We report circular-cavity semiconductor ring lasers with 45-degrees re
flection output couplers that increase the lasing output power and slo
pe efficiency twofold compared to lasers with Y-junction output couple
rs. These devices emit more than 3.5 mW of cw single-frequency output
power at 100 mA ring current with slope efficiencies of 0.07 W/A. The
increased output power and reduced spontaneous emission improve single
-frequency side-mode rejection by up to 10 dB (to nearly 32 dB).