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Abstract

Techniques for fabrication of small-scale metallic structures such as microinductors, microtransformers and stents are described. A chemically active agent such as a catalyst is applied from an applicator in a pattern to an exterior surface of an article, metal is deposited according to the pattern and optionally, removed from the substrate. Where the substrate is cylindrical, the pattern can serve as a stent. Alternatively, a pattern of a self-assembled monolayer can be printed on a surface, which pattern can dictate metal plating or etching resulting in a patterned metal structure that can be cylindrical. In another embodiment, a structure is patterned on a surface that serves as a phase-modulating pattern or amplitude-modulating pattern. The article subsequently is exposed to radiation that can induce a change in refractive index within the article, and the phase-modulating or amplitude-modulating pattern results in different indices of refraction being created in different portions of the article. By this technique, a grating can be written into a core of an optical fiber.

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First Claim