This article proposes a method of fabricating a hyperboloid-drum structure, which can be applied to an electrically pumped laser with an active-layer diameter as small as 100 nm, while maintaining a wide contact area for easy electrical connection. The structure is fabricated using conventional photolithography and the chemically assisted ion-beam etching (CAIBE) process with an Ar:Cl-2:BCl3 = 5:2:3 gas mixture. The process conditions for CAIBE and the size of etch mask are adjusted to obtain the required structure with a height of similar to8 mum, an active layer diameter of 0.1-2.0 mum, and a contact diameter larger than 4 mum. It is demonstrated that a laser device with an active layer diameter as small as 600 nm and a contact layer diameter of similar to5 mum can also be fabricated with the proposed method. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.