Patent ID: 7420247

Claim:
A laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor device comprising: a doped substrate having bottom and top surfaces and an epitaxial layer thereover having an upper surface; source and drain regions of a first conductivity type formed in the epitaxial layer proximate the upper surface of said epitaxial layer, said source and drain regions being spaced from one another and having a channel region of a second conductivity type formed therebetween in said epitaxial layer, said channel region having a portion extending under said source region, wherein said drain region comprises a lightly doped drain region formed adjacent to said channel region; a doped drain contact region spaced from said channel region by said lightly doped drain region; a conductive gate having an upper surface and sidewall surfaces, said conductive gate formed over a gate dielectric layer formed over said channel region, said conductive gate partially overlapping said source and drain regions; a trench formed through said epitaxial layer at least to said top surface of said substrate, said trench having a bottom surface and a sidewall contacting said source region and said portion of said channel region extending under said source region; a first insulating layer formed over said upper surface and sidewall surfaces of said conductive gate; a continuous layer of conductive material forming a source contact and a gate shield electrode, said continuous layer of conductive material formed along said bottom surface and said sidewall of said trench and over said first insulating layer to cover said top and sidewall surfaces of said conductive gate; a second insulating layer formed over an active area of said transistor, including over said continuous layer of conductive material, said second insulating layer filling said trench; and a drain electrode electrically coupled to said drain contact.