Disclosed are methods related to junction ferrite devices having improved insertion loss performance. In some implementations, a method of fabricating a circulator includes providing a grounding plane having a first side and a second side, positioning a magnet on the first side of the grounding plane, and positioning a ferrite-based disk on the second side of the grounding plane, the ferrite-based disk including a metalized layer on a grounding surface such that the metalized layer is in electrical contact with the second side of the grounding plane. In some implementations, a method for fabricating a ferrite disk assembly for a radio-frequency circulator includes forming a ferrite-based disk that includes a ferrite center portion, and forming a metalized layer on a first surface of the disk to improve electrical contact between the first surface of the disk with an external contact surface. Optionally, the metalized layer can be a silver layer formed on the grounding surface of the disk and having a desired thickness.