Checkerboarded high-voltage vertical transistor layout

A high-voltage, field-effect transistor (HVFET) comprising:

• a plurality of transistor segments organized on a die into a plurality of sections, each transistor segment having a length elongated in a first lateral direction and a width in a second lateral direction, the transistor segments of each section being arranged in a side-by-side relationship along the width with the transistor segments being alternately shifted along the length, each transistor segment including:
• a pillar of a semiconductor material of a first conductivity type, the pillar having a racetrack-shape in the first and second lateral directions, the pillar including a source region disposed near a top surface of the die, and an extended drain region that extends in a vertical direction through the die;
• first and second dielectric regions disposed on opposite sides of the pillar, respectively, the first dielectric region being laterally surrounded by the pillar, and the second dielectric region laterally surrounding the pillar;
• first and second field plates respectively disposed in the first and second dielectric regions, the first and second field plates being fully insulated from the extended drain region, the first field plate being laterally surrounded by the pillar, and the second field plate laterally surrounding the pillar;
• the sections being arranged in rows and columns substantially across the semiconductor die, adjacent sections in a row or a column being oriented such that the length of the transistor segments in a first one of the adjacent sections extends in a first direction, and the length of the transistor segments in a second one of the adjacent sections extends in a second direction, the first direction being substantially orthogonal to the second direction.