Staged via formation from both sides of chip

A semiconductor assembly, comprising:

• a semiconductor element having a front surface, a rear surface remote from the front surface, and an opening extending from the rear surface at least partially through the thickness of the semiconductor element,
• the semiconductor element further including a plurality of conductive pads at the front surface, and
• at least one hole extending through the conductive pad and partially through the thickness of the semiconductor element, the at least one hole meeting the opening at a location between the front and rear surfaces, wherein at the location where the hole and the opening meet, interior surfaces of the hole and the opening extend at different angles relative to the rear surface such that there is a step change between slopes of the interior surfaces of the hole and the opening;
• a continuous dielectric layer partially overlying the conductive pad at least at a location above the conductive pad and overlying an interior surface of the semiconductor material within the hole;
• and
• at least one conductive element electrically contacting the respective conductive pad, the at least one conductive element having a first portion exposed at the rear surface for electrical connection with an external device, the at least one conductive element having a second portion overlying the continuous dielectric layer at least at a location above the conductive pad.

A semiconductor assembly, comprising:

• a semiconductor element having a front surface, a rear surface remote from the front surface, and an opening extending from the rear surface at least partially through the thickness of the semiconductor element,
• the semiconductor element further including a plurality of conductive pads at the front surface, and
• at least one hole extending through the conductive pad and partially through the thickness of the semiconductor element, the at least one hole meeting the opening at a location between the front and rear surfaces, wherein at the location where the hole and the opening meet, interior surfaces of the hole and the opening extend at different angles relative to the rear surface such that there is a step change between slopes of the interior surfaces of the hole and the opening;
• a continuous dielectric layer overlying an interior surface of the conductive pad within the hole and overlying an interior surface of the semiconductor material within the hole;
• and
• at least one conductive element electrically contacting the respective conductive pad, the at least one conductive element having a first portion exposed at the rear surface for electrical connection with an external device, the at least one conductive element having a second portion overlying the continuous dielectric layer.

A semiconductor assembly, comprising:

• a semiconductor element having a front surface, a rear surface remote from the front surface, an opening extending from the rear surface at least partially through the thickness of the semiconductor element, and a hole extending from the front surface at least partially through the thickness of the semiconductor element, the hole and the opening meeting at a location between the front and rear surfaces;
• the semiconductor element further including a plurality of conductive pads at the front surface, at least one conductive pad being laterally offset from the hole;
• and
• at least one conductive element having a portion exposed at the rear surface for electrical connection with an external device, the at least one conductive element extending within the hole and at least into the opening, the at least one conductive element only partially overlying a surface of the respective conductive pad.