“…The magnetic properties of ␣ -Fe 16 N 2 phase have been attracting attention, since the first paper, where the preparation of a considerable amount of this phase by nitriding iron thin films was announced [1,2], reported unusually high value of magnetization ( = 3.0 B ) ascribed to this phase from the experimentally determined magnetic moment of a mixture containing several ironbased phases. There appeared a great number of papers dealing with the formation mechanism and the magnetic properties of ␣ -Fe 16 N 2 phase.…”