Methods of manufacturing edge-emitting lasers include cleaving a semiconductor wafer along one or more streets formed on the wafer. A street is an extended region formed without dielectric and metal layers and may be formed on the semiconductor wafer, for example, by a selective wet etching process or a dry etching process. Cleaving along the street(s) without dielectric and metal layers achieves cleaved facets, which are substantially free from microstep defects and metal contamination. After cleaving, a dielectric material may be provided on the remaining street portions along the ends of the cleaved facets, for example, by intentional overspray deposition of facet coatings.