A periodic dependence of kink power on laser length is observed and explained. Weakly index guided high power stripe lasers in the AlGaAs, InGaAlP, and InGaAs–AlGaAs material systems are studied and oscillation periods of 100–350 &mgr;m are found. Relative kink power differences exceeding a factor of 4 are observed. Facet coatings lead to differences in the oscillation amplitude but not in the oscillation period. The observations indicate that phase‐locked fundamental and first‐order modes exist at certain preferred laser lengths. This general model fully explains the oscillatory behavior of the kink power and the correlated changes in lateral far field distributions at the front and rear mirrors. It is concluded that the optimum diffraction limited power output can be obtained by choosing the proper laser length. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.