Patent 7034340 was granted and assigned to Hitachi on April, 2006 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A light-emitting diode array comprising a conductive layer formed on a substrate; a plurality of separate light-emitting portions formed on the conductive layer; a first electrode formed on at least part of an upper surface of each of the light-emitting portions; and a second electrode formed on the conductive layer adjacent to the light-emitting portions, wherein the second electrode is a common electrode for operating the light-emitting portions, and wherein the conductive layer is removed in areas between adjacent light-emitting portions except for areas constituting current paths to the light-emitting portions.