A vertical cavity laser with unstable resonator including a substrate having opposed major surfaces with a first semiconductor mirror stack positioned on one major surface of the substrate, an active region positioned on the first stack and a second semiconductor mirror stack positioned on the active region so as to sandwich the active region between the first and second stacks. Layers of the second stack being etched so as to spatially modulate the thickness of the second stack such that reflectivity is reduced in a central portion of the second stack and increases toward an edge thereof.