A semiconductor device having an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is formed on a semiconductor substrate. A base region and an emitter are formed on a first surface of the substrate while a collector layer is formed on second surface of the substrate. A region having a low breakdown voltage is formed on the first surface around the IGBT, and a carrier collecting region is formed in the vicinity of the region having the low breakdown voltage. The IGBT is prevented from being broken down due to an avalanche phenomenon, because the breakdown occurs in the region having the low breakdown voltage, and carriers of the breakdown current are collected through the carrier collecting region. The breakdown of the IGBT is further effectively prevented by forming a guard ring for suppressing electric field concentration around the region having the low breakdown voltage.