A light-emitting device includes a substrate having a first surface and an opposing second surface, and an epitaxial structure having a first surface and an opposing second surface. The second surface of the epitaxial structure is positioned in proximity with the first surface of the substrate. The light-emitting device includes a first metal layer having a first surface and an opposing second surface. The light-emitting device further includes at least one light confinement structure configured to confine light produced within the epitaxial structure. The at least one light confinement structure provides a low-refraction index boundary that confines the light in a mesa structure that is at least partially surrounded by the at least one light confinement structure. The at least one light confinement structure can also be arranged to create separate confinement regions to serve as bandwidth enhancement coupled cavities for the active region of the light-emitting device.