The U.S. Patent Office has awarded two critical patents to VI Systems GmbH for applications in advanced data communications, sensing, and high-power vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays. The first patent is for an optoelectronic device with resonant suppression of high-order optical modes. The second patent is for an optoelectronic device with enhanced lateral leakage of high-order transverse optical modes into alloy-intermixed regions. The inventions facilitate the realization of single-mode devices at large oxide-confined and/or impurity-intermixing defined aperture diameters and enable on-chip coherently-coupled VCSEL arrays without using of external mirrors. 2D beam steering is enabled when VCSELs or blocks of VCSELs are individually addressable.