Deposition and characterization of Fe0.55 Co0.45 nanowires

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.