Semiconductor device including first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type at a surface of the first semiconductor layer, third semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type selectively provided at a surface of the second layer, and gate electrode embedded in a trench via a gate insulating film. The trench penetrates the second and third layers, and reaches the first layer. A thermal oxide film on the third layer has a thickness less than that of the gate insulating film. Also are an interlayer insulating film on the thermal oxide film, barrier metal on an inner surface of a contact hole selectively opened in the thermal oxide film and the interlayer insulating film, metal plug embedded in the contact hole on the barrier metal, and electrode electrically connected to the second and third layers via the barrier metal and the metal plug.

Provided is a gate voltage determination apparatus of a MOS transistor having a gate electrode, a gate insulating film and a channel region, the gate voltage determination apparatus including: a characteristic acquisition unit configured to acquire current-voltage characteristics showing a relationship between a gate current flowing through the gate electrodes and a gate voltage when the gate voltage applied to the gate electrode is changed from a higher voltage side to a lower voltage side; and a voltage determination unit configured to determine, based on a value of the gate voltage at which the gate current shows a peak waveform in the current-voltage characteristics, an off-gate voltage to be applied to the gate electrode when turning off the MOS transistor.

First p.sup.+-type regions are provided directly beneath trenches, separate from a p-type base region and facing bottoms of the trenches in a depth direction. The first p.sup.+-type regions are exposed at the bottoms of the trenches and are in contact with a gate insulating film at the bottoms of the trenches. Second p.sup.+-type regions are each provided between (mesa region) adjacent trenches, separate from the first p.sup.+-type regions and the trenches. Drain-side edges of the second p.sup.+-type regions are positioned closer to a source side than are drain-side edges of the first p.sup.+-type regions. In each mesa region, an n.sup.+-type region is provided separate from the first p.sup.+-type regions and the trenches. The n.sup.+-type regions are adjacent to and face the second p.sup.+-type regions in the depth direction.

A power semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer, a ladder-shaped trench recessed a specific depth from a surface of the semiconductor layer into the semiconductor layer and including a pair of lines having a first depth and a plurality of connectors connected between the pair of lines and having a second depth shallower than the first depth, a well region defined in the semiconductor layer between the pair of lines and between the plurality of connectors of the trench, a floating region defined in the semiconductor layer outside the pair of lines of the trench, a gate insulating layer disposed on an inner wall of the trench, and a gate electrode layer disposed on the gate insulating layer to fill the trench and including a first portion in which the pair of lines is filled and a second portion in which the plurality of connectors is filled. A depth of the second portion of the gate electrode layer is shallower than a depth of the first portion of the gate electrode layer.

A main semiconductor device element has first and second p.sup.+-type high-concentration regions that mitigate electric field applied to bottoms of trenches. The first p.sup.+-type high-concentration regions are provided separate from p-type base regions, face the bottoms of the trenches in a depth direction, and extend in a linear shape in a first direction that is a same direction in which the trenches extend. Between adjacent trenches of the trenches, the second p.sup.+-type high-concentration regions are provided scattered in the first direction, separate from the first p.sup.+-type high-concentration regions and the trenches and in contact with the p-type base regions. Between the second p.sup.+-type high-concentration regions adjacent to one another in the first direction, n-type current spreading regions or n.sup.+-type high-concentration regions having an impurity concentration higher than that of the n-type current spreading regions are provided in contact with the second p.sup.+-type high-concentration regions.

All of four of built-in gate resistance trenches function as practical built-in gate resistance trenches. A first end portion of each of four of the built-in gate resistance trenches is electrically connected to a wiring side contact region of a gate wiring via a wiring contact. A second end portion of each of four of the built-in gate resistance trenches is electrically connected to a pad side contact region of a gate pad via a pad contact. In each of four of the built-in gate resistance trenches, a distance between the wiring contact and the pad contact is defined as an inter-contact distance.

In a semiconductor device in a wafer state, an element region and a scribe region are defined in one main surface of a semiconductor substrate. In the element region, a vertical MOS transistor is formed as a semiconductor element. In the scribe region, an n-type column region and a p-type column region are defined. An n-type column resistor is formed in the n-type column region. A p-type column resistor is formed in the p-type column region.

A semiconductor memory device includes a substrate, an active structure, a shallow trench isolation and a plurality of word lines. The active structure is disposed in the substrate, and includes a plurality of first active fragments and a plurality of second active fragments extended parallel to each other along a first direction and the second active fragments are disposed outside a periphery of all of the first active fragments. The shallow trench isolation is disposed in the substrate to surround the active structure, and which includes a plurality of first portions and a plurality of second portions. The word lines are disposed in the substrate, parallel with each other to extend along a second direction, wherein at least one of the word lines are only intersected with the second active fragments, or at least one of the word lines does not pass through any one of the second portions.

Reliability of a semiconductor device is improved by suppressing occurrence of variation in characteristics of the semiconductor device provided with a power MOSFET that has a super junction structure. A fixed charge layer FC is formed in a trench T2 that is formed in an upper surface of a semiconductor substrate SB and is adjacent to a p type body region BD and an n type drift layer DL. The fixed charge layer FC constituting a p column accumulates holes in the semiconductor substrate SB located at a side surface of the trench T2 to form a hole accumulation region HC.

A semiconductor device that achieves both miniaturization and high breakdown voltage is disclosed. The semiconductor device has a gate electrode G1 formed in a trench TR extending in Y direction and a plurality of column regions PC including column regions PC1 to PC3 formed in a drift region ND. The column regions PC1, PC2 and PC3 are provided in a staggered manner to sandwich the trench TR. An angle θ1 formed by a line connecting the centers of the column regions PC1 and PC2 and a line connecting the centers of the column regions PC1 and PC3 is 60 degrees or more and 90 degrees or less.