Abstract: An improved method for stereolithographic fabrication of structures provides a stereolithography system with a laser light source that is substantially smaller than previously known light sources, and produces a beam that is focused to a smaller spot size, preferably a He—Cd laser operating at approximately 30 mw in the pure TEM00 mode. The method utilizes this system to fabricate smaller structures with substantially higher precision than previously obtained with the stereolithographic technique. The method includes the steps of leveling the stereolithographic apparatus, measuring the actual focused beam spot size to determine the beam width compensation value, building a test structure to determine shrink compensation factors, and entering these data into software data files that are used by a computer to control the fabrication process.