Chip carrier having through hole conductors

A chip carrier comprising an electrically insulating substrate having at least one through hole formed therein;

• a through hole electrical conductor of sintered powder provided in each of said through hole;
• a plated metal layer formed on a surface of said through hole electrical conductor;
• an electrically conductive sputtered layer formed on said metal layer and on a surface portion of said substrate surrounding said through hole;
• a multilayer structure formed on said substrate, said multilayer structure having an electrical conductor pattern electrically connected with said electrically conductive layer, wherein said chip carrier is made according to a method wherein said through hole electrical conductor of sintered powder provided in each through hole of said electrically insulating substrate is formed by filling each through hole in the substrate with an electrically conductive material and sintering the substrate and electrically conductive material in the through hole so that an end portion of said electrically conductive material protrudes from a surface of said substrate and has a discontinuously irregular, uneven surface;
• grinding said end portion of said through hole conductor so that said through hole conductor is substantially leveled with said surface of said substrate to remove said discontinuously irregular, uneven surface;
• forming said plated metal layer on said ground end portion of said through hole conductor;
• and polishing said plated metal layer to form a generally continuously convexly curved surface.