Abstract: An edge emitting laser comprising a substrate with or without a buffer layer having a central mesa disposed thereon, said central mesa having a bottom surface, a top surface and side surfaces and said mesa having an active layer disposed on said substrate with or without a buffer layer, a cladding layer disposed on said active layer, and a quaternary layer disposed on said cladding layer; first and second blocking layers disposed along said sides of said mesa; and at least one alignment fiducial disposed along an outer region of the laser, said alignment fiducial comprising at least a first surface and a second surface, said first surface being a certain distance from said active layer in the y-direction and said second surface being a certain distance from said active layer in the x-direction, said first surface comprising at least a portion of the top of said quaternary layer, said second surface comprising at least a portion of a side of at least one of said quaternary, cladding, or active layers.