The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a ferrite rod. The method comprises etching cavities into two semiconductor substrates and depositing ferrite layers into the cavities. The semiconductor substrates are attached to each other such that the ferriote layers form a ferrite rod. The present invention employs conventional photolithography and bulk isotropic micromachining of semiconductor wafers to precisely and repeatably form a template or mold, into which magnetic material can be deposited to form a Faraday rotation or phase-shifting element.