Abstract: A semiconductor device having two or more p-n junctions, being in particular a bipolar transistor or a thyristor. The device has an gold ion implant in a region of the device between two of or the two p-n junctions, which region is the base in the case of a bipolar transistor, located away from the current carrying active region of the device. The device has a low resistance and may be turned off rapidly because the implanted gold provides recombination centers which act as a sink for carriers drawing them from the active region.