Abstract: A wire bonding method in which an electric spark is generated between a lower end of a wire inserted through a capillary tool and a torch so as to form a small diameter ball, and then the electric spark is again generated so as to increase the diameter of the ball to form a large ball. The large ball is pressed against a pad on a chip with a lower surface of the capillary tool, so that the large ball is bonded to the pad. Since the large ball is soft, it can be sufficiently crushed by the lower surface of the capillary tool and be tightly bonded to the pad. Accordingly, the method accomplishes excellent wire bonding immediately after a bonding operation is restarted even after a long waiting time between bonding operations.