In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor element (6) having a cathode (3) and an anode (5), the starting material used is a relatively thick wafer (1) to which, as a first step, a barrier region (21) is added on the anode side. It is then treated on the cathode side, and the thickness of the wafer (1) is then reduced on the side opposite to the cathode (3), and an anode (5) is produced on this side in a further step. The result is a relatively thin semiconductor element which can be produced economically and without epitaxial layers.