New laser structures have been fabricated which distribute the optical power generated within a wide injecting stripe among a multiplicity of lateral modes. This was done with the objective of increasing the life of such lasers at high power by reducing the optical stress on the facets. The levels of catastrophic optical breakdown have been measured and the very high levels achieved (≳300 mW for a 3‐spot device) have been taken as an indication of our success. These lasers were also very efficient and the mode pattern was stable to the point of breakdown. In contrast to these useful properties, it was found that intrinsic to these structures is a poor temperature coefficient of threshold, which would make them more useful for pulsed rather than cw operation.