A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is provided. The VCSEL includes a mesa structure disposed on a substrate. The mesa structure includes a first reflector, a second reflector, and an active cavity material structure disposed between the first and second reflectors. The second reflector has an opening extending from a second surface of the second reflector into the second reflector by a predetermined depth. Etching into the second reflector to the predetermined depth reduces the photon lifetime and the threshold gain of the VCSEL, while increasing the modulation bandwidth and maintaining the high reflectivity of the second reflector. Thus, etching the second reflector to the predetermined depth provides an improvement in overshoot control, broader modulation bandwidth, and faster pulsing of the VCSEL such that the VCSEL may provide a high speed, high bandwidth signal with controlled overshoot.