While metals are extremely widespread in the macroscopic world, the use of metallic microstructures is currently limited by the deficiency of efficient fabrication techniques and the incomplete understanding of the material properties at submicrometer scale. In this thesis the author exploited the exceptional malleability of silver and gold to extend the use of the forging technique (imprinting) to sizes down to 100 nm and aspect ratios above 10. The successful large-scale production of metal microstructures enabled the study of size effects on mechanical properties. Moreover, the interaction...