Patent ID: 7910947

Claim:
A panel-shaped light receiving or emitting semiconductor module characterized by comprising: multiple rod-shaped semiconductor elements each having light receiving or emitting capability and an axis and arranged in multiple rows and columns with their conducting direction aligned and their axes oriented in the row direction; a conductive connection mechanism connecting in parallel multiple semiconductor elements in each row and electrically connecting in series multiple semiconductor elements in each column; and a conductive inner metal case housing said multiple semiconductor elements and constituting said conductive connection mechanism; each of said multiple semiconductor elements comprising: a rod-shaped base consisting of a p-type or -n-type semiconductor crystal; another conductive layer formed on a surface of the base except for a strap of area and having a conductivity type different from the base; a nearly cylindrical pn junction formed by said base and said another conductive layer; and first and second electrodes formed on surfaces of said base on either side of the axis in a form of a strap parallel to the axis and ohmic-connected to said strap of area of said base and another conductive layer, respectively; said inner metal case comprising multiple reflecting surface-forming grooves each housing a row of multiple semiconductor elements and having a width decreasing from an opening to a bottom; said reflecting surface-forming grooves each comprising a light reflecting bottom plate and a pair of light reflecting oblique plates extending upward from either end of the bottom plate in an integrated manner; said bottom plate having a mount protruding in a center portion in a width direction, on which a corresponding row of multiple semiconductor elements is placed and to which one of the first and second electrodes of the semiconductor elements is electrically connected; and multiple metal finger leads electrically connected to one of the oblique plates of each reflecting surface-forming groove and electrically connected to the other of the first and second electrodes of the corresponding row of multiple semiconductor elements being provided, and a cutoff slit for cutting off a conductive part short-circuiting the first and second electrodes of a corresponding row of multiple semiconductor elements being formed in said bottom plate on one side of said mount over an entire length of the row.