Patent 7436004 was granted and assigned to NISSAN MOTOR CO.,LTD. on October, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An aspect of the present invention provides a semiconductor device that includes, a first semiconductor body of a first conductivity type, a first switching mechanism provided on the first semiconductor body, configured and arranged to switch on/off current flowing through the semiconductor device, and a first reverse-blocking heterojunction diode provided on the semiconductor body, configured and arranged to block current reverse to the current switched on/off by the first switching mechanism.