The invention relates to a power semiconductor component with increased robustness, in which a contact layer (13, 14) applied directly to a main surface (7, 11) of the semiconductor body (1) is composed of a metal (13) having a high melting point or of a thin aluminum layer (14), the layer thickness of which preferably lies between 1 and 5 nm. This contact layer is reinforced with a customary multilayer metallization system (15). The aluminum layer may, if appropriate, be patterned (14′).