Sintering window and sintering mechanism for diamond
Randall M. German
Abstract
High performance sintered diamond tools, such as those applied to wire drawing and rock drilling, represent a considerable advance in hard materials technology. A dense diamond-metal composite is produced using liquid phase sintering. With a cemented carbide substrate, a cobalt-rich liquid infiltrates between the diamond grains at temperatures near 1400 °C. For small diamond particles (nominally below 20 μm), a combination of high pressure (5 GPa or more) and high temperature (1400 °C or more) gives full density in minutes. A sintering window is defined by the pressure and temperature combination that avoids graphitization while ensuring cobalt melt infiltration. The sintering mechanism is carbon transport by dissolution of graphite from low pressure regions away from grain contacts with precipitation of diamond at grain contacts under high pressure. Sinter bonds preferentially nucleate at surface defects, such as screw dislocation spirals. Bonding rates depend on particle size, carbon solubility, temperature, pressure, and hold time. Calculations are shown for interface reaction site limited growth kinetics.