We investigate the influence of silicon implantation on wet lateral oxidation of AlAs and show that the introduction of n-type doping silicon ions permits the adjustment of the oxidation kinetics and anisotropy. Using mesas with selectively patterned implantation regions, we demonstrate the fabrication of oxide apertures unachievable using the standard process such as oxide lateral gratings whose pitch can range down to 4 µm and crosses with 40°-angle tips. This approach thus constitutes an easy and flexible way to engineer the oxidation process and opens the path to new confinement geometries for lateral confinement patterns in photonics devices and in particular VCSELs.