In addition, the bonding pad for traditional wire bonds takes up a substantial area of space. As technology has moved toward smaller electronics, shrinking wiring has been a substantial obstacle. A number of microelectronic devices are much smaller than the mandatory 50-by-50 micron square bonding site, prohibiting integrated functions on the very small scale.

"There's no existing cost-effective technology that would allow you to wire-bond microstructures," said Yu, "so let's get rid of those wires, and instead, why not directly produce them on-site between the connection points?".