Electrodeposition growth of nanowire arrays with height gradient profiles for microwave device applications

A simple and nonexpensive adapted dip-coating technique is presented and used to fabricate arrays of magnetic nanowires with a linear varying height profile. This approach allows controlling the wire height from tenths of nanometers up to several micrometers. Furthermore, the main parameters of this height gradient can be controlled, such as the maximum wire height and the lateral span of the wire array, which can be predicted with excellent accuracy using a proposed analytical model. Moreover, we show that by sequential electrodeposition with dip-coating, arrays of these height varying wires can be grown. This technique represents a novel method to fill porous templates with controlled spatial growth, leading to the fabrication of novel structures and providing control over structural features on the nanoscale level. In particular, the use of these asymmetrically loaded magnetic nanowired substrates to obtain improved microwave nonreciprocal behavior is shown for a microwave phase shifter.