  We investigated and demonstrated a 1.3 $\mu$m-band laser grown by
metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on a specially engineered metamorphic
parabolic graded In$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$As buffer and epitaxial structure on a GaAs
substrate. Bottom and upper cladding layers were built as a combination of
AlInGaAs and InGaP alloys in a superlattice sequence. This was implemented to
overcome (previously unreported) detrimental surface epitaxial dynamics and
instabilities: when single alloys are utilised to achieve thick layers on
metamorphic structures, surface instabilities induce defect generation. This
has represented a historically limiting factor for metamorphic lasers by MOVPE.
We describe a number of alternative strategies to achieve smooth surface
morphology to obtain efficient compressively strained In$_{0.4}$Ga$_{0.6}$As
quantum wells in the active layer. The resulting lasers exhibited low lasing
threshold with total slope efficiency of 0.34 W/A for a 500 $\mu$m long ridge
waveguide device. The emission wavelength is extended as far as 1360 nm.
