A multiple wavelength surface emitting laser (10) has a first (14) and second (32) broad bandwidth distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) which reflect light at multiple wavelengths. The surface emitting laser structure comprises at least two cavities with each cavity containing one or more active layers (18, 26) for respectively emitting light at different wavelengths. In a first preferred embodiment, a first cavity contains only a first active layer (18) for emitting light of a first wavelength, a second cavity contains only a second active layer (26) for emitting light of a second wavelength, a third cavity contains only a third active layer for emitting light of a third wavelength, and a fourth cavity contains only a fourth active layer for emitting light of a fourth wavelength. In a preferred embodiment for a dual wavelength surface emitting laser, a first cavity contains a first active layer for emitting light of a first wavelength and a second cavity contains the first and second active layers and emits only light of the second longer wavelength. The second layer has been eliminated in the first cavity by etching before completing the epitaxial growth.
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