Importance

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Abstract

The light emitting device has a series circuit comprised of a MOS transistor and a P.sup.+ N.sup.+ junction. When a voltage greater than the breakdown voltage of the P.sup.+ N.sup.+ junction is applied to this series circuit, as well as putting the MOS transistor into a conductive state, the P.sup.+ N.sup.+ junction breaks down allowing a break-down current to flow, and weak light is generated from the P.sup.+ N.sup.+ junction. Since this light emitting device can be produced in nearly the same size as an MOS transistor, using a conventional CMOS technique, it can be integrated into a chip with a high integration level, and the integration of the light emitting device causes almost no drop in the integration level. When this light emitting device is integrated in a semiconductor integrated circuit, the state of the circuit can be easily monitored by observing the light pattern of the device.

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First Claim