Semiconductor device with at least two semiconductor elements

Claim 1

In a semiconductor device, including a housing having a surface, at least two semiconductor elements in the housing in the form of wafers at least one of which being controllable, electrodes for said semiconductor elements being insulated and passivated at the peripheries of the elements and being electrically connected to each other, said electrodes being in the form of main anode and cathode terminals as well as a main center tap terminal provided if said semiconductor elements are connected in series, said main terminals being provided for connection to relatively heavy wires and to first relatively thin wires, and control terminals for connection to second relatively thin wires, each of said terminals being disposed so as to extend through said surface of said housing, wherein the improvement comprising an additional auxiliary cathode connection terminal disposed in said housing and extending through said surface thereof as separate terminals for each cathode of said controllable semiconductor elements for connection to the first relatively thin wires normally connected to said main terminals, each of said auxiliary cathode terminals and the corresponding control terminal of each of said semiconductor elements being disposed adjacent to one of said main terminals and relatively far from each other.