SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING AN EDGE TERMINATION STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF

摘要

A semiconductor device having a semiconductor body (22) comprising an active area (7) and a termination structure (16) surrounding the active area, and a method for the manufacture thereof. The invention particularly concerns a termination structure for such devices having trenched electrodes in the active area. The termination structure comprises a plurality of lateral trench-gate transistor devices (2a to 2d) connected in series and extending from the active area towards a peripheral edge (42) of the semiconductor body. The lateral devices are arranged such that a voltage difference between the active area and the peripheral edge is distributed across the lateral devices. The termination structure is compact and features of the structure are susceptible for formation in the same process steps as features of the active area.