[ 0077 ] fig1 depicts a top view of an n - channel mos transistor with an n + - conductive drain zone 15 , an n + - conductive source zone 16 , a gate electrode 8 , and a p - conductive area 5 . this p - conductive area 5 extends finger - like into an n - conductive area 4 on a semiconductor substrate 1 , such that the areas 4 and 5 are “ nested ” in each other . the gate electrode 8 may , for example , be made of polycrystalline silicon , whereas an isolation layer not shown in fig1 below this gate electrode 8 is made , for example , of silicon dioxide and / or silicon nitride . in the p - conductive area 5 , a p - charge excess is present in a zone i ; a “ neutral ” charge , in a zone ii ; an n - charge excess , in a zone iii . this means that in the area 5 in the zone i , the p - charge dominates the charge of the surrounding n - conductive area 5 ; that also in the zone ii , the p - charge exactly compensates the charge of the surrounding n - conductive area 5 ; and that in the zone iii , the p - charge is less than the charge of the surrounding n - conductive area 5 . it is thus significant that the charge of the p - area 5 is variable whereas the charge of the n - areas 4 is in each case constant . the p - conductive area 5 extends from the edge of the source zone 16 , i . e . from a surface a to a dashed line surface b in the n - conductive region 4 . this surface b is positioned at a distance from the drain zone 15 , such that there is , between the surface b and the drain zone 15 , an n - conductive region 13 in which there is no “ nesting ” with p - conductive regions 5 . however , it is also possible to shift the surface b to the edge of the drain zone 15 , such that there is no n - conductive region 13 . advantageously , however , the surface b is positioned at a distance from the drain electrode 15 , which results in an increase of the blocking voltage , a smoother course of the electrical field , and an improvement of the commutating characteristics of the inverse diode . [ 0079 ] fig2 depicts a cross - section through another exemplary embodiment of the semiconductor device according to the invention in the form of an n - channel mos transistor with a drain electrode 2 and a gate insulation layer 9 between the gate electrode 8 and the channel region , which is provided under the insulation layer 9 between a source zone 16 and a drain zone 15 in a p - conductive region 5 . also , in this exemplary embodiment , the p - conductive areas 5 in the zones i , ii , and iii have variable doping , as was explained above with reference to fig1 . the exemplary embodiments of fig1 and 2 depict two preferred design possibilities for lateral structures of the semiconductor device according to the invention . essential in the two structures is the fact that the reported variable doping is present in the areas 5 and that these areas 5 do not reach the drain zone 15 , i . e ., terminate in a surface b at a distance from this drain zone 15 . however , it is possible to move the surface b toward the edge of the drain zone 15 . as stated above , the degree of compensation can be obtained by variation of the doping of the p - conductive areas 5 or of the n - conductive areas 4 . [ 0081 ] fig3 a through 3 d depict various layouts for the semiconductor device according to the invention with hexagonal polysilicon structures 17 and polysilicon openings 18 ( fig3 a ), in which aluminum contact holes 19 ( fig3 b ) may be provided . fig3 c depicts a layout with rectangular polysilicon structures 20 and corresponding polysilicon openings 18 and aluminum contact holes 19 , whereas fig3 d schematically depicts , in a top view and in cross - section , a strip structure with polysilicon gate electrodes 8 and aluminum electrodes 21 . [ 0082 ] fig3 a through 3 d depict how the semiconductor device according to the invention can be designed with different structures . [ 0083 ] fig4 depicts a cross - section through an n - channel mos transistor with an n + - conductive silicon semiconductor substrate 1 , a drain electrode 2 , a first n - conductive layer 13 , the second layer 3 with n - conductive areas 4 and p - conductive areas 5 , p - conductive zones 6 , n - conductive zones 7 , gate electrodes 8 made , for example , from polycrystalline silicon or metal , which are embedded in an isolating layer 9 made , for example , from silicon dioxide , and a source metalization 10 made , for example , from aluminum . here again , the p - conductive areas 5 do not reach the n + - conductive semiconductor substrate . for the sake of clarity , fig4 depicts only the metal layers hatched , although the remaining areas or zones are also depicted in cross - section . in the p - conductive areas 5 , there is a p - charge excess in a zone i , a “ neutral ” charge in the zone ii , and an n - charge excess in zone iii . this means that in the area 5 which forms a “ p - column ” in the zone i , the charge of the p - column dominates the charge of the surrounding n - conductive area 5 , further that in the zone ii , the charge of the p - column precisely compensates the charge of the surrounding n - area 5 , and that in the zone iii , the charge of the p - column does not yet dominate the charge of the surrounding n - area 5 . it is also essential that the charge of the p - areas 5 is variable , whereas the charge of the n - areas 4 is in each case constant . however , it is possible here , as in the preceding exemplary embodiments , that the charge of the p - conductive areas 5 is constant and the charge of the n - conductive areas is varied . it is likewise possible to design the charge variable in both areas 4 and 5 . [ 0086 ] fig5 depicts in a cross - section c - d the course of the degree of compensation k over the depth t of the n - channel mos transistor : as is discernible from fig5 the degree of compensation k rises monotonically with a constant gradient or in steps from the point c to point d . it is discernible from fig6 that the electrical field e has a substantially constant curvature over the area 5 between the points c and d . [ 0088 ] fig7 depicts compensation parabolas for a constant and a variable doping of the p - conductive areas 5 in the exemplary embodiment of fig4 . the degree of compensation k is plotted in percentages on the abscissa , whereas the ordinate indicates the breakdown voltage u in volts . one curve 11 depicts the breakdown voltage u for a variable doping , whereas a curve 12 depicts the breakdown voltage for a constant doping . it is clear that the variable doping brings a considerable drop in the breakdown voltage from approximately 750 v to approximately 660 v . however , in exchange , a larger range of the degree of compensation can be used . [ 0089 ] fig8 depicts finally a cell design in a cross - section with a drain d , a source s , and a gate g , the n + - conductive semiconductor substrate 1 , an n - conductive semiconductor region 13 , the n - conductive layer 3 , and n - conductive regions 4 as well as p - conductive regions 5 for the p - conductive region 5 under the source electrode s . in fig8 the degrees of compensation , for example , between + 30 % and − 20 % are reported , whereby a degree of compensation “ 0 ” indicates true compensation between n - doping and p - doping . here , the doping thus varies within the “ p - column ” by a factor 3 whereas the doping in the “ n - columns ” is constant . [ 0090 ] fig9 a through 9 c depict , in principle , as in fig3 a through 3 d , how the semiconductor device according to the invention can be designed with different structures which extend into the edge region . as can be discerned in fig9 a through c , fig1 a through c and in fig1 , in the semiconductor edge region , a large number of floating zones 5 ′, are formed from the second conductivity type and are separated from intermediate zones 4 ′ of the first conductivity type . the width of the intermediate zones 4 ′ and the widths of the floating zones 5 ′ are smaller than the widths of the regions 4 , 5 inside the cell field . the floating zones 5 ′ and the intermediate zones 4 ′ are dimensioned such that their charge carriers are completely cleared with the application of blocking voltage . the zones 5 ′, which are designed lightly p - doped in the present exemplary embodiment , are “ floating ”, i . e ., they have an undefined potential . the floating zones 5 ′ are positioned at a distance from each other , whereby the region between the floating zones 5 ′ defines an intermediate zone 4 ′. this intermediate zone 4 ′ typically has the same doping concentration as the doping in the zones 4 within the cell field . [ 0091 ] fig9 a , b , and c depict different variations of the widths of the floating zones compared to the basic widths in the cell field . fig1 a , b , and c depict the same thing with the strip edge structure layout and fig1 with a hexagonal edge structure layout . [ 0092 ] fig1 and fig1 depict the n - channel mos transistor known from fig4 which has been expanded by an intrinsically compensated edge termination . the transistor is built in known fashion with an n + - conductive silicon semiconductor substrate 1 , a drain electrode 2 , a first n - conducting layer 13 , a second layer with n - conducting areas 4 and p - conductive areas 5 , p - conductive zones 6 , n - conductive zones 7 , gate electrodes 8 made , for example , from polycrystalline silicon or metal , which are embedded in an insulation layer 9 made , for example , from silicon dioxide , and a source metalization 10 made , for example , of aluminum . in the present figures in each case two p - conductive areas 5 and n - conductive areas 4 are depicted on the left side . toward the right , additional p - conductive areas 5 ′ and n - conductive areas 4 ′ extend alternatingly . the p - conductive areas 5 ′ have , compared to the p - conductive areas 5 , roughly half the width ; however , they extend roughly as far into the n - conductive region 13 in the direction of the substrate 1 . the regions 5 ′, 4 ′ lying adjacent the regions 4 , 5 are connected to a p - conductive zone 6 ′, which connects via a contact hole with the source metalization 10 . the p - conductive zone 6 ′ forms a p - ring known from the prior art . the p - conductive zones 6 ′ has , in contrast to the cell field , no n - conductive zone , to prevent parasitic transistors . the n - and p - conductive areas 4 ′, 5 ′ extend far beyond the p - conductive zone 6 ′ in the direction of the edge of the device . on the outermost edge , there is a so - called channel stopper configuration , which consists of a gate electrode 8 ′, which is electrically connected with an n - conductive zone 7 ″, which for its part is accommodated in a p - conductive zone 6 ″ in the n - conductive region 13 . the so - called space charge region stopper depicted in fig1 constitutes an alternative to the channel stopper configuration depicted in fig1 . this space charge region stopper consists only of a well conductive n + - conductive zone , which is placed in the n - conductive region . common to both exemplary embodiments is the fact that the contact holes of the p - conductive zone 6 ′ are substantially larger compared to the contact holes in the n - or p - conductive zones 7 , 6 . the result of this is that the gate electrode 8 ′, which lies above the areas 4 ′, 5 ′ is designed substantially smaller compared to the gate electrodes 8 of the cell field . the grid , in which the areas 4 ′, 5 ′ are arranged , is roughly half as large as the areas 4 , 5 of the cell field .