Patent ID: 8847376

Claim:
A microelectronic assembly including at least first and second stackable microelectronic units, each stackable microelectronic unit comprising: a carrier structure having a front surface, a rear surface remote from the front surface, and a recess having an opening at the front surface and an inner surface located below the front surface of the carrier structure, the carrier structure being made from semiconductor material; a plurality of conductive vias extending in a direction from the rear surface to the front surface of the carrier structure; a microelectronic element having a bottom surface adjacent the inner surface, a top surface remote from the bottom surface and the top surface facing away from the carrier structure, and a plurality of contacts at the top surface; rear terminals exposed at the rear surface of the carrier structure, and front terminals coupled with the rear terminals through the conductive vias, the front terminals coupled with the contacts of the microelectronic element; and a dielectric region contacting the top surface of the microelectronic element, the dielectric region having a planar surface located coplanar with or above the front surface of the carrier structure, wherein the front terminals are exposed at the surface of the dielectric region, wherein the dielectric region extends between sidewalls of the recess and the microelectronic element, wherein the first microelectronic unit is stacked with the second microelectronic unit such that the front terminals of one of the first or second microelectronic units face and are joined with the corresponding front terminals or rear terminals of another of the first or second microelectronic units, such that the contacts of the respective microelectronic elements therein are coupled through the conductive vias of at least one of the first or second microelectronic units and the joined terminals, wherein the recesses of the first and second microelectronic units have respective different widths in a first direction parallel to the respective front surface, and widths of the microelectronic elements of the respective microelectronic units in the first direction are different from one another, and wherein the carrier structures of the first and second microelectronic units have a same width in the first direction.