A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate on which a plurality of trenches are formed, an interlayer insulating film formed on the semiconductor substrate, a contact hole made in the interlayer insulating film, and an electrode connected to a semiconductor mesa portion that is a portion between the trenches of the semiconductor substrate through the contact hole. A side wall of the contact hole has a stepped shape having at least one step. A bottom of the contact hole is located on the semiconductor mesa portion, and an upper end of the contact hole is located outside the semiconductor mesa portion.

A diode is integrated on a semiconductor chip having anode and cathode surfaces opposite to each other. The diode comprises a cathode region extending inwardly from the cathode surface, a drift region extending between the anode surface and the cathode region, and a plurality of anode regions extending from the anode surface in the drift region. The diode further comprises a cathode electrode coupled with the cathode region, and an anode electrode that contacts one or more contacted anode regions of said anode regions and is electrically insulated from one or more floating anode regions of the anode regions. The diode is configured so that charge carriers are injected from the floating anode regions into the drift region in response to applying of a control voltage exceeding a threshold voltage.

A higher-current device is implemented by increasing cross-sectional areas of terminals while securing solderability during mounting. The device makes securing of a creepage distance between terminals compatible with a reduction in package size. A semiconductor device 1 is provided with a package 2, a semiconductor circuit 3, a control circuit 6, a plurality of main terminals 7 and control terminals 8. Each main terminal 7 is configured of a plurality of subterminals S1, S2 and S3 arranged at mutually neighboring positions and projecting from the package 2. Distal end portions of the subterminals S1, S2 and S3 making up the same main terminal 7 are bent toward a mounting surface on which the semiconductor device 1 is mounted and the bending positions of the subterminals S1, S2 and S3 are configured to differ between the mutually neighboring subterminals S1 and S2, and subterminals S2 and S3.

To improve the reliability of a semiconductor device. A chip mounting portion TAB5 is arranged to be shifted to the +x direction side. Further, a gate electrode pad of a semiconductor chip CHP1 (LV) and a pad of a semiconductor chip CHP3 are electrically coupled by a wire W1a and a wire W1b through a relay lead RL1. Likewise, a gate electrode pad of a semiconductor chip CHP1 (LW) and the pad of the semiconductor chip CHP3 are electrically coupled by a wire W1c and a wire W1d through a relay lead RL2. At this time, the structures of parts of the relay leads RL1 and RL2, which are exposed from a sealing body MR are different from the structures of respective parts exposed from the sealing body MR, of a plurality of leads LD1 and LD2 which function as external terminals.

Reliability of a semiconductor device is improved. A third semiconductor chip on which a control circuit is formed, and a first semiconductor chip of a plurality of IGBT chips are electrically connected via a high-side relay board. That is, the first semiconductor chip and the third semiconductor chip are electrically connected via a first wire, a high-side relay board and a second wire. Similarly, the third semiconductor chip on which the control circuit is formed and a second semiconductor chip of a plurality of IGBT chips are electrically connected via a low-side relay board. That is, the second semiconductor chip and the third semiconductor chip are electrically connected via the first wire, the low-side relay board and the second wire.

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 diode-connected bipolar junction transistor includes a common collector region of a first conductivity, a common base region of a second conductivity disposed over the common collector region, and a plurality of emitter regions of the first conductivity disposed over the common base region, arranged to be spaced apart from each other, and arranged to have island shapes. The common base region and the common collector region are electrically coupled to each other.

A semiconductor device comprising a source region being electrically connected to a first load terminal (E) of the semiconductor device and a drift region comprising a first semiconductor material (M1) having a first band gap, the drift region having dopants of a first conductivity type and being configured to carry at least a part of a load current between the first load terminal (E) and a second load terminal (C) of the semiconductor device, is presented. The semiconductor device further comprises a semiconductor body region having dopants of a second conductivity type complementary to the first conductivity type and being electrically connected to the first load terminal (E), a transition between the semiconductor body region and the drift region forming a pn-junction, wherein the pn-junction is configured to block a voltage applied between the first load terminal (E) and the second load terminal (C).The semiconductor body region isolates the source region from the drift region and includes a reduced band gap zone comprising a second semiconductor material (M2) having a second band gap that is smaller than the first band gap, wherein the reduced band gap zone is arranged in the semiconductor body region such that the reduced band gap zone and the source region exhibit, in a cross-section along a vertical direction (Z), at least one of a common lateral extension range (LR) along a first lateral direction (X) and a common vertical extension range (VR) along the vertical direction (Z).

A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a base region formed in the semiconductor substrate on a front surface side thereof, a gate trench extending from a front surface side of the base region and penetrating thorough the base region, and a dummy trench extending from the front surface side of the base region and penetrating thorough the base region, where a portion of the dummy trench that extends beyond a back surface of the base region is longer than a portion of the gate trench that extends beyond the back surface of the base region.

A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a contact region, a carrier suppression region and an electrode. The semiconductor substrate is shared by an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) region with an IGBT element and a freewheeling diode (FWD) region with an FWD element. The carrier suppression region is exposed from a surface of the semiconductor substrate in the IGBT region, and has a lower impurity concentration than the contact region. The carrier suppression region has a Schottky barrier junction with the electrode.