Methods of fabricating polycrystalline diamond and polycrystalline diamond compacts

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9610555-B2
Application number	US-201514677859-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 2, 2015
Priority date	Nov 21, 2013
Publication date	Apr 4, 2017
Grant date	Apr 4, 2017

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention relate to methods of forming polycrystalline diamond compacts (“PDCs”), wherein the PDC includes a polycrystalline diamond (“PCD”) table in which at least one Group VIII metal is at least partially alloyed with phosphorus and/or at least one other alloying element to improve the thermal stability of the PCD table. The disclosed PDCs may be used in a variety of applications, such as rotary drill bits, machining equipment, and other articles and apparatuses.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of fabricating a polycrystalline diamond compact, the method comprising:
providing a polycrystalline diamond compact including a polycrystalline diamond table bonded to an interfacial surface of a substrate, the polycrystalline diamond table including an upper surface remote from the interfacial surface of the substrate and at least one lateral surface extending between the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table and the interfacial surface of the substrate, wherein the polycrystalline diamond table includes a plurality of bonded diamond grains defining a plurality of interstitial regions, at least a portion of the plurality of interstitial regions including at least one Group VIII metal disposed therein;
positioning one or more alloying materials adjacent to at least a portion the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table to form an assembly, wherein the one or more alloying materials includes phosphorus;
subjecting the assembly to an inert environment; and
while the assembly is subjected to the inert environment, heating the assembly to an effective temperature and for an effective time to alloy at least some of the at least one Group VIII metal with the one or more alloying materials.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein subjecting the assembly to an inert environment including subjecting the assembly to a vacuum of less than about 10 −2 torr.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein subjecting the assembly to an inert environment including subjecting the assembly to an inert atmosphere.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the inert atmosphere includes at least one inert gas including at least one of argon, helium, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more alloying materials include phosphorus powder; and
positioning the one or more alloying materials adjacent to at least a portion of the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table to form the assembly further includes:
placing the phosphorus powder within a crucible; and
pressing the at least a portion of the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table against the phosphorus powder.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein positioning the one or more alloying materials adjacent to at least a portion of the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table to form the assembly further includes positioning the one or more alloying materials adjacent to at least a portion of the at least one lateral surface of polycrystalline diamond table.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
forming a thin disc from the one or more alloying materials prior to positioning the one or more alloying materials adjacent to at least a portion of the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table; and
wherein positioning one or more alloying materials adjacent to at least a portion of the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table to form the assembly includes positioning the thin disc adjacent to the at least a portion of the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the phosphorous of the one or more alloying materials includes at least one of white phosphorus, red phosphorus, violet phosphorus, or black phosphorus.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more alloying materials include at least one of a mixture or compound including the phosphorus and at least one other alloying element.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein heating the assembly to the effective temperature and for the effective time to alloy at least some of the at least one Group VIII metal with the one or more alloying materials includes subjecting the assembly to a temperature of about 200° C. to about 1000° C.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein heating the assembly to the effective temperature and for the effective time to alloy at least some of the at least one Group VIII metal with the one or more alloying materials includes subjecting the assembly to the effective temperature for greater than about 12 hours.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein heating the assembly and subjecting the assembly to an inert environment is effective to form a first region in the polycrystalline diamond table adjacent to the upper surface thereof and a second region remote from the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table, the first region includes an alloy disposed within at least a portion of the interstitial regions thereof and the second region is substantially free of the alloy, wherein the alloy includes an alloy comprising the at least one Group VIII metal and the phosphorus.

13. A method of fabricating a polycrystalline diamond compact, the method comprising:
providing a preformed polycrystalline diamond table including an upper surface and at least one lateral surface, wherein the polycrystalline diamond table includes a plurality of bonded diamond grains defining a plurality of interstitial regions, at least a portion of the plurality of interstitial regions including at least one Group VIII metal disposed therein;
positioning one or more alloying materials adjacent to at least a portion of the upper surface of the preformed polycrystalline diamond table to form an assembly, wherein the one or more alloying materials include phosphorus;
subjecting the assembly to an inert environment;
while the assembly is subjected to the inert environment, heating the assembly to an effective temperature and for an effective time to alloy at least some of the at least one Group VIII metal with the one or more alloying materials to form a treated polycrystalline diamond table; and
bonding the treated polycrystalline diamond table to a substrate.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein subjecting the assembly to an inert environment including subjecting the assembly to a vacuum of less than about 10 −2 torr.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein subjecting the assembly to an inert environment includes subjecting the assembly to a vacuum of about 10 −3 torr to about 10 −9 torr.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the inert environment includes at least one inert gas including at least one of argon, helium, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein bonding the treated polycrystalline diamond table to a substrate includes brazing or subjecting the treated polycrystalline diamond table and the substrate to a high-pressure/high-temperature process.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein heating the assembly to the effective temperature and for the effective time to alloy at least some of the at least one Group VIII metal with the one or more phosphorus materials includes subjecting the assembly to a temperature of about 200° C. to about 1000° C.

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein heating the assembly to the effective temperature and for the effective time forms a first region in the polycrystalline diamond table adjacent to the upper surface thereof and a second region remote from the upper surface of the polycrystalline diamond table, the first region includes an alloy disposed within at least a portion of the interstitial regions thereof and the second region is substantially free of the alloy, wherein the alloy includes an alloy comprising the at least one Group VIII metal and phosphorus.

20. A method of fabricating a polycrystalline diamond compact, the method comprising:
forming an assembly that includes positioning a plurality of diamond particles disposed between a substrate and at least one of one or more phosphorus materials and

Assignees

• Us Synthetic Corp

Inventors

• Mukhopadhyay Debkumar
• Bertagnolli Kenneth E
• Knuteson Cody William

Classifications

• E21B10/5735

  Interface between the substrate and the cutting element · CPC title

• E21B10/567

  with preformed cutting elements mounted on a distinct support, e.g. polycrystalline inserts · CPC title

• B22F2201/10

  Inert gases · CPC title

• B24D18/0009 Primary

  using moulds or presses · CPC title

• B22F2201/20

  Use of vacuum · CPC title