The preparation, formation mechanism and magnetic properties of a Fe-Cr-Mn-N amorphous alloy

•Amorphous Fe60Cr15Mn10N15 powder with a large supercooled liquid region was prepared by mechanical alloying.•The amorphous phase formation mechanism was determined via the theoretically thermodynamic calculation.•The powder both undergoing mechanical alloying process and the annealing possesses good soft magnetic properties.