A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) in which the MEMS mirror is bonded to the active region. This allows for a separate electrostatic cavity that is outside the laser's optical resonant cavity. Moreover, the use of this cavity configuration allows the MEMS mirror to be tuned by pulling the mirror away from the active region. This reduces the risk of snap down. Moreover, since the MEMS mirror is now bonded to the active region, much wider latitude is available in the technologies that are used to fabricate the MEMS mirror. This is preferably deployed as a swept source in an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system.