A thyristor-based semiconductor device includes a filled trench separating and electrically insulating adjacent thyristor control ports. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the filled trench is formed in a substrate adjacent to at least one thyristor body region. The filled trench includes a conductive filler material, an insulative material formed on the conductive filler material and at least two laterally-adjacent thyristor control ports separated from one another by the conductive filler material and the insulative material. One of the control ports is adapted for capacitively coupling to the thyristor body region for controlling current in the thyristor. With this approach, two or more control ports can be formed in a single filled trench and electrically isolated by the conductive filler material/insulative material combination. In addition, the single filled trench can further be used to electrically isolate other circuitry, such as conductive shunts to buried circuit nodes in the substrate. These approaches are particularly useful, for example, in high-density applications where insulative trenches having high aspect ratios are desired (e.g., where it is difficult to fill lower portions of the trench with insulative material), and for reducing manufacturing complexity.