Patent ID: 6861705

Claim:
A driver circuit comprising a semiconductor integrated circuit having a transistor in which a drive signal is applied to the transistor to drive the transistor to thereby drive a load, the driver circuit comprising: an element region at least partially surrounded by an element isolation region; a signal line that supplies the drive signal to the transistor, the signal line extending across the element region; a gate dielectric layer formed in the element region; a gate electrode layer, wherein part of the gate electrode layer is positioned on the gate dielectric layer in the element region and part of the gate electrode layer is positioned outside of the element region; at least two connection sections that connect the signal line to the gate electrode layer, wherein at least one connection section is positioned outside of the element region and at least one connection section is positioned in the element region; and wherein at least one connection section positioned in the element region includes a contact surface in direct contact with the gate electrode of the transistor, the transistor having a source region and a drain region, the contact surface including a center that is closer to the source region of the transistor than to the drain region of the transistor.