Patent ID: 8431988

Claim:
A lateral trench transistor having a semiconductor body, the lateral trench transistor comprising: a source region and a body region electrically connected to a source contact, a drain region electrically connected to a drain contact, a gate trench containing a gate electrode which is isolated from the semiconductor body, the gate electrode configured to control lateral current flows between the source region and the drain region along at least a first side wall of the gate trench, and a doped semiconductor region within or adjacent to the body region, the doped semiconductor region penetrating into a depth of the semiconductor body from a surface of the semiconductor body, the doped semiconductor region adjoining the source contact such that the doped semiconductor region is electrically connected to the source contact, and the doped semiconductor region having a dopant type that corresponds to a doping type of the body region, the doped semiconductor region being more heavily doped than the body region.