Method and apparatus for fabricating or altering microstructures using local chemical alterations

A method of forming a submicrostructure on an object, the method comprising:

• selectively placing at least one gaseous reactant on a local region of the object so that less than an entirety of the object is exposed to the at least one gaseous reactant, wherein the at least one gaseous reactant is a substance that changes chemically when exposed to heat;
• and
• heating the at least one gaseous reactant on the local region of the object with a thermal transducer comprising an embedded heat emitting surface until a local chemical reaction is triggered that results in a formation of the submicrostructure, wherein the embedded heat emitting surface emits heat and is fabricated of a material with a heat conductivity that is less than 100 watts per meter-kelvin.