I previously believed there was a gap between the plates inside an LED (between the post and the anvil).
However, I recently saw the following drawing on wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode#/media/File:LED,_5mm,green(en).svg ) :
I noticed that it shows the "Wire bond" which seems to indicate a wire from the post to the anvil.
Question 1
Is there actually a physical wire there?
I always thought the electrons jumped the gap and that there was no wire and that was part of why LEDs lasted so long.
Question 2 - for clarity
If there is a wire there, is it the part that lights up? Or, do the electrons still jump the gap? (I'm assuming they are conducted on the wire, but just attempting to clarify.)
Question(s) 3
If the wire is there, is this a (more) recent design change to LEDs? Did LEDs of the past have or not have this wire? Is this a special type of LED with the wire and there are some that don't have it?