore, the oxide
insulating region beneficially has a optical path of less than wavelength.
The ion implanted spatial region is beneficially concentrically aligned with the
oxide insulating region.
