A device has an active area made of an array of first type of device cells and a gate or shield contact area made of an array of a second type of device cells that are laid out at a wider pitch than the array of first type of device cells. Each first type of device cell in the active area includes a trench that contains a gate electrode and an adjoining mesa that contains the drain, source, body, and channel regions of the device. Each second type of device cell in the gate or shield contact area includes a trench that is wider and deeper than the trench in the first type device cell.