A semiconductor device includes a vertical power semiconductor chip including a semiconductor layer. A first terminal is at a first side of the semiconductor layer and a second terminal is at a second side of the semiconductor layer opposite the first side along a first direction. A drift zone is within the semiconductor layer between the first terminal and the second terminal. The drift zone has, in a central part, a compressive stress of at least 100 MPa along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The central part extends from 40% to 60% of an overall extension of the drift zone along the first direction and into a depth of the semiconductor layer of at least 10 μm with respect to at least one of the first side and the second side of the semiconductor layer.