Assembly substrates including through hole vias and methods for making such

1. An assembly substrate, the assembly substrate comprising:

a substrate having a first surface and a second surface;

an assembly structure layer disposed over the first surface of the substrate, wherein the assembly structure layer includes a plurality of openings that each expose a portion of the first surface of the substrate; and

wherein at least one through-hole via extends from the second surface of the substrate to the first surface of the substrate, wherein a first end of the through hole via is accessible at the first surface of the substrate and within one of the plurality of openings, wherein a second end of the through-hole via is accessible a the second surface of the substrate, and wherein a cross-sectional area parallel to the second surface of the substrate at the second end of the through-hole via is larger than a cross-sectional area parallel to the second surface of the substrate at the first end of the through-hole via,

wherein the plurality of openings includes at least a first subset each having a first shape and a second subset each having a second shape.

2. The assembly substrate of claim 1 , wherein the shape of the through-hole via is a trapezoidal cylinder.

3. The assembly substrate of claim 1 , wherein the at least one through-hole via is a first through-hole via extending from an opening included in the first subset, and wherein the assembly substrate further includes a second through-hole via extending from an opening included in the second subset, wherein the second through-hole via exhibits a different dimensional characteristic than that of the first through-hole via; and wherein the different dimensional characteristic is selected from a group consisting of: size, and shape.

4. The assembly substrate of claim 1 , wherein the through-hole via is completely filled with an electrically conductive material.

5. The assembly substrate of claim 1 , wherein the through-hole via is conformally filled with an electrically conductive material.

6. The assembly substrate of claim 1 , wherein an electrical contact is formed in the bottom of the one of the plurality of openings near the first opening of the through-hole via, and wherein an electrically conductive material is formed in the through-hole via such that it contacts the electrical contact.

7. The assembly substrate of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is formed of glass.

8. The assembly substrate of claim 7 , wherein the glass is a first type of glass, and wherein the assembly structure layer is formed of a second type of glass.

9. The assembly substrate of claim 1 , wherein the at least one through-hole via is a first through-hole via extending from one of the plurality of openings, and wherein the assembly substrate further includes a second through-hole via extending from the first surface of the substrate to the second surface of the substrate, wherein the first through-hole via exhibits a trapezoidal cylinder shape and the second through-hole via exhibits a straight cylinder shape.

10. A method for forming an assembly substrate, the method comprising:

providing a substrate having a first surface and a second surface;

forming at least one through-hole via extending from the second surface of the substrate to the first surface of the substrate, wherein a first end of the through hole via is located at the first surface of the substrate and the second end of the through-hole via is located at the second surface of the substrate, and wherein a cross-sectional area of the through-hole via at the second surface is larger than a cross-sectional area of the through-hole via at the first surface;

forming an assembly structure layer over the first surface of the substrate, wherein the assembly structure layer includes at least one opening that exposes a portion of the first surface of the substrate where the first end of the through hole via is located; and

filling the through-hole via with an electrically conductive material.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the shape of the through-hole via is a trapezoidal cylinder.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein forming the at least one through-hole via includes:

laser drilling the substrate at a location on the first surface of the substrate where the through-hole via is to be formed to form a hole extending through the substrate to the second surface of the substrate;

masking the first surface of the substrate with an etch resistant material that covers an opening of the hole at the first surface of the substrate; and

etching the substrate such that an opening of the hole at the second surface of the substrate is increased more than the opening of the hole at the first surface of the substrate.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein forming the at least one through-hole via further includes:

removing the etch resistant material that covers the opening of the hole at the first surface of the substrate; and

re-etching the substrate such that both the opening of the hole at the first surface of the substrate and the opening of the hole at the second surface of the substrate are increased.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein filling the through-hole via includes completely filling the through-hole via with the electrically conductive material.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein filling the through-hole via includes conformally coating the through-hole via with the electrically conductive material such that the through-hole via is only partially filled.

16. An assembly substrate, the assembly substrate comprising:

a substrate having a first surface and a second surface;

an assembly structure layer disposed over the first surface of the substrate, wherein the assembly structure layer includes a plurality of openings that each expose a portion of the first surface of the substrate; and

a plurality of through-hole vias each extending from a first opening at the first surface of the substrate within a respective one of the plurality of openings to a second opening at the second surface of the substrate, wherein the second opening of each of the plurality of through-hole vias is larger than the first opening of each of the through-hole vias,

wherein the plurality of openings includes at least a first subset each having a first shape and a second subset each having a second shape.

17. The assembly substrate of claim 16 , wherein the at least one through-hole via is a first through-hole via extending from an opening included in the first subset, and wherein the assembly substrate further includes a second through-hole via extending from an opening included in the second subset, wherein the second through-hole via exhibits a different dimensional characteristic than that of the first through-hole via; and wherein the different dimensional characteristic is selected from a group consisting of: size, and shape.