A semiconductor laser array having a single lobe far field intensity pattern radiating normal to the laser's light emitting facet. The laser array has a plurality of semiconductor layers disposed over a substrate, at least one of the layers forming an active region for lightwave generation and propagation under lasing conditions. A plurality of adjacent spaced apart optical waveguides defined by waveguides and interconnecting waveguides directly couples lightwaves propagating in each waveguide into an adjacent waveguide. The waveguides are characterized by separations which are not equal at the light emitting facet but are selectively varied so that the sampling function has only a single central lobe. In the preferred embodiment, separations are greatest for edge located and smallest for centrally located waveguides. Interconnecting waveguides connect adjacent waveguides at respective Y-shaped junctions, the junctions being symmetric at least on the output side of the laser.