This paper presents a study on the strengthening of submicron-sized gold crystals through a mechanism called dislocation starvation. Unlike conventional strain-hardening, where defects (dislocations) multiply and impede motion, dislocation starvation involves the elimination of defects from the crystal, leading to increased strength. The researchers fabricated gold nanopillars using focused ion beam (FIB) machining and a microlithography/electroplating technique, and tested them under uniaxial compression. The results showed that these nanopillars were 50 times stronger than bulk gold, with compressive stresses reaching up to 800 MPa at 10% strain. The high strength is attributed to dislocation starvation, where dislocations are more likely to annihilate at free surfaces rather than multiply, reducing the overall dislocation density. This mechanism allows for plastic deformation without the need for dislocation multiplication, resulting in a dislocation-starved state that requires high stresses to nucleate new dislocations. The study also addresses concerns about Ga+ ion implantation during FIB fabrication, and shows that surface removal and alternative fabrication techniques do not significantly affect the strength. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images confirmed the absence of mobile dislocations in the deformed pillars, supporting the dislocation starvation hypothesis. The findings suggest that smaller is stronger, and that the deformation mechanism in submicron-sized crystals differs from that in bulk materials. The study also compares experimental results with computational models, showing that the observed size effect is not linked to a specific fabrication technique but rather to the unique deformation behavior of small crystals.This paper presents a study on the strengthening of submicron-sized gold crystals through a mechanism called dislocation starvation. Unlike conventional strain-hardening, where defects (dislocations) multiply and impede motion, dislocation starvation involves the elimination of defects from the crystal, leading to increased strength. The researchers fabricated gold nanopillars using focused ion beam (FIB) machining and a microlithography/electroplating technique, and tested them under uniaxial compression. The results showed that these nanopillars were 50 times stronger than bulk gold, with compressive stresses reaching up to 800 MPa at 10% strain. The high strength is attributed to dislocation starvation, where dislocations are more likely to annihilate at free surfaces rather than multiply, reducing the overall dislocation density. This mechanism allows for plastic deformation without the need for dislocation multiplication, resulting in a dislocation-starved state that requires high stresses to nucleate new dislocations. The study also addresses concerns about Ga+ ion implantation during FIB fabrication, and shows that surface removal and alternative fabrication techniques do not significantly affect the strength. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images confirmed the absence of mobile dislocations in the deformed pillars, supporting the dislocation starvation hypothesis. The findings suggest that smaller is stronger, and that the deformation mechanism in submicron-sized crystals differs from that in bulk materials. The study also compares experimental results with computational models, showing that the observed size effect is not linked to a specific fabrication technique but rather to the unique deformation behavior of small crystals.