We proposed and demonstrated a novel design for long wavelength (1.3 &mgr;m) vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). In this design, oxygen-implanted current-confinement regions were formed in a GaAs/AlGaAs Bragg reflector which is the bottom mirror wafer bonded to an AlGaInAs/InP cavity consisting of nine strain-compensated quantum wells. Room- temperature continuous-wave (cw) operation of 1.3 &mgr;m-VCSELs with a record low cw threshold current density of1.57 kA/cm2and a record low cw threshold current of 1 mA have been realized. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.