We describe aV‐groove distributed feedback laser operating at &lgr;=1.5 &mgr;m. A second‐order diffraction grating has been defined by electron beam writing and transferred using ion beam milling after the crystal growth was completed. A single longitudinal mode operation with a mode rejection ratio larger than 5000:1 has been obtained under modulation rate of 1 GHz. The techniques used in this work can be applied to other types of buried heterostructure lasers.