A semiconductor device includes an interlayer insulating film in which first contact holes and second contact holes are provided. Each of the second contact holes has a width narrower than a width of the corresponding first contact hole. A contact plug is located in the corresponding second contact hole. An upper electrode layer is arranged on an upper surface of the interlayer insulating film, upper surfaces of the contact plugs, and inner surfaces of the first contact holes. The protective insulating film covers an upper surface of the external field. An end portion extending along a direction intersecting with the plurality of trenches of the protective insulating film extends through a range located above the plurality of the second contact holes. A pillar region is in contact with the upper electrode layer in the first contact hole.

A ground working tool comprising a tubular base body with an inner receiving space for receiving a cylindrical core of solid ground material, connector mechanism for connecting the tubular base body with a rotary drive and locking mechanism for locking the core in the receiving space of the tubular base body. The locking mechanism involves at least one locking unit having a guide rail being disposed at an inner side of the tubular base body and arranged with a deviation angle relative to a tangential direction of the tubular base body and the locking unit further comprises at least one locking element, which is moveably mounted on the guide rail between a radially outer releasing position and a radially inner locking position, in which the core is clamped within the receiving space by means of the at least one locking element.

A reverse-conducting IGBT includes a semiconductor body having a drift region arranged between first and second surfaces. The semiconductor body further includes first collector regions arranged at the second surface and in Ohmic contact with a second electrode, backside emitter regions and in Ohmic contact with the second electrode. In a horizontal direction substantially parallel to the first surface, the first collector regions and backside emitter regions define an rc-IGBT area. The semiconductor body further includes a second collector region of the second conductivity type arranged at the second surface and in Ohmic contact with the second electrode. The second collector region defines in the horizontal direction a pilot-IGBT area. The rc-IGBT area includes first semiconductor regions in Ohmic contact with the first electrode and arranged between the drift region and first electrode. The pilot-IGBT area includes second semiconductor regions of the same conductivity type as the first semiconductor regions.

Semiconductor devices are formed using a thin epitaxial layer (nanotube) formed on sidewalls of dielectric-filled trenches. In one embodiment, a method for forming a semiconductor device includes forming a first epitaxial layer on sidewalls of trenches and forming second epitaxial layer on the first epitaxial layer where charges in the doped regions along the sidewalls of the first and second trenches achieve charge balance in operation. In another embodiment, the semiconductor device includes a termination structure including an array of termination cells.

A power module for converting direct current to alternating current, the power module including: a semiconductor switching circuit device, a substrate onto which said switching circuit device is physically and electrically coupled, at least one secondary substrate with the semiconductor switching circuit device being physically and electrically coupled to the at least one secondary substrate such that the semiconductor switching circuit device is formed between the substrate and the at least one secondary substrate, at least one thermal mass attached to a respective secondary substrate of the at least one secondary substrate, and a cover at least partially disposed about said power module, said cover including an opening exposing a bottom side of the substrate.

Provided is a small-sized device for measuring an oxidation-reduction potential, whereby an oxidation-reduction current and an oxidation-reduction potential can be measured by reducing noise even when a signal from a solution being measured is small. A device for measuring an oxidation-reduction potential is provided with a substrate (10), a working electrode (15) mounted on a surface of the substrate (10), and a bipolar transistor (21) for amplifying the output of the working electrode (15) also provided on the surface of the substrate (10), and the signal amplified by the bipolar transistor (21) is inputted to a processing circuit (18).

A power module for converting direct current to alternating current, the power module including: a semiconductor switching circuit device, a substrate onto which said switching circuit device is physically and electrically coupled, at least one secondary substrate with the semiconductor switching circuit device being physically and electrically coupled to the at least one secondary substrate such that the semiconductor switching circuit device is formed between the substrate and the at least one secondary substrate, at least one thermal mass attached to a respective secondary substrate of the at least one secondary substrate, and a cover at least partially disposed about said power module, said cover including an opening exposing a bottom side of the substrate.

An integrated circuit includes a vertical Shockley diode and a first vertical transistor. The diode is formed by, from top to bottom of a semiconductor substrate, a first region of a first conductivity type, a substrate of a second conductivity type, and a second region of the first conductivity type having a third region of the second conductivity type formed therein. The vertical transistor is formed by, also from top to bottom, a portion of the second region and a fourth region of the second conductivity type. The third and fourth regions are electrically connected to each other.

A semiconductor device includes a plurality of drift regions of a plurality of field effect transistor structures arranged in a semiconductor substrate. The plurality of drift regions has a first conductivity type. The semiconductor device further includes a plurality of compensation regions arranged in the semiconductor substrate. The plurality of compensation regions has a second conductivity type. Each drift region of the plurality of drift regions is arranged adjacent to at least one compensation region of the plurality of compensation regions. The semiconductor device further includes a Schottky diode structure or metal-insulation-semiconductor gated diode structure arranged at the semiconductor substrate.

Provided is a semiconductor device including a plurality of dummy trench portions that are provided in a front surface side of a semiconductor substrate and each have provided therein an electrode to which an emitter potential is supplied, and a gate trench portion that is provided in a manner to surround two or more dummy trench portions from among the plurality of dummy trench portions in the front surface side of the semiconductor substrate and has provided therein an electrode to which a gate potential is supplied.