A surface treatment or mask (16, 24) that inhibits polymer whetting and bonding is applied to all but the mating bond areas (18, 25) of the interface between a substrate (12) and a device (10). A polymer material (14) is applied to the bond areas (18, 25) of either the substrate (12) or the device (10). The device (10) is placed onto the substrate (12) such that the polymer material (14) bridges the mating bond areas (18, 25) of both the substrate (12) and the device (14). As the polymer material (14) is cured, surface tension pulls it into a vertical column defined by the polymer mask (16, 24) defined mating bond areas (18, 25) of the substrate (12) and device (10) and aligns the mating bond areas (18, 25) directly over each other. Once cured, the polymer (14) forms a mechanical bond and, depending upon the polymer material, forms an electrical, thermal and/or optical connection between the substrate and the device.