A semiconductor laser includes a multilayer semiconductor laser heterostructure including at least one active layer of a II-VI semiconductor material and is optically pumped by one or more indium gallium nitride (InGaN) diode-lasers. Group II elements in the II-VI semiconductor material are zinc, cadmium, magnesium, beryllium, strontium, and barium. Group VI elements in the II-VI semiconductor material are Sulfur, Selenium, and Tellurium. In one example of the laser an edge emitting heterostructure includes two active layers of zinc cadmium selenide, two waveguide layers of zinc magnesium sulfoselenide, and two cladding layers, also of zinc magnesium sulfoselenide. Proportions of elements in the cladding layer material and the waveguide layer material are selected such that the waveguide layer material has a higher bandgap than the material of the waveguide layers. In another example, a two dimensional array of InGaN diode-lasers is arranged to optically pump a one dimensional array of II-VI edge-emitting heterostructure lasers.