  In this study we report on the film growth and characterization of thin
(approximately 50 nm thick) Ti-Fe-C films deposited on amorphous quartz. The
experimental studies have been complemented by first principles density
functional theory (DFT) calculations. Upon annealing of as-prepared films, the
composition of the metastable Ti-Fe-C film changes. An iron-rich phase is first
formed close to the film surface, but with increasing annealing time this phase
is gradually displaced toward the film-substrate interface where its position
stabilizes. Both the magnetic ordering temperature and the saturation
magnetization changes significantly upon annealing. The DFT calculations show
that the critical temperature and the magnetic moment both increase with
increasing Fe and C-vacancy concentration. The formation of the metastable
iron-rich Ti-Fe-C compound is reflected in the strong increase of the magnetic
ordering temperature. Eventually, after enough annealing time ($\geq 10$
minutes), nano-crystalline $\alpha$-Fe starts to precipitate and the amount and
size of these precipitates can be controlled by the annealing procedure; after
20 minutes of annealing, the experimental results indicate a nano-crystalline
iron-film embedded in a wear resistant TiC compound. This conclusion is further
supported by transmission electron microscopy studies on epitaxial Ti-Fe-C
films deposited on single crystalline MgO substrates where, upon annealing, an
iron film embedded in TiC is formed. Our results suggest that annealing of
metastable Ti-Fe-C films can be used as an efficient way of creating a
wear-resistant magnetic thin film material.
