A semiconductor device having a semiconductor substrate and an epitaxial layer deposited thereon which supports a patterned insulating layer on which a metal layer is provided. To achieve a lower capacitance of the semiconductor device with unchanged forward voltage, the epitaxial layer consists of first and second epitaxial layers, the first epitaxial layer which adjoins the semiconductor substrate having a higher dopant concentration than and being of the same conductivity type as the second epitaxial layer.