A DC coupled driver is described for modulating a vertical cavity surface emitting laser at high speeds with active termination. High speed and low total power dissipation is achieved by improving the driver immunity to pulse reflections, which can arise due to impedance mismatch between the driver output impedance and the VCSEL impedance. The rise and fall times of the driver may be adjusted for particular applications. The driver may be fabricated using a choice of bipolar, NMOS and PMOS technologies.