In one aspect, a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) is operable to generate single-mode laser light at an operative wavelength. The VCSEL includes a light-emitting surface and a monolithic longitudinal stack structure. The longitudinal stack structure includes a first mirror, a second mirror, and a cavity region. The cavity region is disposed between the first mirror and the second mirror and includes an active light generation region and a cavity extension region. The longitudinal stack structure further includes an ion-implanted current confinement region. A VCSEL array incorporating the above described VCSEL and a method of making the above-described VCSEL also are described.