Patent ID: 7518152

Claim:
A self-scanning light-emitting element array comprising: a plurality of first light-emitting thyristors arrayed in one dimension, each thereof serving as a switch; a plurality of coupling diodes, each coupling diode connecting gate electrodes of two adjacent first light-emitting thyristors; and a plurality of second light-emitting thyristors arrayed in one dimension, each gate electrode thereof being connected to a gate electrode of the corresponding first light-emitting thyristor; wherein each of the first and second light-emitting thyristors has a PNPN structure in which a first conductivity-type semiconductor layer, a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer, a first conductivity-type semiconductor and a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer stacked in this order on a first conductivity-type semiconductor substrate, and wherein each of the first and second light-emitting thyristors includes a gate electrode ohmically contacted to a gate layer of the PNPN structure and at least one Schottky barrier diode structured by a Schottky junction between the gate layer and at least one metal terminal, and wherein the plurality of coupling-diodes are constituted by ones of the Schottky barrier diodes in the plurality of first light-emitting thyristors.