Abstract: A reverse conducting insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) includes a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a back side and a first conductivity region between the front and back sides. The first conductivity region includes a reduced lifetime zone, a first lifetime zone between the reduced lifetime zone and the front side, and an intermediate lifetime zone between the reduced lifetime zone and the back side. Charge carriers in the first lifetime zone have a first carrier lifetime, charge carriers in the reduced lifetime zone have a reduced carrier lifetime shorter than the first carrier lifetime, and charge carriers in the intermediate lifetime zone have an intermediate carrier lifetime shorter than the first carrier lifetime and longer than the reduced carrier lifetime.

Abstract: A semiconductor component and method of making a semiconductor component is disclosed. In one embodiment, the semiconductor component includes a drift region of a first conductivity type, a body region of a second conductivity type, and a trench extending into the body region. A semiconductor region of the first conductivity type is in contact with the drift region and the body region and is arranged at a distance from the trench.

Abstract: A semiconductor device according to the invention has a first connection region, a second connection region and a semiconductor volume arranged between the first and second connection regions. Provision is made, within the semiconductor volume, in the vicinity of the second connection region, of a field stop zone for spatially delimiting a space charge zone that can be formed in the semiconductor volume, and of an anode region adjoining the first connection region. The dopant concentration profile within the semiconductor volume is configured such that the integral of the ionized dopant charge over the semiconductor volume, proceeding from an interface of the anode region which faces the second connection region, in the direction of the second connection region, reaches a quantity of charge corresponding to the breakdown charge of the semiconductor device only near the interface of the field stop zone which faces the second connection region.

Abstract: Metallization and its use in, in particular, an IGBT or a diode The invention relates to a metallization for an IGBT or a diode. In the case of this metallization, a copper layer (10, 12) having a layer thickness of approximately 50 ?m is applied to the front side and/or rear side of a semiconductor body (1) directly or if need be via a diffusion barrier layer (13, 14). The layer (8, 12) has a specific heat capacity that is at least a factor of 2 higher than the specific heat capacity of the semiconductor body (1). It simultaneously serves for producing a field stop layer (5) by proton implantation through the layer (12) from the rear side and for masking a proton or helium implantation for the purpose of charge carrier lifetime reduction from the front side of the chip (1).

Abstract: A semiconductor diode (30) has an anode (32), a cathode (33) and a semiconductor volume (31) provided between the anode (32) and the cathode (33). An electron mobility and/or hole mobility within a zone (34) of the semiconductor volume (31) that is situated in front of the cathode (33) is reduced relative to the rest of the semiconductor volume (31).