Patent ID: 7659577

Claim:
A power semiconductor device comprising: a power device formed in a semiconductor region of one conductivity; a current sense device formed in said semiconductor region, said current sense device including, a plurality of active cells each including a base region of another conductivity formed in said semiconductor region, and a conductive region of said one conductivity formed in each said base region spaced from said semiconductor region of said one conductivity by an invertible region of said another conductivity; a transistor gate adjacent said invertible region; a plurality inactive cells of said another conductivity disposed at the outer boundary of said active region; and a first power electrode in electrical contact with said conductive region of said one conductivity; wherein said transistor gate extends over at least a portion of a respective inactive cell, said transistor gate including a gate electrode which is shorted to said first power electrode, wherein said active cells are a plurality of spaced stripes arranged in a row and said inactive cells include a first stripe shaped region of said another conductivity adjacent a first one of said active cells and a second stripe shaped region adjacent a last one of said active cells.