The paper introduces an innovative antireflective vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (AR-VCSEL) designed for LiDAR applications. Conventional multijunction VCSELs, while popular in automotive LiDARs, struggle to achieve a divergence angle of less than 16° due to multiple-longitudinal-mode lasing. The AR-VCSEL addresses this issue by incorporating an antireflective light reservoir, which significantly increases the electric field intensity compared to the gain region. This reduces the required cavity length for minimal divergence while maintaining single-longitudinal-mode lasing. The 6-junction AR-VCSEL array demonstrates a halved divergence and tripled brightness compared to conventional VCSELs. Various designs achieve a divergence range of 8° to 16° (D86). Notably, a 7 μm AR-VCSEL emitter achieves 28.4 mW in single transverse mode lasing. The AR-VCSEL stands out for its well-balanced power density and brightness, making it a cost-effective solution for long-distance LiDARs. The antireflective cavity concept has broader applications in photonic devices beyond LiDARs. The paper also discusses the advantages of AR-VCSELs over other semiconductor lasers, particularly in terms of power density, brightness, and spectral brightness, highlighting their potential in various applications such as structured light 3D sensing and data communication.The paper introduces an innovative antireflective vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (AR-VCSEL) designed for LiDAR applications. Conventional multijunction VCSELs, while popular in automotive LiDARs, struggle to achieve a divergence angle of less than 16° due to multiple-longitudinal-mode lasing. The AR-VCSEL addresses this issue by incorporating an antireflective light reservoir, which significantly increases the electric field intensity compared to the gain region. This reduces the required cavity length for minimal divergence while maintaining single-longitudinal-mode lasing. The 6-junction AR-VCSEL array demonstrates a halved divergence and tripled brightness compared to conventional VCSELs. Various designs achieve a divergence range of 8° to 16° (D86). Notably, a 7 μm AR-VCSEL emitter achieves 28.4 mW in single transverse mode lasing. The AR-VCSEL stands out for its well-balanced power density and brightness, making it a cost-effective solution for long-distance LiDARs. The antireflective cavity concept has broader applications in photonic devices beyond LiDARs. The paper also discusses the advantages of AR-VCSELs over other semiconductor lasers, particularly in terms of power density, brightness, and spectral brightness, highlighting their potential in various applications such as structured light 3D sensing and data communication.