A laser drive (LD) unit 1 according to the present invention is provided with a laser drive waveform controller 6, into which information for setting the laser drive is entered from a controller 2, for generating a laser drive waveform on the basis of that information and supplying an indicated amperage; an LD current setting unit 7 for setting a laser drive current matching the indicated amperage; an LD current output unit 8 for varying the laser drive current on the basis of the laser drive waveform and supplying the current so varied to a laser diode 3; and a current setting corrector 9, into which a monitor signal obtained at the time of monitoring the laser beam emission from the laser diode 3 is monitored, for correcting the laser drive current set by the current setting unit 7 by using that monitor signal to adjust the power of the laser diode 3. The laser drive waveform controller 6, current setting unit 7, current output unit 8 and current setting corrector 9 are formed on the same substrate.