Abstract
High aspect ratio Fe0.55 Co0.45 alloy nanowires were fabricated by electrochemical deposition from sulfamate solution into nanoporous templates with diameters between 20 and 200 nm and lengths up to 6 μm. The capability to fill narrow (down to 20 nm in diameter) and deep (micrometer size) pores with high magnetic flux density Fe-Co alloys makes it a potential candidate for deposition of the writer poles in hard disk drives. The deposited nanowires were polycrystalline with a grain size of about 10-40 nm. Strong magnetic shape anisotropy is characteristic of the deposited high aspect ratio Fe-Co nanowires. The saturation magnetization of the nanowires was about 22-24 kG, in excellent agreement with values reported for bulk Fe-Co alloys. For nanowires with diameters in the range from 30 to 100 nm, magnetic reversal is shown to be consistent with the curling model. © 2007 The Electrochemical Society.