753 ISSN 1067-8212, Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals, 2020, Vol. 61, No. 6, pp. 753–761. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2020. Russian Text © The Author(s), 2020, published in Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya i Funktsional’nye Pokrytiya, 2020, No. 3, pp. 65–75. Investigation of the Processes of the Formation of a Nonequilibrium Phase-Structural State in FeTiB Films Obtained by Magnetron Sputtering E. N. Sheftel a , V. A. Tedzhetov a, *, Ph. V. Kiryukhantsev-Korneev b , E. V. Harin a , G. Sh. Usmanova a , and O. M. Zhigalina c, d a Baikov Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119334 Russia b National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow, 119049 Russia c Federal Scientific Research Center Crystallography and Photonics, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333 Russia d Bauman State Technical University, Moscow, 105005 Russia *e-mail: vtedzhetov@imet.ac.ru Received February 6, 2020; revised July 6, 2020; accepted July 10, 2020 Abstract—The main trends in the modern development of magnetic microelectronics are miniaturization and operation speed, while ensuring efficient operation in the MHz and GHz frequency ranges of magnetic fields. Creating new magnetic materials characterized by properties providing these trends is the most important fundamental and applied problem of materials science. In this regard, nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys belonging to Fe–Me–X systems (Me is one of the metals of the IVb group of the periodic table; X is one of the light elements N, C, O, or B) obtained in the form of films attract great attention. Such films produced by magnetron sputtering and characterized by the Fe/MeX two-phase structure are capable, as was shown earlier by the authors of the present article using the example of Fe–Zr–N films, of providing a combination of high saturation induction B s , low coercive field H c , and high hardness and thermal stability of the structure. The films were prepared by magnetron sputtering. In accordance with the initial data obtained by the authors, the films of the FeTiB system can provide better properties as compared with FeZrN films. The published data on FeTiB films in the context of their application in microelectronic devices are very sparse. In the pres- ent work we continue studies of FeTiB films aimed at identifying the chemical and phase composition pro- viding the level of properties required for the application of the films in microelectronics. The nanocrystalline films containing from 0 to 14.3 at % Ti and from 0 to 28.9 at % B are obtained by DC magnetron sputtering. The phase-structural state of the films is studied by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. According to the phase composition, all films are divided into three groups: single-phase (supersaturated solid solution of Ti in α-Fe), two-phase (α-Fe(Ti)/α Ti, α-Fe(Ti)/TiB 2 , α-Fe(Ti)/FeTi, and α-Fe(Ti)/Fe 2 B), and XRD amorphous. The XRD amorphous films are shown to be characterized by a mixed structure made of a solid solution α-Fe(Ti) with a grain size in the range from 0.7 to 2 nm and an amorphous phase. A reasonable assumption has been made that the amorphous phase is enriched by boron. A quantita- tive assessment of the grain size of the α-Fe(Ti) phase and its dependence on the chemical and phase com- position of the films is given. The mechanisms of solid-solution and dispersion strengthening determine the grain size of this phase. Keywords: FeTiB soft magnetic nanocrystalline films, magnetron sputtering, phase composition, structural characteristics DOI: 10.3103/S1067821220060206 INTRODUCTION Miniaturization and increasing operation speed are the main trends in the modern development of mag- netic microelectronics, and they should be consistent with effective work in the MHz and GHz magnetic- field frequency ranges. An urgent task of material sci- ence is developing new magnetic materials with prop- erties suitable to achieve these trends. Experimental proof of the fact that nanocrystalline ferromagnetic materials possess unique magnetic properties was one of the main reasons for the revolutionary changes in magnetic microelectronics which began in the middle of the 1990s [1]. This led to the creation and applica- tion of some nanocrystalline alloys based on iron, which are prepared by fast crystallization from the melt as films with a thickness of 10–50 μm [2]. At the same time, researchers have paid attention to a new class of nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS AND FUNCTIONAL COATINGS